Why You Should Practice with Your Least Favorite Club

As a former college golfer, I’ve spent countless hours on the range battling clubs I just don’t vibe with—especially the long irons. My 4 and 5 irons are a real struggle for me. It’s not just about the technical aspects of hitting them, it’s the mental challenge of facing a club that doesn’t feel like it’s right for me intuitively. Part of that is accurate—my swing tends to be more shallow and longer clubs are just more difficult for me to hit naturally. But here’s the thing: avoiding your least favorite golf club only makes you more anxious about it when you do finally need it on the course. So instead of shying away from it, I’ve learned to embrace it and it’s made a huge difference in my game.

Here’s why practicing with your least favorite club (especially something as tricky as a long iron) is one of the best things you can do for your game. You can even make the process more enjoyable and effective.

 

Why You Should Practice with Your Least Favorite Club

You Never Know When You’ll Need It: Golf is unpredictable. You can try to plan to avoid your least favorite shots, but at some point, that 4-iron will be your only choice. Maybe it’s a long par-3, maybe it’s a tricky second shot on a dogleg, or maybe you just find yourself in a situation where your driver got you into trouble and now you need a reliable mid-to-long iron shot. Avoiding this club will only lead to frustration and panic when I find myself in one of those situations.

Build Confidence for the Rest of Your Game: Practicing with your weakest club doesn’t just improve that specific shot, it builds mental toughness and confidence throughout your entire game. When you can conquer a club you’ve always struggled with, you feel like you can conquer anything. I know improving my long irons will give me more versatility on the course, making me feel like I’ve got more tools in my bag.

Small Improvements Are Big Wins: Golf is all about incremental progress. Maybe you don’t start hitting your 5-iron 200 yards straight, but if you improve just a little bit with that club—say, you miss fewer fairways and greens with it, or you feel more comfortable hitting it when needed—that’s a huge win. And those small wins? They add up to big improvements over time

Face the Challenge Head-On: Avoidance may seem like a good solution, but it only exacerbates the issue. Facing the challenge directly, no matter how tough, is the quickest way to overcome it. I’ve come to realize that my 5-iron wasn’t as bad as I thought, and that with a little focus and practice it has become a valuable asset to my entire game.

Learn About Your Game: Sometimes the problem isn’t the club at all. It’s your swing. Or maybe it’s a mental block. Maybe you’ve had a bad experience with that club in the past, and that memory is affecting your performance today. Practicing with your least favorite club allows you to dig deeper into the root cause of your discomfort. Is it the steepness of your swing that makes hitting a shallow club like the 5-iron so difficult? Or is it simply a bad mental association? By digging into it, you can uncover details about your swing or your game that you didn’t know before, which is the key to improvement.

Strategies to Improve with Your Least Favorite Club

1. Pick 3-4 Drills That You Enjoy and Make a Game of It: The key to making practice with your least favorite club fun is to incorporate drills you enjoy. Don’t just stand there and beat balls with no intention. Create a challenge for yourself! For example, try hitting three solid shots in a row, or see if you can land your 5-iron within a certain distance of a target. Gamifying your practice makes it less of a chore and more of a rewarding challenge.

2. Practice with a Friend: Practicing with a friend can make things more relaxed and fun. Not only does it add a social element to your practice, but you can also ask for feedback or tips on how they tackle similar problems with their own clubs. Plus, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone.

3. Try Different Types of Clubs: Sometimes, it’s not your swing—it’s the club. If you’ve been using a particular 4 or 5-iron for example and it just doesn’t feel right, try switching it up. Different brands, loft degrees, shaft flexes, or even club designs might suit your swing better. If you haven’t experimented with different clubs, it’s worth exploring other options, especially if you feel frustrated with your current setup.

4. Film Your Swing and Track Progress: It can be really hard to assess what’s going wrong with your swing just by feeling it out. That’s why I recommend filming your swing—particularly when practicing with your least favorite clubs. Using an app like the V1 GOLF App can help you track your progress over time. You’ll see the improvements (or identify areas for adjustment) much more clearly, which can be incredibly motivating.

5. Consider Strategy on the Course Sometimes, avoiding a specific club can actually be the right strategy, especially when you’re under pressure. If you’re feeling shaky with the 5-iron, you might decide to club down or even go for a different shot altogether. However, keep in mind that just because you’re avoiding it now doesn’t mean you can’t improve for the future. There’s always room for growth, and just because you’re not using it now doesn’t mean it’s not worth practicing.

There’s something deeply satisfying about overcoming a challenge. Practicing with my least favorite clubs teaches me valuable lessons about my game. You don’t have to love every club in your bag, but you do have to be prepared to use them when the situation calls for it. And more importantly, learning to improve with that club will boost your overall confidence and bring you closer to a well-rounded, consistent game.

So next time you’re on the range, pick up that club that doesn’t feel right naturally, take a deep breath, and embrace the challenge. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You never know—you might just end up loving it. Or at least, you’ll feel a lot more confident when you do have to pull it out on the course.

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