short iron
- noun
- Jargon
- He used his short iron to make a delicate shot onto the green.
- short irons and wedges
- short iron shots
- short iron to the green
Examples
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After his long drive, he chose a short iron for the approach to the hole.
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I feel that I am sacrificing some control with my short irons, but I haven't moved back to my old Titleist.
Blog text (21) -
Since the short irons are slotless, they can be cast from a softer material, 431 stainless steel.
Blog text (32) -
The player felt confident using his short iron for the tricky uphill shot.
Synonyms
A golf club with a high loft used to hit short, high approach shots
A golf club with a slanted face for hitting high shots toward the green
How Far
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'short' (small/short in length) modifies 'iron' (a golf club), so a learner can infer an iron with a shorter shaft or for shorter shots. This follows a basic adjective+noun pattern common across languages; while the term is domain-specific (golf), a B1 learner knowing both constituents would reasonably understand the intended meaning.
Etymology
The noun short iron comes from golf: it is an iron, a metal-headed club, that is short because it has a shorter shaft and a more tilted face, so it sends the ball on 'short, high shots' toward the green. That's why short iron means the club used for accurate, short shots to the green.