Pitching with a 7 iron

franknottaken

So was playing at weekend. No official hcap but think I'm about an 18, maybe more.

Playing last Sunday and the first 5 holes I was 7 over. From hole 6 onwards I ditched my 9 PW GP SW and used a 7 iron for everything from a 150 yard shot to a chip just of the green. Played the last 13 holes for a 4 over, finishing on a 11 over for the round.

So I've used the 7 iron before to this effect but it's not the done thing and does get some looks . Would be much nicer to hit a PW in the scenarios. But if the score is low I don't really care. When you stand behind a ball and your 30 yards from the hole it's so much easier to hit a chip and run as opposed try judge a flight of a pitch.


Any thoughts on if this will come against me in the long term. Or just thoughts in general.

Goldenjohn

Worked for Roy McAvoy in Tin cup:)

Rikand

It's not how, it's how many.

There's no pictures on the scorecard.

If it feels good, do it!

Mantis Toboggan

Depends on the course, some courses you can't simply bounce balls into greens, also as the ground softens over the coming weeks that shot will become harder as it will get stuck on the edge of the green. I think with this shot your relying a little more on luck.

But, definitely if it's working for you then no need to change. I'd often use an 8 iron around the green to get more run on the ball.

rrpc

As said above, if it's working for you it's not a problem.

But...

Getting over a bunker or landing a blind shot over bushes or trees won't work terribly well with a 7i.

I had one recently where from about 60 yards had to get it over bushes and land and stop on a green that was partially surrounded on the three sides of where I was aiming for. It just wouldn't have worked with a 7i.

Carry on with it but start practicing a lot with your wedges. It's well worth the trouble.

Mantis Toboggan

Also the 7 iron might work well if you're not playing often but if you started to play more you'll find it very hard to develop any kind of consistency.

Senna

Played with a 5 hcp'er a few weeks ago that chipped everything with a 7 iron unless he was behind a bunker. He'd even land the ball in long rough just off the fringe and watch it bounce up to with inches again and again. If it's good enough for a 5hcp'er it's good enough for anyone. All it takes is practice and knowing how that ball will react.

You do what works for you.

Boskowski

My cat 1 buddy is an advocate of getting everything onto the putting surface as quickly as you can. You judge where to land and what roll you need after that and depending on the shot he would chip with anything between the sand wedge and a 6 iron. From what I can see he is far more consistent than the guys who chip everything with a lofted club no matter what.

BoardsMember

With chipping it's definitely the percentage shot, as previous poster said, get it on the green as early as possible.

With pitching, from distances like 100 yards and more I'm not convinced the OP should not bite the bullet, keep playing the "correct" shot with a view to improving wedge play. Wedges give greater control, allow you to spin the ball, allow you to go over obstacles.All of these are not just nice to do, they are required shots in given circumstances.

If the OP wants to improve over time, they will have to be comfortable hitting wedges, to suggest otherwise is not fair.

slave1

On links I use a 7 iron from anywhere around 30/40yards out, closer to green on both links and parkland I use a 9 iron, whatever works but as pointed out already come the softer part of the year greenside will get wet/soft and the ball with just die and your ground approach will be ineffective, then it's hinge/hold or as I call it hinge/hold/pray I don't chop/top

Rikand

He has no official handicap, so no official club. He's not entering official competitions, so therefore, he's just going out to enjoy himself.

If the 7 iron is helping him to play chips shots that carry over bunkers, then I think he should continue playing that shot no matter what, so what if there's a tight pin over the bunker. If the ball stays on the green, but 50 feet away, then surely thats a million times better than trying to play a flop shot that scuffs in the ground and ends up fried egg in the sand.

Original Poster :: you have a way that works for you. I say keep doing it.

Rikand

rrpc wrote: »

But...

Getting over a bunker or landing a blind shot over bushes or trees won't work terribly well with a 7i.

I had one recently where from about 60 yards had to get it over bushes and land and stop on a green that was partially surrounded on the three sides of where I was aiming for. It just wouldn't have worked with a 7i.

he can also, you know, pitch out to the side. Sometimes the percentage shot IS actually the best shot

rrpc

Rikand wrote: »

he can also, you know, pitch out to the side. Sometimes the percentage shot IS actually the best shot

Yeah, but making a shot like that will make your day.

You could play absolute dross for the rest of the round and still go home with the warm fuzzies.

BoardsMember

Rikand wrote: »

He has no official handicap, so no official club. He's not entering official competitions, so therefore, he's just going out to enjoy himself.

If the 7 iron is helping him to play chips shots that carry over bunkers, then I think he should continue playing that shot no matter what, so what if there's a tight pin over the bunker. If the ball stays on the green, but 50 feet away, then surely thats a million times better than trying to play a flop shot that scuffs in the ground and ends up fried egg in the sand.

