Playing A 1 Iron Today.

I got into a discussion the other day about playing a 1 iron and I was remembering back fondly to my younger days when I left out a fairway wood just to carry my trusty 1 iron.  Now I have to admit that I was young enough and strong enough to hit it high enough to actually stop it fairly quickly.  Of course I was using forged irons and wound balata Titleist, which made a difference.

Prompted by the reminiscing and the difference between today’s equipment and what I played with when I was younger, I started doing a little checking on what today’s technology is up to.  The general consensus, of course, is that with the availability of hybrids, no one today carries a 1 iron today.

The thing that did surprise me though is that many better players do, in fact carry a 1 iron.  Today we call it a 3 iron.  Today's 3 iron is generally a degree stronger and slightly longer than my 1 iron.

When the TV commentators say someone is hitting a 6 iron from 195 yards I don’t feel so bad.  With today’s equipment length and loft, plus today’s golf ball, I would have been hitting a 6 iron from 195 yards

I remember when Cobra introduced the first really strong set of iron and I tried them.  They worked just like they claimed.  My problem was I had hit 8 iron from 145 yards for as long as I could remember and standing there with 8 iron from 165 was something I just couldn’t adjust to so I went back to my Hogan Apex.

The good news is that thirty years later I could still hit 8 irons from 145 with today’s equipment and for that I am forever grateful.  

The really interesting thing is that today's 9 iron is 10 degrees stronger and an inch longer than mine was.

Makes me wonder why handicaps are not a lot lower, but I guess longer isn’t that important if you can’t hit it straighter.  If you are going to miss the green thirty yards right, I don’t guess it matters whether you hit a 9 iron or a 6 iron.