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what makes golf iron a digger

by Lilly Sanford MD Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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A player with a steep downswing is called a digger because his divots, as former PGA Tour pro Johnny Miller, writing in "Golf Digest, put it, are “the size of dinner plates.” A picker's swing angle is shallower, meaning he will take “thin, shallow divots or no divot at all,” Miller said.

Why are golfers called “Diggers”?

Back when golf courses were harder to maintain, most players were called “diggers.” That is, their shots would produce large divots in the ground as though they had gone digging through the course. These days though, courses tend to be much better manicured, so it’s easier to swing without creating such large pots in the soil.

Why do golf clubs hit iron shots on the downswing?

That is because iron shots are played with the ball positioned so that it is struck on the downswing. That is, the club is still descending when it makes contact with the ball. Knowing which iron to use in which situation is mostly a function of learning how far you hit each club.

Who are some of the Best diggers in golf?

Other examples include powerful drivers such as John Daly and Alvaro Quiros. Watson was a classic sweeper, as was Woods early in his career -- before he tweaked his swing and began taking larger divots. Lee Trevino is frequently referred to as one of the game’s all-time best diggers.

Why are golf clubs called Irons?

The golf clubs called irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal. Of course, "woods" are now also made of metal, but that's a relatively recent development. Irons have featured metal clubheads (steel, these days) for centuries.

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How do I stop my irons from digging?

1:546:30How to Stop Chunking Your Golf Irons (Golf Swing Tips) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf i just take my lead foot. And move it towards the target. Then i move my trail foot away from theMoreIf i just take my lead foot. And move it towards the target. Then i move my trail foot away from the target about equal distance. The ball is going to be pretty close to the center of my stance.

Is the golf swing a sweeping motion?

0:053:36Sweeping or Digging Golf Swing? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd a sweeping swing is a swing. That. Comes across a digging swing is more of a tour player. And ifMoreAnd a sweeping swing is a swing. That. Comes across a digging swing is more of a tour player. And if you see these toupee size divots that most Tour players take with their irons.

Why do I dig my irons?

If you stance is significantly wider, it can often cause your hips to move too much side to side and your hip seeks being over each foot. As your hips move too much side to side, this can often cause the club to hit the ground before the ball if you do not recenter yourself exactly the same amount.

What is a sweeper in golf?

Sweepers tend to hit the ball with a level or upward stroke, sweeping the ball off the ground or tee. While this is the normal hitting stroke with a driver or a fairway wood, a true sweeper also plays iron shots with a sweeping motion, taking little or no divot from the fairway.

Why are golf clubs shallow?

When you begin to shallow out your golf swing, you can generate so much more power and hit the ball much more consistently. Shallowing the club will also help with driving distance and most likely accuracy as well.

Why can't I shallow the golf club?

7:3811:33WHY YOU CANT SHALLOW THE GOLF CLUB - 3 Moves ... - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe left shoulder raises up it's a natural thing for us to do is to regain that tilt the balls onMoreThe left shoulder raises up it's a natural thing for us to do is to regain that tilt the balls on the ground i have to stay tilted towards that golf ball to be able to hit the ball on the ground.

How do I stop hitting the ground in golf?

2:4811:10How to consistently hit the golf ball first - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHere that clubface is parallel to my spine look at my touch. My shoulder angle here that clubfaceMoreHere that clubface is parallel to my spine look at my touch. My shoulder angle here that clubface needs to be parallel to that what's.

Why do golf clubs feel heavy?

In general, golfers with smooth tempos, slow transition from backswing to forward swing will like lighter shafts. Golfers with a fast tempo and quick transition will like the feel of heavier clubs.

Why am I hitting behind the ball with my irons?

A common problem is to whip the club inside on the takeaway and over rotate the hips. When this happens the backswing becomes flat and inside and it's very easy to hit behind the ball. To avoid this, feel as though the hands, arms, and club move away as one piece during the takeaway.

Why are golf clubs called irons?

The golf clubs called irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal. Of course, "woods" are now also made of metal, but that's a relatively recent development. Irons have featured metal clubheads (steel, these days) for centuries. The clubheads of irons are thin from front to back, and the clubfaces are grooved to impart spin on ...

Why are irons called irons?

The golf clubs called irons are so-called because their clubheads are made of metal.

What is the difference between a blade and a muscleback iron?

The difference is that a blade-style features a full back on the rear ...

Why are short irons easier to hit than long irons?

