When to Use Which Iron in Golf

Choosing the right iron feels like one of golf’s big secrets, but it’s actually a skill you can learn and master. Standing in the fairway, staring at the flag, and feeling total certainty about the club in your hand is a huge confidence booster. This guide will walk you through exactly how to select the right iron, starting with the fundamentals and moving on to the smarter, strategy-based thinking that helps you score lower.

Understanding Your Irons: What Do the Numbers Mean?

First, let’s get the basics straight. The number stamped on the bottom of your iron corresponds directly to its loft. Loft is the angle of the clubface relative to the shaft. It's the most important factor in determining how high and how far the ball will go.

It works like this:

• A lower number (like a 4-iron) means less loft. Less loft produces a lower, more penetrating ball flight that travels a longer distance.
• A higher number (like a 9-iron) means more loft. More loft produces a higher, softer-landing ball flight that travels a shorter distance.

Your iron set is built to create predictable distance gaps between each club. Generally, you can expect about a 10-15 yard difference between each iron. We can group them into three simple categories:

Long Irons (2, 3, 4-iron)

These are your distance clubs. With less loft (typically 18-24 degrees), they're designed for long shots off the fairway on par 5s or long par 4s. They're also a great option for tee shots on tight par 4s where a driver might get you into trouble. Because of their lower loft, they can be more challenging to hit consistently for many golfers, which is why many players have replaced them with easier-to-hit hybrids. If you carry them, they're pure distance machines.

Mid Irons (5, 6, 7-iron)

These are the backbone of your iron set - the true workhorses. Their combination of distance and control (lofts from roughly 25-34 degrees) makes them the most frequently used clubs for approach shots into the green. Whether you’re 150, 160, or 170 yards out, one of your mid-irons is likely the perfect tool for the job. They offer a great balance of power to reach the green and enough loft to get the ball to stop.

Short Irons (8, 9-iron, Pitching Wedge)

Now we're in the scoring zone. These clubs (lofts from about 35-46 degrees) are all about precision. You'll use them for shorter approach shots where accuracy is everything. The high loft produces a high ball flight that lands steeply, helping it stop quickly on the green. This "stopping power" is what allows you to attack flags and set up shorter putts. Your wedges are your primary weapons from 125 yards and in.

The Single Most Important Step: Know Your Yardages

If you don’t know how far you actually hit each club, choosing the right one is pure guesswork. The distance a tour pro hits their 7-iron is irrelevant. The number printed on a yardage marker is useless unless you know what club in your bag corresponds to that distance. Finding your personal yardages isn't hard, and it's the foundation of smart golf.

Here’s a simple process to figure it out:

1. Go to a driving range or use a launch monitor. A range with yardage markers is fine, but a launch monitor will give you the most accurate data, specifically your "carry" distance, which is the most important number.
2. Warm up properly. Don't start measuring distances with your very first swings. Hit some balls to get loose.
3. Hit 10 good shots with each iron. Grab your 7-iron and hit 10 shots, focusing on making your normal, comfortable swing. Don't try to smash them harder than usual. The goal is to find your average distance, not your absolute maximum.
4. Toss out the bad ones. Every golfer has mishits. If you thin one, hit one fat, or hook it badly, ignore that shot. We're looking for the distance of your solid, average strikes.
5. Find your average carry distance. Look at the 7-8 solid shots and find the average distance they carried in the air. For example, if your good 7-iron shots landed between 148 and 153 yards, your carry distance is a solid 150 yards.
6. Repeat for every iron. Go through your entire iron set, from your longest iron to your pitching wedge.
7. Write it down! Create a simple chart on a piece of paper, in your phone’s notes app, or on a yardage book. It should look something like this:
   • 5-iron: 175 yards
   • 6-iron: 165 yards
   • 7-iron: 150 yards
   • 8-iron: 140 yards
   • 9-iron: 128 yards
   • PW: 115 yards
   This list is now your bible. You finally know which club to pull based on a specific yardage.

