Having Trouble switching clubs iron to hybrid to Driver

[narshadda]

Hey gang,

New to the forum. Glad to be here, you all seem like a great bunch.
I have been playing for about two months and just recently started making solid contact. I haven't been on the course yet, mainly because I had a pretty wacky shoulder injury which kept me from swinging for almost a month but after a cortizone shot I feel much better. (MRI is on the way too.)

None-the-less, I am having trouble switching between clubs at the range.
I usually warm up with a 56 deg. sand wedge which I hit pretty good as of late. Then I move up to a PW then 9 then 8 then 7 etc..

I am usually pretty solid until I get the the 3-4 hybrids (Adams i-woods). I can't hit those to save my life. But I just recently got them and haven't spent the necessary time practicing.

The Driver I just started hitting and I have been starting to slowly hit the crap out of the ball. I stll have a slice 6 times out of ten but it has been increasingly getting better.

Today when I switched from the driver to a 7 iron I was totally out of wack, I missed the ball every time, topped it the others etc... My Adams idea set fell so heavy after hitting the driver as well.

My driver is pretty cheap I bought it used for $10 but it is pretty decent I guess, a 9.5 degree loft and graphite shaft.

Is this another normal thing I have to work through or should I consider getting a new driver, maybe even the original from the Adams set to keep consistent swing weights?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated.

Sorry for the long post,

Narsh

[Upright]

It's difficult to say without seeing a few swings, but it seems like your problem may be coming from inconsistant ball placement in your stance. For example, due to short irons being shorter, the ball has to be closer to you and more in the center (compared to your feet) in order to reach the ball with a correct swing path. I like to feel as if my driver is lined up about the width of my foot inside the left heel, and a pitching wedge is closer and almost right in the middle.

A good start is to establish the spot where you most consistantly strike the ball well with the middle club in your bag and work from there.

Ben Hogan's "Five Lessons" is a great guideline for explaining how setup works, complete with diagrams etc. It's a bit clinical, but I found it helpful in understanding the basic mechanics of the swing. Everybody may not swing like Hogan, but the fundamentals work well with all body types.

Good luck!

[narshadda]

Hey Thanks a lot!

I can see where that is part of my problem. I'll see if I can get my hands on that book. The only one I have taken a look at so far is Golf For Dummies that I got as a gift.

One thing I didn't understand was where you said:

"I like to feel as if my driver is lined up about the width of my foot inside the left heel, and a pitching wedge is closer and almost right in the middle."

Do you mean:

LF-------O-----------------RF

for the driver, and:

LF----------O--------------RF

for PW? Where LF = left foot, O = ball, and RF = Right Foot?

I have always had a problem judging how far out in front of me the ball should be, I guess I have to reguage my club handle distance from my waist line.

Either way thanks so much, I'll give that a shot.

-Narsh

[Upright]

Yes that's a great way to illustrate it. While everybody developes their own setup routine, I usually go about it this way:

I pick a target line. Then when I step up to the ball I put the club down behind it with my feet together and the ball in the middle. To take a stance if I'm hitting a driver, I simply move my left (to the left) about four inches (or about the width of my actual shoe). Then I just take a comfortable stance and let my right foot fall where it wants to and I feel balanced. For the wedge I step half the width of my stance with the left foot first, then the right. The 5-iron would be somewhere in between the driver ball position and that for the wedge.

The important thing is to use your own version of some kind of way to measure a consitant setup to the ball with each club, but stay relaxed and try not to be too rigid. Staying relaxed throughout a swing (and resisting a tendency to try to kill the ball, like I do 9 times out of ten haha) is also a necessary element to consistant ball striking. Tense muscles are more difficult to control.

And hey, just keep playing. It's possible to over-practice. The best lessons are learned out there on the course. Nothing beats on-the-job training.

Hit'em good.

[narshadda]

Thanks again!
I'll definitely give that a shot the next time I go out. And thanks so much for taking the time to answer.

-Narsh

[narshadda]

Upright,

I tried what you said and it worked. I went out and hit some targets with a buddy of mine at the range, then started to hit the driver for practice. I actually hit his club which he had just put an extra stiff shaft on and ended up hitting the driver for about 45 minutes. It felt so good to hit the crap out of the ball that I just couldn't stop. :)
When I went back down to the wedges and concentrated on finesse I slowly got back to my groove. I did pick up another problem with the driver which was lifting my left heel up quite a bit. I played baseball all my life so those habits are going to be hard to brake. Either way...
The next time I went out I played a hole (even though I have never been out on a course.) but I hit the driver about 270yds then went to a 6iron followed by the pitching wedge and I was doing fine. Felt great too.
Thanks again for the great advice. Not only that but my ball placement has gotten better and my slice is finally going away. I only slice 3 out of 10 which is a monsterous improvement for me.

Thanks a million,
Narsh