Without getting too technical, the reason is that as loft increases and shaft length decreases, a club becomes easier to master. A shorter shaft makes a club easier to control in the swing (think of baseball where a batter will "choke up" on the bat—essentially, shorten the bat—when he's simply trying to make contact rather than swing for the fences). More loft helps get the ball airborne and adds a little more control to the shot.

How many yards is a 3-iron?

The yardage gap between irons is generally 10-15 yards. Your 3-iron, in other words, should produce shots that are 10-15 yards longer than your 4-iron. The specifics of this gap depend on the player, but the gap should be consistent from club to club.

What are the different types of irons?

Irons are generally categorized as long irons, mid-irons , and short irons. Long irons are the 2-, 3- ,and 4-irons; mid-irons, the 5-, 6-, and 7-irons; short irons, the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge. (Two-irons are becoming obsolete and are exceedingly rare for recreational golfers. Because of this, some sources now count the 5-iron as one ...

What is a hybrid iron set?

Relative newcomers to golf shops are sets called "blended sets," or "hybrid iron sets." These sets replace the traditional long irons with hybrid clubs, and fill out the set with cavityback mid- and short irons.

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Who said "dig his game out of the dirt"?

Ben Hogan is well known for saying he liked to "dig his game out of the dirt." As such, it should surprise no one that, when it came to iron design, Hogan realized the importance of the sole.

What does Tringale say in his wedges?

Earlier this year, for example, one of Tringale's wedges read, "The juice is worth the squeeze.". Whatever Tringale's rationale, he might want to just keep doing what he is doing.

What putter does Padraig Harrington use?

BAG ROOM. Padraig Harrington has primarily used an Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball blade putter for several years, but at the BMW Championship he switched to a TaylorMade Ghost Spider S mallet. The club features a black section behind the face with white sightlines, but Harrington filled those sightlines with epoxy.

What irons did Sean O'Hair use?

O'Hair had used the company's muscleback irons for some time, but he preferred irons with more bounce on the sole, leading to a switch to the RocketBallz, which have a more rounded sole and leading edge. Still, O'Hair went one step further, having TaylorMade round the sole even more.

Why did O'Hair put a priority on his new irons' soles?

Bottoms Up: O'Hair put a priority on his new irons' soles because he wanted less digging action.

Why do players prefer thicker soles?

Although there are exceptions, better players tend to gravitate toward thinner soles for versatility while higher-handicappers favor thicker ones that lower the center of gravity and assist in getting the ball airborne while also mitigating the effect of shots hit fat.

What is a digging swing?

The digging swing is used by most pros to keep the ball low, with lots of spin, out of the elements of Mother Nature but also requires the technician to be very precise. A sweeping swing doesn’t require the golfer to be as precise and is recommended for most amateurs.

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GolfersRx.com is a team of golf experts who share your love and passion for the game of golf. We share in your enthusiasm to play better, similarly your frustrations when things aren’t going as planned.

What swing do pros use?

Most pros have a digging golf swing and a lot of amateurs have a sweeping golf swing.

How many golf robots are there?

The robot has since become the standard testing robot worldwide for the golf industry. There are currently 40 robots in the golf industry and are used by the major manufacturers, the USGA and the R&A. View all posts by Gene Parente →.

Why are golfers called diggers?

Back when golf courses were harder to maintain , most players were called “diggers.” That is, their shots would produce large divots in the ground as though they had gone digging through the course . These days though, courses tend to be much better manicured, so it’s easier to swing without creating such large pots in the soil. Sometimes, players with sweeping shots don’t even make any divots at all, which is why they’ve come to be called either sweepers or pickers.

Why do golf clubs have short shafts?

As a sweeper or picker, you should be more interested in clubs with shorter shafts because they allow you to swing clean without risk of dislodging ground underneath.

What does a thinner sole mean on a golf club?

The thinner the sole on your club, the less interaction you’ll have with the turf. Pickers and sweepers benefit most from a club that doesn’t risk too much contact with the ground. This can be easily achieved by choosing something that has a thinner sole which can glide over the ground without producing a big divot.

What is the most important club in the bag?

The irons are some of the most important clubs in the bag, so be sure you have one that properly suits your swing style. If you’re a sweeper or a picker, you need to make sure you find something that lets you maximize your swing and that encourages you to clean away your ball without making a divot.

What are the two types of irons?

There are two main types of irons - namely blades and cavity backs. Blades have thin heads that resemble, well, blades! They’re a lot lighter and offer superb feedback, making it easier to be consistent across your games.

Why are blades so hard to master?

The downside to blades is that they can be difficult to master, often causing some accuracy problems especially for players who are only just starting to learn the ropes. Cavity backs are the go to for beginners and high handicappers, because they have a little more forgiveness to them.

