Minecraft wiki entry for Combat, associated text: Another way to easily kill iron golems is to pillar up 3 or 4 blocks tall, away from any nearby blocks the golem could stand on to reach you, and attack while out of reach. Note: the golem might still knock you off a 3 block tower. If you see him moving towards you along the side of the pillar, move to the farthest edge away from him. A 4 block tower is completely safe, but the time window for a critical attack is very small, so it will take longer to kill the golem.