Dresilved

I think my distance for irons and wedges is above average. And to be fair when I quoted 140 I was rounding up according to back of green measurements. Around June of this year I was beginning to overshoot greens quite a lot, on all irons and wedges, so I had to start talking measurements to the back, especially when the pin is back. 140 is definitely the cutoff point for a 9, A well struck 9 will definitely overshoot, and I'm not good at knocking clubs down, it feels clumsy to me, so a PW becomes the club for anything under 140 down to around 128. Thats just my way of thinking when I think of club distances.

There is no chance I will give up on the driver. The 3 wood is not a band-aid, it is a platform, that's giving me the opportunity to continue to dial in my irons. At some point I will redress the driver, but for now, I don't need it. One thing at a time

You think 240 with a 3W is tour distance? 140 with a PW, really?

At 240/45Y, I certainly wouldn't call my 3W a Henrik Stenson. It keeps me in play more, my driver has me in the fairway about 50% of the time which isn't terrible, but with the 3 its more like 70%, I would say those numbers are not much different from most golfers at the same level. But no, I have not been fitted for the driver. It'll happen when the time feels right for change

To be honest, I have the feeling that its the driver itself, or I should say the shaft. Its an old driver, old technology and is regular flex shaft, everything else in my bag is stiff, its on my to-do list to get fitted with something new and more current. I've put it off, cause I don't want to mess with what I have going on at the moment. When my game goes sideways/backwards, which invariably it will, I will have the new driver to look forward to, something different to work on, but in the mean time, dialing in my irons is a lot of fun

I would say I'm doing the opposite of conning myself. I see people on this forum saying things like their 7i is their 190 shot, or their 56 is their 125/30 shot, good luck to them. As a former decently high level athlete, I know a little bit about strategy, playing to my strengths, the mental game and being honest with myself about my true capabilities - which is what I mean about doing the opposite of conning myself, like most golfers do. I understand what my strengths and weakness are. My strength is undoubtedly my iron play, not my driving ability, and by a long way. There is a solid 12-15 yard gap between every single iron/wedge in my bag. People who don't hit their irons very well experience a smaller distance gap between clubs as they go through the bag. A 15Y gap between an 8 and 9 becomes a 5Y gap or even less between a 4i and a 5i, and usually the shot shape is not the same. I don't have that problem, my irons are relatively consistent through the bag. Of course I will hit more greens with a PW than a 5 iron, but I still hit a good number of greens with that club, but the point is being in a position to go at a green, which is more likely to happen with a 3W than a driver... its my strategy, I'm simply playing to my strengths. Vinsk you said " that you or just about anybody else can hit the green more accurately from 140 than 120-120" I disagree, they're both wedge shots for me, 120 is 50GW and 140 is about about a full PW, I can hit all my wedges at the same skill level. Ball shape, shot shape, distance consistency - all the same. I'd say on any given day if I threw down 20 balls, the GIR stats would be very similar, proximity to the hole might favor the 50 but not by much. So no, for me, I don't find either shot more or less difficult. My point is, when you get to the low-mid 80s, the transition, from being a +12/13 to single digits over par is tight, you need to find something that gives you an edge, for me (currently) the 3W puts me in possible GIR position more times than with a driver. Ive gone from an average 8/9 GIRs in a round to more like 12/13 on average. Thats 4 more chances at birdie and 4 less scrambles for par. That for me is the difference between +12 and +8

I couldn't see a thread about this, so here it goes. I've played a ton of golf this past 4 years - about 350 rounds, I've studied and practiced, so my technique has improved and the scores have reflected that, slumps and blow-up rounds aside of course. I've gone from hovering around 13 for the last season or season and half to around +8/9 this past 3 months, and the blow-up rounds have almost gone away (for now). It seems to have started when I played a target oriented course about 3 months ago, it only offered 3-4 chances to pull out the driver. I had to hit a 3W or even a long iron off the tee at least 9 times on 4s and 5s. I walked off with my best score of the year, my first single digits over par on a legit course. From that round I stared using the 3W as an option for shorter par 4s, it quickly became the go-to for anything under 385/390. My FIR stats have gone through the roof, its just so much more controllable and reliable, I'm hitting off of short grass a lot, my GIR stats have gone through the roof and I'm spending a lot less time in the woods. I'm guessing the average par 4 is around the 370-390 mark. I can hit the 3W around 240 off a short tee, that means I'm standing with a short iron or even a wedge in my hand for my second shot and a clear view to the green. My putting is about average for my level so there is room for me to get to 5 or 6. I did not think I would ever be a single digits over par golfer, but for me the 3W has helped to make that happen. Accuracy over distance all day long for me I'm looking into the Cobra Long Tom 2, anyone have experience with that? Just wanted to share, nobody has ever made this recommendation to me, and I can't understand why not, just seems obvious now? Just thought I'd pass it on.

I had an operation on my finger last year that put me out of commission for 7 weeks, I played a really solid round on my return, slightly better than my index, I put it down to low expectation syndrome. Id also been playing with too many swing thoughts before the op, mostly gone by the time I played again, defo helped to clear the clutter out

wow.. thats impressive, well played!

Occasionally when I see someone with an absolutely gorgeous swing crushing it, I will throw out a compliment, but would never dream of pointing out a flaw to a complete stranger.

I have said one thing about the ratio of range time > golf course time and Sidehatch has said something completely different. This is golf in a nutshell, you will always hear something different. I have even heard a PGA golf pro say "The back swing is not important". Personally for me, I lack discipline at the range, I set off with the best of intentions but after about 20-30 balls I start rushing, before i know it Im hitting all kinds of funky shots. I would go so far as to say the range can be damaging to my game, but I'm completely the opposite on the GC. Find whats best for you, however, and no offense to Sidehatch, Ive never heard anyone say "practice 8 times per month and play once or twice per month. You will experience a much greater variance of shot types on a GC than you will not experience at a range, especially if its an artificial surface your hitting off, there is no substitute for grass, uneven stances, downhill, uphill lies, sometimes the craziest abnormal ground conditions becomes the greatest learning moment.

Find a good golf pro, get some lessons and most importantly, spend more time on a golf course than at a driving range.

How on earth did you manage to miss a 3 inch putt?

Having a quantum leap moment, threatening single digits over par on a regular basis at the mo... very exciting