Is the Apex Pro 16 a good iron?

For something with such an intuitive design, you probably think you’d have to pay a fortune for an iron like this. Unfortunately, that is true. The Apex Pro 16 from Callaway is a tad pricey. But because it’s one of the best irons you’ll find if you’re a sweeper, it can really be a smart investment if you’re willing to spend that much.

How many times do drivers hit their irons?

Drivers are hit at most 14 times a round while irons are hit 40+ times a round. Plus the average golfer hits less than 20 percent of their greens in regulation. So why not a bigger effort to create more forgiving, longer irons? —@TedWilliams2017

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And they are sharing their golf equipment knowledge with you. Golf Digest's equipment editors, Mike Stachura and E. Michael Johnson, have covered the golf equipment business for decades, and there are few who know the equipment industry better. We've asked them to answer your questions in a weekly equipment round-up.

Who used ping eye 2 wedges?

Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington started using original Ping Eye2 lob wedges because its grooves were grandfathered in and Stewart Cink even went so far as to practice with duct tape on the face of his wedges, feeling that would be the equivalent of the new, less-aggressive grooves.

Do chicks dig the long ball?

Those technologies came to drivers first, because, well, as has been said, chicks dig the long ball. But secondly, it’s a lot easier to work within the structure of a hollow, 460-cubic-centimeter, pie-plate-faced driver than it is in the oddly asymmetrical shape of an iron. But that hasn’t stopped progress in irons.

How to play irons better?

Instead, what I suggest for better iron play is to hit the ball on as shallow an angle as you can while still aligning the iron’s sweet spot behind the ball at impact.

Why do I hit heavy when I hit down on the ball?

The reason I was hitting shots heavy when I tried to hit down on the ball was because I was moving the low point of my golf swing behind the ball. This is probably one of the main reasons why so many golfers fail when they try to master this concept.

What is golf swing?

The golf swing is a circular motion, and every circle has a low point. Better players all have the low point of their swing in front of the golf ball (which is indicated by the black line in the image below).

Should amateurs hit down on the golf ball?

He doesn’t suggest that amateurs shouldn’t try to hit down on the ball. His argument is that recreational golfers will do more harm than good to their game by trying to strike the ball more steeply with the intent of making a large divot because of their swing speeds.

Does hitting down on the ball increase compression?

One of the main points Andrew discusses in this article is that hitting down on the ball does not necessarily increase your compression. Translation – the ball will not go farther, or spin more simply because you are steepening your angle of attack with your irons.

Do golfers hit down on the ball?

The problem is that most golfers fail to translate such terms as ‘hitting down on the ball’ into an actual swing move. It might be explained to them by their local teaching pro; they will nod their head in approval, and then when they go to swing the club they end up hitting these terribly fat shots that go nowhere.

Who wrote the article "The Golf Swing"?

Adam Young wrote this article a few months ago that got a lot of attention, and for good reason. He explains a very important concept of the golf swing, and gives a strong visual representation that helps make sense of why golfers fail to consistently hit great iron shots.

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Set Composition

Loft, Length, and Distance

  • As you go through the set, from the 3-iron to the pitching wedge, each iron has a little more loft than the previous, and a little shorter shaft length than the previous, so each club (going from 3-iron to PW) hits the golf ball a little less distance than the previous. That is, a 5-iron has more loft, a shorter shaft, and produces shorter shots th...
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Long, Mid-, and Short Irons

  • Irons are generally categorized as long irons, mid-irons , and short irons. Long irons are the 2-, 3- ,and 4-irons; mid-irons, the 5-, 6-, and 7-irons; short irons, the 8- and 9-irons and pitching wedge. (Two-irons are becoming obsolete and are exceedingly rare for recreational golfers. Because of this, some sources now count the 5-iron as one of the long irons. We still classify it as a mid-iron…
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Distances

  • Learning your distances—how far you hit each club—is much more important than trying to hit each club to some predetermined "correct" yardage. There is no "right" distance for each club, there is only your distance. That said, a typical male recreational golfer might hit a 4-, 5-, or 6- iron from 150 yards, while a typical female might use a 3-wood, 5-wood, or 3-iron from that distance. …
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Hitting

  • Irons can be played from the teeing ground, using a golf tee, and it is often appropriate to do so. On a par-3 hole, for example, you will probably use an iron on your tee shot. Or you might use an iron off any (or even every) tee in order to have better control over the shot. But most of your iron shots will come from the fairway. Irons are designed with divots in mind. That's why they have a …
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