The offseason doesn’t have to be a dormant stretch where your clubs gather dust and your game slides into hibernation. In fact, some of the most valuable insights you’ll ever gain about your tendencies — and even your equipment — can happen when you’re not on the course at all. I was reminded of that recently when I decided — more out of curiosity than anything — to run through an indoor combine focused on my long irons.
I’ve played long enough to trust my patterns … or at least what I thought they were. I’ve always believed my long irons were a strength, but I wanted to make sure they were still the right tools for the job. So I set up my Full Swing KIT Launch Monitor at a local indoor bay to get a clear, honest look at what those clubs were really doing.
After a short warm-up, reality set in. My actual carry distances didn’t quite match the yardages I’d been playing. My 5-iron — the club I rely on for those stock 175-yard approaches — wasn’t traveling as far as I expected. Not consistently, anyway. The combine exposed a noticeable gap between my best swings and my average ones, something that’s easy to overlook on the course when adrenaline or even luck can smooth over inconsistencies.
Dispersion told an even more interesting story. Shot after shot, a pattern emerged: a tight, predictable fade with my 6-iron, 5-iron and even with my hybrid. Then I got to my 3-wood, and that trusty fade disappeared. It wasn’t exactly disastrous, but it did help explain why long approaches always felt like a bit of a gamble on the course.
The real breakthrough came with the gapping. I assumed the issue would be between my irons and my hybrid, but those numbers were actually dialed. The real problem was the gulf between my hybrid and my fairway wood — a gap wide enough to disrupt my strategy and force awkward decisions. Seeing that mismatch on-screen made the fix obvious: adjust my setup and fill that yardage void with a properly fit hybrid or fairway wood.
That’s the beauty of an off-season combine. As an experienced player, I’m not trying to reinvent my swing. I’m refining, validating, and uncovering things I’d never notice during a casual range session. The quiet months give you space to do that work.
So if you think you know your long irons as well as I thought I knew mine, spend an hour indoors with a launch monitor. You might be surprised by how much there still is to learn.
Full Swing KIT Launch Monitor
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