Breaking 100 consistently

Hi all,

I currently play off 32, and struggle to consistently break 100. I usually hit between 98-106. I think my problem is i can't seem to strike the ball consistently, and I usually pull my drives and they only reach 150-200 yards on a decent strike. My main problem is striking woods/hybrids off the ground. I can't get any height on them whatsoever and they only reach 100-150 yards. However i have been striking my irons very well, and can hit my 6i pretty much the same distance as my 3w or 3hy. I consider my short game pretty sharp, and in my last round I only 3-putted 2-3 times and sunk some 1-putts.

Any tips on improving my ballstriking on longer clubs/ woods?

Any other tips would be very much appreciated.

Looking forward to hearing the responses. I swear you have the exact same scores and issues, minus the driver, as I do. I was about to post the exact same questions myself.

I play with a few guys that consistently hit around 100.  There's three big issues that they both have in common.

They don't keep their spine still.  Theyll say "I lifted my head" as their ball bounces 20 yards ahead of them.  My response is "No you moved your spine".

Neither is good at weight transfer.  That includes falling back on the down swing or some weird jumping motion at impact (similar to Bubba Watson).  They hit A LOT of fat shots and their common miss is a low pull hook or a short flyer.

And lastly their backswings are too long (way past parallel) and way to quick.

This is what separates me from them and I cant remember the last time I hit 100.

Keep working on your short game and when your long game starts to get better the scores will drop alot.

Short term don't play with anything lower than a 6iron (or 5i if you can hit it). If you are hitting your 6 iron 150 with good accuracy go with it. Obviously if you are in a place with forced carries, you have adjust. And yes it is going to be impossible to shoot much better than a low 80s on most courses if your long club only goes 150. The advantage of doing this is that you can think about your shot and where you want it to go rather than spending the whole round going I hope I hit this well. Not to mention playing from the fairway is a lot easier.

Long term, you need to figure out why you can't hit the longer clubs. Pulling drives tends to be a bad swing (out to in) but there are a bunch of reasons why that could be happening. Either post a video or see a pro. I am guessing your either topping your woods or hitting them fat. If I had to guess you probably have weight shift issues (leaving on the right foot) and are swing way too fast.

I used to have this problem and when I got serious about golf I learned a few things about my stance and swing that may help you.

1. Your back.  I never realized how not straight my back was until I started recording myself at the range.  Keeping your spine straight while leaning over was key to giving me a very consistent swing.  I also had to focus on not dropping my head towards the ball.  You can keep your eyes on the ball without dropping your head.

2. Gripping.  I use two different grips (probably not a good thing).  One for my irons and one for my driver/woods.  Before, I would use the same grip for both my irons and driver/woods.  This resulted in amazing iron shots but unpredictable driver/woods shots.  This frustrated me to the point where I was using my 3i to tee off.  What I did was change my grip to be very consistent for my irons and driver/woods.

3. Practice.  The old saying "practice makes perfect" is true.  As a prior serious athlete in high school and college I loved practice, because I knew I was getting better because of it.  I look at golf the same way.  I started hitting the range 2-3 times a week regularly, sometimes even 4 times a week.  But, the key is not to just hit balls with your driver.  The key for me was to have a training plan.  Every time I hit the range there's an agenda in my head, what I want to work on.  Some days I'll focus solely on short irons, then others long irons.  Other days I'll focus only on property grip, swing, and stance.  This way I'm not worried about how far the ball goes because that comes in time once you have the swing down.  Also, never swing at the range like you're at a shooting range.  Take your time between shots to relax and focus.  I try to focus on one ball at a time instead of thinking "Oh, I have 50 more balls...if this shot goes right I don't care".

3a. Range training plan.  One thing I'll never understand are the folks who don't have their swing down yet and they start off the range with their driver.  It's the hardest club to swing and if you don't have a good swing it's the worse club to start a session with.  I always start with my 9i and work my way down to 3i.  And, I hit the proper amount of balls for the club I'm working with.  For instance I warm up hitting 3 balls with my 9i, then 4 with my 8i, 5 with my 7i, etc.  Because longer clubs are harder to swing I give more balls to them.  It just works for me.

4. Select clubs smart.  If you're unsure of your 4i, then hit your 6i.  When I'm on the course and my 3i is not working for me I always fall back to my trusty 6i that I can hit 175-195 regularly.  I'd rather be out of the woods and short 30 yards than in the woods.  Shot selection is key when playing on the course and I've learned to sacrifice distance for accuracy - cause accuracy wins :)

Everyone is different so my experiences may not work for you, but they really changed my game tremendously.

I agree with Hankster.  If you are having troubles with a club, don't use it on the course.  Take it to the range and figure it out there.  When you get comfortable with it on the range, then take it back to the course.

I think you'd gain the most by working on your driver.  Adding the distance there will leave you fewer of those long irons to deal with.  I was going through the same thing recently, couldn't get any distance or accuracy with my driver.  Ended up changing my grip and it made a night and day difference.  Added around 30 yards of distance, and that can be 2-3 club lengths difference on an approach shot.

