Hitting Same Distance With All Clubs

[DCCarpenter]

Hello all, I started golfing this summer and looking for exercises or tips for keeping the ball down to gain some distance.

 

My aim has been pretty good, at the range I can hit to the targets once I'm in a groove. However, I seem to be stuck in the 95 to 125 yardage range with range balls regardless of club.

Yesterday I played only pitching wedge and had several 115 shots right on the money with a good ability to hit 90. When I step up to the 5 hybrid and 5 iron I am still stuck in this 100 to 125 yardage range. The 3 hybrid gets around the same results. My trajectory is very high.  These are all shots from a real tee off grass.

If i play around with the driver I can connect on some monster slices that would probably go 175 or more in the wrong direction if they weren't hitting the net.

Chipping and short game have been going well so not completely incompetent, can make a lot of nice chip shots onto the green when playing and putting has been fine. 

 

[pganapathy]

Perhaps a swing video being posted would help.  Also, how are you gauging the distance you hit the balls?  Ask because your driver is hitting the net so curious if it is distances on a launch monitor

[DCCarpenter]

Thanks for the reply , I am definitely going to work on a swing video.

 

My driving range has yardage markers (that we checked with a range finder for accuracy) so that is how I am getting distances.

 

There is a road adjacent to the range on the right hand side so they have a very tall fence (75 feet maybe?) with netting on it.

 

If I am playing close to that side some of my driver moonshots have actually cleared the fence around the 100 yard mark so they probably carried close to 200 yards...unfortunately landing about 50 or 60 yards to the right of where I was aiming.

[Zippo]

11 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

Hello all, I started golfing this summer and looking for exercises or tips for keeping the ball down to gain some distance.

 

My aim has been pretty good, at the range I can hit to the targets once I'm in a groove. However, I seem to be stuck in the 95 to 125 yardage range with range balls regardless of club.

Yesterday I played only pitching wedge and had several 115 shots right on the money with a good ability to hit 90. When I step up to the 5 hybrid and 5 iron I am still stuck in this 100 to 125 yardage range. The 3 hybrid gets around the same results. My trajectory is very high.  These are all shots from a real tee off grass.

If i play around with the driver I can connect on some monster slices that would probably go 175 or more in the wrong direction if they weren't hitting the net.

Chipping and short game have been going well so not completely incompetent, can make a lot of nice chip shots onto the green when playing and putting has been fine. 

 

I can't speak for your issue but for me this was caused by clubhead speeds that are too low for lower lofted irons and poor ball contact. As @pganapathysuggested, a swing video would help those more knowledgeable people help you.

[DCCarpenter]

Zippo,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Good contact is definitely an issue for me. No easy solution just consistent grip, form, and practice to improve at that.

 

How did you go about working on your club speed? I feel like in the few months I've been playing that I've bounced around a bit too much between clubs that I practiced with. I was going to try devoting myself to 10 or so range visits of 100 range balls at a time  with just one club and see where it gets me. 

[pganapathy]

8 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

Zippo,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Good contact is definitely an issue for me. No easy solution just consistent grip, form, and practice to improve at that.

 

How did you go about working on your club speed? I feel like in the few months I've been playing that I've bounced around a bit too much between clubs that I practiced with. I was going to try devoting myself to 10 or so range visits of 100 range balls at a time  with just one club and see where it gets me. 

First understand what the problems are before you start self diagnosing for a solution.  Ideally I would say go to a pro and get a few lessons.  You may well have enough swing speed but bad contact and bad technique are causing the problems.  Once you are correctly diagnosed, solutions can be provided far more efficiently

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

Zippo,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Good contact is definitely an issue for me. No easy solution just consistent grip, form, and practice to improve at that.

 

How did you go about working on your club speed? I feel like in the few months I've been playing that I've bounced around a bit too much between clubs that I practiced with. I was going to try devoting myself to 10 or so range visits of 100 range balls at a time  with just one club and see where it gets me. 

In addition to creating a My Swing thread in the Member Swing section, take a look at the first five drills in the thread below. A good backswing process helps set up a good downswing and therefore helps creat more speed. You can post yourself doing these drills in your My Swing thread. It really will help you.

Lastly, please pick an avatar when you have a chance.

[Zippo]

12 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

Zippo,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Good contact is definitely an issue for me. No easy solution just consistent grip, form, and practice to improve at that.

 

How did you go about working on your club speed? I feel like in the few months I've been playing that I've bounced around a bit too much between clubs that I practiced with. I was going to try devoting myself to 10 or so range visits of 100 range balls at a time  with just one club and see where it gets me. 

I didn't specifically work on my clubhead speed. I accepted the fact that at my age, I would not be able to swing a 5 iron, or less, effectively enough to make it worth having in my bag. I replaced those irons with hybrids (which also took me a long time to accept). I've also quit getting excited when a ball of mine goes astray. I've accepted that I will never swing as well as Rory or DJ (or any proficient 12 year old!). I enjoy being out on the course in the fresh air and golfing with people who also enjoy golfing.

I do again recommend that you have a professional work with you on your swing - either a less expensive option like "Evolver" or an in person professional. Or post swing videos here. Beating balls on a range is, most likely, not going to provide you with the improvement you want.

[DCCarpenter]

I've been working on the first 5 drills from the Covid Challenge thread , I definitely wasn't moving my wrists quite enough as I feel a 'crisper' shot for lack of a better word when I was at the range using the 7 iron.

 

My wrists are sore this evening , I was definitely using muscles I hadn't been before. But using more wrist action , I definitely wasn't swinging as hard and had more energy through the whole large bucket of balls.

 

Distance was the same, topping about 125 yards with the exception of 5 wood/driver megaslices, they probably were going about 200 but in entirely the wrong direction as usual. Shots were nice and straight with the irons, they were all 1/2 shot style shots as opposed to full swings. I was hopeful I might be able to get 150 yards or more on half shots and maintain accuracy as accurate contact and aim is hard with a full swing right now. Just going to have to keep practicing.

 

I'm going to post in MySwing as soon as I have someone to film me in the next few days. My local course's pro is currently booked up and my schedule doesn't have the flex in it to travel for lessons but I'll get to them at some point.

 

 

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

I'm going to post in MySwing as soon as I have someone to film me in the next few days. My local course's pro is currently booked up and my schedule doesn't have the flex in it to travel for lessons but I'll get to them at some point.

Make sure they film you correctly and do it in slow motion.

https://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

 

[DCCarpenter]

Boogielicious, will do on the filming hints.

 

As added info so that it helps anyone else who stumbles on this. A major part of my distance problem was a weak grip. I spent a few hours reading this site last night and saw some great grip info. I made my grip much stronger today at the range and while playing 9 holes and the difference was dramatic.

 

My five hybrid with the new grip was going 150+ , my seven iron I hit several at the range in the 140 range and hit a 140 on course right onto the green on a par 3. I was able to keep my driver shots in bounds with the new grip, I had to close the face quite a bit pre-shot but still I was finally able to use it in play. I actually managed two 200+ drives on the course and many in the 175+ range I'd say. My three hybrid out of the grass on course was getting me 100 yards or more several times which is a big deal for me, without good drives I really need the yardage .