Beyond Yardage: The Real Art of Club Selection

Knowing your stock 150-yard club is step one. But great golfers know that the yardage on the sprinkler head is just a starting point. There are several other factors you need to consider before making a final decision. Thinking through these will elevate your game from just hitting balls to playing smart golf.

Factor #1: The Lie of the Ball

How the ball is sitting has a huge influence on your shot. Is it sitting perfectly on the fairway, or is it buried in thick grass?

• Fairway: This is a green light. The clean lie allows you to take any club you want and make your normal swing.
• Thick Rough: Tall, thick grass will grab the clubhead (hosel), slowing it down and twisting the face shut. This often results in a shot that comes out lower and shorter than expected, sometimes with a left-pulling "hook" tendency. You’ll usually need to take more club (e.g., a 7-iron instead of an 8) and swing firmly to power through it. A lower-lofted club (like a 4-iron) can be very difficult to launch from heavy rough, a higher-lofted mid or short iron is often a safer choice.
• Uphill Lie: When the ball is on a slope with your front foot higher than your back foot, the slope effectively adds loft to your club. A 7-iron will fly more like an 8-iron. You generally need to take less club (or one club stronger) to compensate.
• Downhill Lie: When your back foot is higher, the slope de-lofts the clubface. A 7-iron will launch lower and run out more, like a 6-iron. Here, you often need to take more loft (e.g., a 9-iron for 8-iron distance) to prevent the ball from flying over the green.

Factor #2: Weather Conditions

Never ignore the weather, especially the wind. It can easily change the effective distance of a shot by 10, 20, or even 30 yards.

• Into the Wind (Headwind): This is the most common adjustment. The wind will reduce your carry distance and can make the ball balloon upwards. A standard rule of thumb is to add one club for every 10 mph of headwind. So, if you have a 150-yard shot into a 10 mph wind, you would hit your 165-yard club (a 6-iron instead of a 7-iron). The goal is to hit a smoother, lower-trajectory shot that bores through the wind.
• Wind at Your Back (Tailwind): This will increase your distance. Help is good, but you need to account for it. Take less club. It’s also important to remember that the ball will be harder to stop, so plan for it to land short and release towards the pin.
• Rain: Heavy, damp air makes the ball fly a little shorter. Wet clubfaces can also reduce spin, making it harder to control distance and stop the ball on the green. Usually, taking one extra club is a good place to start.

Factor #3: The Pin Position and Target

Where is the flag? Is it sitting peacefully in the middle of the green, or is it a "sucker pin" - tucked dangerously behind a deep bunker or right next to the water?

This is where course management comes in. Pros rarely fire directly at a dangerous pin. Instead, they play to the fat, safe part of the green. If you have 150 yards to a pin that’s tucked in the back-right corner behind a bunker, the smart play isn’t a perfect 7-iron at the flag. The smart play is aiming for the center of the green - a 145-yard shot - giving you a 9-iron and leaving you a 20-foot putt. A 20-foot putt is always, always better than a shot from the sand.

Always ask yourself: "What is the safest place to land this ball and still have a chance at birdie or a certain par?" More often than not, it’s the middle of the green.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right iron boils down to a two-step process: know your baseline distances cold, and then adjust based on the real-world conditions of the shot in front of you. By moving beyond just the yardage and considering the lie, wind, and target, you transform from someone who simply hits golf balls into someone who truly plays the game.

We know that thinking through these variables on a busy course can feel overwhelming at first. To help golfers make these decisions with more clarity and speed, we developed Caddie AI. It acts as an expert caddie right in your pocket. You can tell it the yardage, the wind, and the lie - or even easier, just snap a quick photo of your ball's situation. Our AI will analyze the a number of factors and give you a smart club recommendation and strategy in seconds, removing the guesswork so you can step up and swing with 100% confidence.