Where to go from here...(back up and punt)

Help....I'm exhausted. I think I've destroyed what little game I had trying to "keep up with the Joneses". I'll be as brief as possible.

I've been playing 25 years, badly. Used to have a huge slice, tamed it somewhat. Took a lesson here and there. Got as good as I've ever played a few years back. Brought the handicap down to 15, shoot in the mid 80's fairly often throwing in a low 80 here and there. I play a pretty weak grip, with a very armsy/handsy swing. I strike my driver and FW woods good. My irons are bad. I hit a 7 iron 130-135, anything longer than 6 is a waste of time.


Anyway, I'm improving. My short game is where I score, one putting very often.

Well, it seems testosterone has reared its ugly head. My playing buddys are are longer than me with their irons. It drives me crazy. I'm 44. I have one friend that hits about 2 clubs stronger, he's my age. The other buddy is 3.5 clubs stronger, he's 48. IT DRIVES ME CRAZY. Both are built about like me, overweight, not very flexible. They obviously strike the ball better than I do.
Anyway, I've went though lessons, grip changes, Clubs, ect, ect, trying to get close to them.

Basically what I've done is destroy what game I had with my irons. My weak, but consistant 135 yard 7 iron is history...I don't strike an iron. Period.

After my latest, greatest, club purchase, that resulted in no improvement, I've faced reality. I gotta play what I have. I had a back issue at 40 that has really zapped what little flex I had. I completely detached my left achilles in '96. I'm a lefty so thats the back leg. It's really hard to transfer on that weak azz calf.

I hope to get back to my 135 seven iron.

Heres what I'm getting at. After 20 years, can you really change your swing? How many thousand balls would it take? Should I just play what I have and work on flexibility, maybe lose a little gut?

Or make one more attempt at a swing correction that gets me hitting down on the ball(I'm a sweeper)?

Or, sell all my crap on ebay, take up gardening.....

your golf pro's and your equipment retailers are failing you miserably...
you should find someone that will address your physical limitations... get you on a launch monitor and address all the distance gaps to properly fit you with (im thinking) super game improvement senior flex clubs with lots of woods and hybrids...
if your short game doesnt need help... its getting to the point where you can utilize your short game that should be the primary concern for your pro/fitter

What will I play with when I get old? I'm not ready to face the fact that I CAN'T hit an iron. Maybe I should.

You should go with
Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, 7 wood/21º hybrid, 9 wood/24º hybrid, 6,7,8,9,w,uw,sw,lw,putter

or

get irons with wide soles

I carry, Driver, 3W, 5W, 4H, 3H, 5,6,7,8,9, PW 52, 56. I tried the fusions, not much improvement(if any).

I was like you, medical issues, etc. But after age 50 I have added about 10 yards to my irons. Pilates to ease my back issues. Acceptance of flexibility limitations, forced me to focus on simplifying my swing. I am not naturally handsy so your solution would be different. Read your perfect swing and see if the handsy player profile has anything you can use. Jumping around to different fixes might have led you into trying to do things that don't fit you.

That's a pretty good suggestion. I'd only add that a lot of 7 woods would be in the 21* range anyway. A perfect set for you, without ever having seen you swing, would be the Mizuno MX100s. They are not forged BUT they would fit right into your game. You can check the specs on their website. The irons have nice wide soles, and I think a graphite set would help you launch that ball with a little more clubhead speed than you are currently getting. I believe 4 thru AW is $599 steel and $699 graphite. The 4 & 5 hybrids have graphite in either set, and these hybids have the exact same shaft length as they irons they replace.

I'd try... Driver,3 & 5 woods you currently have then... MX 100s 4 & 5 hybrid, 6,7,8,9,PW,AW in a light flex SW & LW You could maybe add a 7 wood and drop a wedge. The hybrids in this set are bendable for loft and lie so you could get the perfect gaps. You could even drop the 6 iron and bend the 26* 5 hybrid weak and the 33* 7 iron strong. I'd also consider a Driver, 4 wood, 7 wood setup. The point is, play to your strengths. If you hit woods well you could carry them down to the 7 iron. And since you are not that long I sould worry about having 5* or even 6* gaps above the 7 iron. If I was your pro I'd say try this 13 club setup... Driver 15* 3 wood 19* 5 wood 22* 4 hybrid 27* 5 hybrid 32* 7 iron 37* 8 iron 41* 9 iron 45* PW 50* AW 55* SW 60* LW PUTTER That leaves you another slot for a chipper, 64* wedge, another driver whatever. Also on my short list I'd put the Cobra S9 II. They have an awesome feel feel with the stock Nippon shafts, and they hit high and long. Don't worry about only hitting your 7 iron 135. Depending on your iron specs, that truely isn't that short compared to the average golfer. I only hit my 34* 7 iron 145. I could hit it 165, but it would be straight about 1 out of 10 times. One of the most consistant golfers I ever played with hit an 8 iron from 100 and a 5 wood from 150. Good Luck!

senior flex shaft and a lower compression ball will help with distance....if your using prov1 for example you wont have ample ss to compress the ball, take a test and buy the softest compression ball http://www.golfballselector.com/pdf/...2.08_FINAL.pdf
look here for a guide on the compressions of balls, this could add 10 yards to your distance if your using a ball made for higher ss

Hi,

Maybe you should invest time (1 year?) in new swing like stack&tilt; or classic one plane .. both are more "front =right 4U" leg oriented. If you have a solid base with both legs (55:40 or 60:40) at adress then pivoting shouldn't be a big problem.

regards,