Original Poster :: you have a way that works for you. I say keep doing it.

Not sure about this, sure isn't he looking at score and deciding to play the 7 from anything inside 150yars in order to get as low a score as possible. So presumably he's looking to improve. With that in mind, you can't really not learn to play wedges, or 8/9 irons.

Dtoffee

rrpc wrote: »

Yeah, but making a shot like that will make your day.

You could play absolute dross for the rest of the round and still go home with the warm fuzzies.

Good golfers go home giving out about the one bad shot they had

Golf is simply a game of how many, not how. If he's comfortable with the 7 iron and its working ... carry on and enjoy the game for as long as it works. Like everything associated with golf, if you think about it too much then your head changes your heart and once your heart is not in it ....... bye bye :rolleyes:

THB I grew up playing pitch n run shots and managed to get to single figures many moons ago, so I would not be too quick to advocate change. The great Christy O'Connor Snr could use every club in his his bag for the short game and often made a few bob on side betting he could get up and down with so called unsuitable irons or woods ..... its all in the hands and the touch, you either have it or you dont and the OP obviously has.

rrpc

Dtoffee wrote: »

Good golfers go home giving out about the one bad shot they had

Golf is simply a game of how many, not how. If he's comfortable with the 7 iron and its working ... carry on and enjoy the game for as long as it works. Like everything associated with golf, if you think about it too much then your head changes your heart and once your heart is not in it ....... bye bye :rolleyes:

THB I grew up playing pitch n run shots and managed to get to single figures many moons ago, so I would not be too quick to advocate change. The great Christy O'Connor Snr could use every club in his his bag for the short game and often made a few bob on side betting he could get up and down with so called unsuitable irons or woods ..... its all in the hands and the touch, you either have it or you dont and the OP obviously has.

You might not have seen it, but in a previous post, I advocated staying with the 7i but to practice with the wedges and short irons as well.

From what he's saying, he doesn't have confidence with these clubs and imo confidence comes with practice.

In my mind, it's not an either/or situation. He has a good go-to club with the 7i, it can hardly hurt to spend a bit of time on the others until the confidence comes.

Rikand

BoardsMember wrote: »

Not sure about this, sure isn't he looking at score and deciding to play the 7 from anything inside 150yars in order to get as low a score as possible. So presumably he's looking to improve. With that in mind, you can't really not learn to play wedges, or 8/9 irons.

Plenty of people use rescue clubs instead of long irons and vice versa.

Is one of them really not improving by not being able to use the other club ?

BoardsMember

Rikand wrote: »

Plenty of people use rescue clubs instead of long irons and vice versa.

Is one of them really not improving by not being able to use the other club ?

No, not at all. In fact, your example works for my point. Both achieve the same thing, hitting the ball far. So, if you want to hit the ball far, you can use one or other.

Wedges hit the ball high and stop the ball quickly. That's sometimes necessary, when a 7 iron just wont get the job done - water front & back of green, bunkers front and back, or a mixture of these for example.

It's not that he can't improve just using the 7 iron, it is just that by not using 8/9/wedges he has a limit on how much he can improve, or that's what I would have thought anyhow.

valoren

Golf is a game of confidence. If you're confident with the 7 iron from 150yds and under then keep using the 7

First Up

valoren wrote: »

Golf is a game of confidence. If you're confident with the 7 iron from 150yds and under then keep using the 7

I don't think using it from 150 is the problem. It's more about using it from a lot less.

death1234567

valoren wrote: »

Golf is a game of confidence. If you're confident with the 7 iron from 150yds and under then keep using the 7

I know plenty of high handicappers who step onto the tee confidently thinking they can hit the ball 250+ yards down the fairway. Or who look at their rangefinder and see they are 130 yards out and confidently pull a wedge out of their bag with hilarious consequences. It's a game of skill. If you've got the skills with a 7 iron then have at it .

franknottaken

Thanks for all the feedback. The objective is to join a club and get a decent hcap as opposed just playing now and then socially.

I think common sense will prevail here and il continue to use the 7i but obviously there is occasions where the wedges will be required which I should bring into my game as some of you mentioned


Interestingly hitting an 8i full and to a lesser extent a 9i full im actually not to bad. It's really the wedges and committing to these shorter shots.

Might get a lesson on it as opposed to doing it wrong for a year and then try correcting it!

rrpc

franknottaken wrote: »

Interestingly hitting an 8i full and to a lesser extent a 9i full im actually not to bad. It's really the wedges and committing to these shorter shots.

Might get a lesson on it as opposed to doing it wrong for a year and then try correcting it!

Plenty of practice is the answer. There's a thread here with some practice routines that you should use. When you finish a round you should spend some time on the drills if you can.

Edit: Here it is