Hankster, what is so different about your driver's grip and your iron grip?

thanks for all of your responses

The story behind my two grips is long and complicated.  In short, my iron grip consists of more hand contact with the club whereas my driver grip has less contact and is on a slightly different angle (fingers are tighter on driver, more spread out on iron).  Also, my thumb placement for my irons and driver are different.  Both my thumbs are directly in line in my iron grip, my thumbs are slightly off-set in my driver/wood grip.  The latter is the more "correct" grip if you look at instructional videos.

I had to adjust my grip long ago because of several factors, specifically the length of my arms.  I'm 5'10" with very long arms, I can almost touch the top of my knee without bending over.  As you can imagine this effects the distance the ball is from your body.  Because of my arm length I've worked out a system where I grip my irons with the ability to make it very compact.  My iron swing is extremely sort and fast.  My driver swing is long and a bit slower.  The slower swing does decrease distance, but the accuracy is pretty good.  On a good day my driver goes 240-250 (TM Burner).  At the range I've managed 270 with the driver, but it's not consistent.

The other adjustment I had to make was for my back.  I'm a fireman and I threw my back out four years ago, then again last year.  I've had to change my grip so I can get the proper angle with the club without injuring my lower back.  For those who have had back problems, you know once you have them they never go away.  This was a huge reason why I changed grips for my driver.

I'm pretty happy with my swing even though they're not perfect.  They're close enough for me :)  Out of everything the thing that helped me knock off several strokes was the range.  I got in there and practiced - a lot.  When I'm working on something serious, I go off to the corner or the top level where there's no one around and just practice.  Also, filming has been so key for me.  It's ridiculous how much I've learned about my swing just by looking at myself.

If you have not, I highly recommend investing in one or two lessons. Yes they are expensive and yes they require practice to put what youve learned to good use on the course but if you have never taken one I think youd be pleasantly suprised at how drastically 1 lesson can help someone with a high hcp.

I totally agree with everything in Hanksters post.

I use a much stronger grip on my driver and hybrids and can rip the hybrids off the tee almost as far at the 3 low handicappers I play with hit their drivers ...and it's straight.

I only ever take 3 or 4 clubs to the range that stops me from using everything.  I had 5 days just working on my drivers and hybrids . Now i am back to woking on my chipping for the next few days.

Change your thought process not  "what will get me to the green"  but  "what club will keep me out of trouble"

I recently broke 90 for the first time and it's was purely down to hitting fairways and not getting into trouble

There are a few ways to modify your grip to adjust your shot. You can weaken or strengthen your grip, i usually like going strong enough for a push draw, then weaken it for a push fade. Or you can just hold the club tighter in the left hand, this will keep the club from closing down and yuo can hit a fade that way as well.

Course management just take practice. Know when to punch out, know when to go for it, know how to lay up to a specific yardage. But alot of this comes with knowing your swing. That takes consistancy, and practice on the range, actually good practice with a purpose. Not just bashing balls.

I have 2 major problems that keep me from steadily improving.  That is my head and iconsistent swings, which believe it or not go hand in hand.  The thing is I know I can play better than the high 90's or low 100's that I'll put up time to time.  I know this from breaking 90 a few times...which I call luck.  I've only been playing a year, so I know your pains....

It's hard to take advice from me, because I don't consider myself good enough to give advice, but here you go....

I never hit 3w off the mat..I know it's bad for me.  I'll hit a 4i and work my way in.  The best investment and now learning how to swing it is my TM Rescue...swing like a 5i was the best advice and by far most reliable results.

I also had the same driver problems when I got started.  Here is what worked best for me.  I choked down about an inch on my driver, not sway on backswing and stopped trying to kill it.  I slowed down my swing dramatically and focused on finishing my swing with a full turn.  My problem were slices and they still come out, but less often.  Maybe I get more control from the driver, or maybe it's mental, but I'm hitting at least 50% more fairways and saw major distance increases.

My short game unlike yours, is terrible.  I know where it gets fixed and I always have excuses why I can't spend the time...so until I get that worked ot some, I'll be in your boat.

I played my best golf when I played 2x at least per week with multiple times at the range.  Now I'm playing 1x per week with no range and of course the difference is there (thanks Texas heat!)

So, practice, get your mind right and set some milestones to hit...even if they are small.  Sometimes is better to celebrate the small things...

Now, somebody come give me a new back and 15 years experience to catch me up!

I'm in kinda  the same boat - been working on the driver - hitting it 3/4 power to keep it on the fairway.      My problem is the short game - my full wedges are pretty good, its the chipping from the deep rough around the green that is KILLING me.     Amazing how difficult it is to chip when you can barely see the ball in the deep rough - maybe my course is tougher than most, but this is a must have shot & I don't have it yet.      I've got to practice only the short range stuff for the near future ...