Ok, I’m just going to say it…
Practice makes perfect! (Not really. No one gets be perfect on the golf course.)
However, we CAN be perfect when choosing that perfect club to use when practicing our golf swings.
The 7-iron falls perfectly in the middle between hitting longer clubs, and swinging the shorter clubs. Also, there’s less worry about ball position when hitting mid irons That’s why we believe this club suits most golfers learning to play golf.
Best club to learn golf swing
Since the 7-iron is the best golf club to practice your swing—does this mean it’s also the best club to learn with too?
I’d say yes, however, if you only have access to a wedge that would still be a great club to use when learning your golf swing.
All golfers will hit more wedges than any other club in his/her bag so learning a wedge swing should definitely be in your immediate plans if you are just now picking up golf for the first time.
Golf is about trust. Successful people trust he/she will do well to succeed in life (and you should to).
The less you trust yourself on the golf course, the lesser your chances are of navigating your way around the course and shooting lower scores.
How did Tiger Woods get so great at golf and such a young age? Well…he practiced…a lot.
When most golfers go to the driving range they have no intention of practicing with a purpose.
I’ve heard stories about NBA players not leaving practice until they hit 100 free throws. That is practicing with a purpose. They are grooving muscle memory of shooting the ball with the same motion shot by shot.
And that my friends is what WE need to be doing with our golf swings.
For many beginner golfers, the simple problem is not having golf clubs to actually go out and practice.
Let’s face it golf can be real expensive at times with many of the expense coming up front when it’s time to buy your golf clubs.
But what if you don’t want to make such a huge commitment and drop $1,500 on a new set of irons right out the gate? Then don’t 🤷♂️
Pending what city you live in you can find a local golf store that has a ton of used club options (unless you’re left-handed like me and have to go above and beyond to find clubs suited for your game).
But let’s say you live in a city where that’s not an option…
Where can I find good golf clubs for cheap?
May I introduce to you the power of Facebook and eBay.
Facebook has a ton of groups for people interested in playing golf, and even more for people buying/selling clubs.
However, eBay is perfect for finding what you need because you can filter the search results to fit exactly what you’re looking for.
What is the easiest golf club to hit?
For beginner golfers, a driver should be the easiest club to hit. Simply because a) it has the largest surface area of any other golf club and, b) you can tee it up.
Unlike hitting irons, it’s really hard to strike a golf ball fat with a driver. There’s just way more room for error.
Reason being there’s more of a sweeping motion when swinging a driver, and when hitting irons you are striking more down on the ball.
Now the big caveat here is hitting the ball straight.
Just because hitting a driver is easy doesn’t necessarily mean it’s also easy to hit straight. Shorter irons and wedges will always be easier to hit straighter because the shafts are shorter and the lie angles are flatter.
Why is 7-iron the best golf iron to practice with?
Most golfers will position the ball perfectly in the middle of their stance for that 8 to 5 iron range, but it varies depending the golfer.
This actually feels crazy saying because I feel like I hit my 7 iron less than most all other clubs in my bag (except for my 4 iron).
Where should I go to practice my golf swing?
In order of importance the answer is:
- At home
- At the driving range
- At the golf course
How to practice golf at home
Practicing your golf swing at home is the perfect way to lay the foundation on achieving a golf swing you can trust.
In the beginning, there’s no need to go buy a huge net to hit in to or spend thousands on a golf simulator.
Go out and buy some whiffle balls. These are great because you can work on ball position and more importantly…contact.
Practice hitting at targets and building a nice collection area of shots.
How to practice golf swing at driving range
Ok now we’re stepping things up a bit and graduating to the unthinkable and hitting golf shots next to OTHER golfers 😧.
It’s fine though because we’ve established some trust in our swing by practicing at home and grooving that muscle memory I mentioned earlier.
But what better way to build on that trust than hitting golf balls at pins?
If you only have the one club to take to the range that’s fine. Don’t worry about other golfers there hitting every club in the bag, because this is about you.
Start warming up by hitting little half swings to get the feel for where you’re going to maintain a consistent swing plane. Hit about 10-15 of those style shots and move on to hitting some three quarter shots.
Now, let’s go ahead and start taking some full swings and seeing how it flies at the target.
Tip: The best way to practice with a purpose on the driving range is to imagine you’re on the golf course, and think about a shot you had that was around the same yardage you hit your 7-iron.
Think about where you missed that shot and now focus on a swing to correct things to hit the shot you wanted to hit.
It’s easy to just blast shot-after-shot at the same pin until you burn a hole in your glove, but that’s not the best way to go about practicing your swing.
How to visualize golf shot
Every single pro golfer visualizes his/her shot before approaching the ball. It makes things easier on your brain before hitting each shot.
So, add this to your pre shot routine. When you’re standing behind the ball so ahead and visualize the shot you want to hit before taking a practice swing.
If you’re just starting out playing golf, you probably don’t have a certain way of hitting the ball and shaping your shots.
Don’t try and force yourself to hit a draw, or force yourself to hit a fade. Just take what your swing gives you and build on that.
Do some trial and error. Start by aiming right at the pin and see how the ball is coming off the club face.
For a right-hander, if it starts leaking off to the right after contact then go ahead and pick your target left of the pin and play a little fade.
Vice versa if it starts drawing too much then pick your target more right of the pin.
Tip: The two greatest golfers of all time (Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods) pick something on the ground slightly in front of them to align their shots to the intended target. Find a patch of grass 10 feet in front of your ball to check your alignment and make sure you’re aiming the shot where you want to be aiming.
Keep track of swing thoughts
Use the notes app in your phone to track swing thoughts that work. Remember what you did differently immediately after hitting a good shot, and start building your pre shot routine that way.
Golf is mental warfare and there’s 1,000 things that can go through your head before hitting a shot. Pin point the ones that are beneficial to you and improving your swing.
How far to hit a 7-iron?
Success has to be measured, and the best way to measure success in your golf swing is to hit each club around the same distance as much as possible.
It really comes down to swing speed.
- Lower swing speeds may hit a 7-iron 150-155 yards.
- Medium swing speeds hit it closer to 160-170 yards.
- Higher swing speeds are in the 175-185 range.
So find your yardage. Write it down and use this on the golf course.
Best Golf Stance for Hitting 7-Iron
For mid irons, we typically want to position our feet about shoulder width apart. This is common for most golfers and great for beginner golfers that makes for an easy guide when aligning the feet with the shoulders.
Time to take action
Now that we know the best club to practice golf swing, it’s time to get to work.
Don’t try and have any expectations starting out. We need to make golf as fun as possible, and playing with too many expectations takes all the fun out.
Tell us how it went for you by reaching out on Twitter and give us the news.
This article was written by Kyle Broughton. Kyle has been involved in golf for over 35 years, and has learned more than enough about the game of golf to pass along his expertise to amateur golfers across the globe.