Tips for regaining a consistent swing

[RainmanP]

This is my first post here, and I have to tell you that looking at the handicaps you guys carry I am a little intimidated to even pose my question! I recently picked up the sticks again after a 12-13 yr hiatus. I was never great, but I hit the ball pretty well and shot in the mid to high 80s. I am actually pretty happy that I am still able to hit the ball pretty well, just not often enough! As is usually the case I do better with the shorter irons and still have a bit of a short game. Hideous or non-existent shots with longer clubs are keeping me close to 100 than 90.

I guess it gets down to focus. I know what to do and I know how to do it. Too often it seems like I just have a concentration lapse at the last instant, and there go the gorilla arms, not waiting for the hips. Any suggestions for maintaining that focus would be appreciated.

Oh, I have been going to the range and do reasonably well there. It's when I step up to the ball for real that things can go south. Maybe I just need to stick with nothing longer than a 5 iron until I get back in the groove. I have always had confidence in 4-5 and shorter. When struggling I used to play a round with 5-iron and putter to remove temptation.
Thanks,
Raymond

[gas_can]

Oh, I have been going to the range and do reasonably well there. It's when I step up to the ball for real that things can go south. Maybe I just need to stick with nothing longer than a 5 iron until I get back in the groove. I have always had confidence in 4-5 and shorter. When struggling I used to play a round with 5-iron and putter to remove temptation.
Thanks,
Raymond


It really sounds like you've got a lot of the answers for yourself, that's some very sage advice I'd have reccomended to you. It's pretty obvious you've got quite a bit of experience in the sport.

Swing unseen I've got a couple of suggestions. One suggestion I'd make is shorten your backswing. Think 10:30 on the way back, not parallel. I was having a fit of pushes with my irons and wedges a couple of months ago, and my pro suggested shortening my backswing, and it helped my ballstriking tremendously without costing a bit of yardage.

When I'm struggling, I've got the opposite problem of yours, my arms lag behind my hips and the clubface is wide open at impact. As far as keeping your arms and hips connected two things to pay attention to are balance and weight shift.

Try making some half swings (9:00 - 3:00) with your feet together. That will help you feel where your arms are getting through and aid in your balance. Another one to try is half swings on just one foot. If you fall away from the target, you've probably got a reverse pivot, you want to fall towards the target to make sure you're hips are getting through to your left side.

You also may want to browse through the blog's tips (http://thesandtrap.com/archives/playing_tips/) and see if you can apply some of them, there's quite a few to choose from.

Hope that helps, and welcome !!! :banana: :banana:

[RainmanP]

Thanks for the ideas! I will give them a try. I do hit the ball better with a less than full swing, but you know how it is - you step up to that little white thing, and King Kong takes over! And the longer the club the more he likes it. I will work on both the balance and a 10:30 swing. In a week or two I will bore you with the results. :-D

[gripitandripit]

Welcome to the boards, Raymond.

I see a lot of people at the range and they immediately grab the driver. I don't know your routine at the range but I always start with the shortest club and work my way up to the long ones. First, it helps me get loose by swinging shorter clubs and second, theres little change going from club to club. I would suggest starting by hitting 8 or so wedges, then eight 9i, eight 8i, eight 7i and so on. When you go from your 5 iron (which you said you hit o.k.) to your 4 iron (struggle) it won't seem like such a drastic change.

Seems simplistic but it helps me a lot.............Tom

[iacas]

Starting with the shorter clubs also helps you stay within rhythm. When my rhythm gets out of sync, I drop back to a 7I or even a PW or something, sometimes even hitting 3/4 shots.

Rhythm is really important with the long irons. As Annika loves to say, she swings every club at the same rhythm, and if you watch her swing, you see it.