Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
driving iron

driving iron

1 8.2
A long golf club with an almost straight face used to hit the ball far from the tee or fairway
  • noun
  • /ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈaɪərn/
  • Jargon
translation icon : hierro de conducción
  • a hybrid driving iron

Examples

  • The last time, I had swung back with a driving iron, my eye on the fairway rather than the ball, and thwunked my mother in the forehead, knocking her out.

    Academic text (1991)

  • He used his driving iron to hit the ball off the tee with great accuracy.

  • Tiger Woods showcased his skills by hitting a long shot with a driving iron during the tournament.

  • For the second hole, he chose a driving iron to navigate the distance from the fairway.

Synonyms

long iron
vsdriving iron
  • Specialized
1 6.3

A golf club with a long shaft and angled face for hitting long, low shots

focuses on hitting from the tee or fairway instead of only low trajectory shots
one iron
vsdriving iron
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A long golf club used to hit the ball far and low

is intended for hitting from the tee or fairway rather than only low shots
two iron
vsdriving iron
  • Specialized
7.2

A golf club with a flat face used to hit long shots

is used specifically to hit the ball off the tee or fairway

Surface Forms

driving iron singular
driving irons plural

Morphology

driving + iron

The meaning is directly composed from 'driving' (the act of hitting the ball off the tee) and 'iron' (a type of golf club), so it denotes an iron used for driving. Although it is specialized golf vocabulary, the noun‑noun compounding is transparent and a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the basic meaning.

Etymology

Driving iron comes from two simple ideas: driving (to 'drive', or hit the ball far) and iron (a metal golf club). Because it is a long, metal club with a very straight face used to make low, long, accurate shots 'off the tee', the name tells you it is the iron made for driving today.