Help hitting irons.

[DynamicDave]

mangine: look up idrive square drivers on ebay and get one

rugger: stack and tilt will help. but practice til u find your swing and then dont practice after u found it. u dont want to overdo practicing something that isnt broke. warming up is enough after u know how to swing.

[albatross]

mangine: look up idrive square drivers on ebay and get one

What? Why?? Please don't try to tell me that then I'll be hitting 340 yard drives. Because we both no that isn't true.

I'm sorry but I still find it hard to believe that anyone on this site is consistently hitting it 340. Just not buying it.

[DynamicDave]

mangine,

i was talking about a nice replacement club for the driver u listed on your signature. by the way i like how u did that, lol. so yea, that driver i mentioned will have u hitting straight long about 270-300. i average 270 with my friends' idrive and i aint swinging full power.

[Treemagnet]

If I don't shank my irons they are usually very straight. If I don't get a good strike with my driver it will slice a little bit.

Just a little slice on a 340 yrd drive will put you in the wrong fairway. I also am able to hit the ball that far but I choose not to cause it way to hard to control and put the ball where you want it. What I did was start taking 80% swing insted of 120% swings. You will still get great distance with an 80% swing, I carry the ball 270-290 Yrds. this will help you with making good ball contact and help you get the ball to where you want it to go. It's hard to get it out of your mind not to swing so hard, but try it I promise it will help.Drive for show Putt for dough.

[Stacey_E]

I'm so sorry if I offend, but I just can't help but chime in.....God I shouldn't say this, but....

How can a 18 handicap hit it 300+, or better still how can you hit it 300+ and still be an 18? I'm not ashamed at all to admit I hit it 240 on AVERAGE. And I'm very proud that I hit 70% of my fairways. What I would really want to know is, how many fairways do you hit? If you are hitting 2/3 or better I would seriously, seriously concentrate on my wedge play well before my iron play. That is what you should have in your hand after these drives, unless you are playing Oakmont. Try really grinding on your short game first. Iron play is very important, but you'll see a quicker drop in your scores by working on putting and wedge play. Nobody expects to hole a 6 iron. Everone expects to hole a putt.

[Rugger]

I'm so sorry if I offend, but I just can't help but chime in.....God I shouldn't say this, but....

That is good advice. Very good, in fact.

But about your other comment, I usually play city courses, and usually executive courses at that. The two 9 hole courses I frequent the most only have 2 holes where a driver is needed. a 305 and a 290-something. There are also plenty 150-250 yard holes on the courses I play. Even if I didn't need them, which I do, why wouldn't I want to get better?

For hitting fairways with a driver, it depends how wide it is, but I usually get them going straight. But, as I said, I don't play many long courses.

How does an 18+ hit 300+? Fast twitch, explosive power with the coordination and basic golf skill to hit the ball square. It's a lot easier for me to hit flush/square when I just wind up and let it rip. It's when I have to finesse and place a shot with a full swing that I get in trouble; such as with irons.

[Stacey_E]

It's a lot easier for me to hit flush/square when I just wind up and let it rip. It's when I have to finesse and place a shot with a full swing that I get in trouble; such as with irons.

Kinda makes sense. When I was learning to ski, I wanted to ease into and kept falling down. Finally my buddies said "you can't ski slow, you have to go fast to stay up". Sorta the same I guess.

[par3forme]

I've recently because quite proficient at hitting my driver. Usually carrying about 310-320 and sometimes beyond. Before this improvement, irons were my best, and basically any of them. Not so anymore. While I know the general things that cause me problems (dropping shoulder, popping up hips) I still don't really know what a good iron swing looks like or is made up of.

The key is to hit the ball just right. I have noticed that when I do this I get the best results. Hope this helps

OK OK seriously, I am a novice so I have little to offer...but I have been told by better players that my iron game is pretty good. I can hit a 3 iron almost as far as a 3 wood. Anyway, the only little tidbit I can offer, the thing that really helped me is this - see the ball being hit. When I started concentrating on making sure I saw the club hit the ball every time it seemed to make most of my problems (lifting my shoulders, head etc) go away. I keep my left arm straight, make sure I see the contact on every swing and stay in the fairway almost every time. Also, I had my irons custom made - 2+ lie with +1/2" graphite shaft, mid size grip - that made a huge difference. You don't have to have $2000 irons, but you do need the right angles for your body. Ok thats all I got

[jasongst]

Personally, I would focus on trying to swing exactly the same way between your irons and your driver. Same ball position, everything (maybe small adjustments to your back foot; see the Hogan 5 Lessons book). If you can figure out how to hit a solid iron shot, you can hit a good drive using the same swing with the same ball position. Worry about maximizing driving efficiency later. It sounds like you don't need the help anyway. Simplifying things this way will help you groove your swing faster without having to worry about two different styles. Oh, and if you have an ugly swing (be honest) then do yourself a favor and teach yourself how to swing the club correctly. It will save you loads of time. Hogan's 5 Lessons is one great choice for just about everything you need to know. You can watch him swing the club on YouTube.

If you aren't happy with your irons my guess is that the bottom of your arc is not shallow enough. It makes it tough to get good contact on the ball eh? One thing that I know helps is to work on your tempo. Work on allowing the club to snap naturally through the ball like a whip (although not nearly as loose), instead of powering it through with your arms and wrists. This requires great tempo. The "whip" should crack just beyond the ball. It helps if you keep your elbows closer together and think of your two hands as one unit. Practice without a ball on some grass until you are happy with how consistently you are sweeping the grass. Then swing just a bit deeper and you'll have the divot you want. If you aren't already, focus on swinging in balance. Are you falling over after every swing? You should be able to hold every follow-through without contorting your body. You should also be able to keep your right heel to the left of the target line on the follow through. If your right heel is spinning out and kicking right after your shot, you probably have some weird balance going on. Practice some of your iron shots off of a hard pan lie, especially if your course has a lot of tight lies. This will force you to be more precise with your impact, and will teach you not to fear the short grass. Lastly, have absurd confidence in your iron swing. Figure out enough to get by, then cease doubting yourself even the slightest bit. If you miss a shot it's no big deal; just make sure you never, ever have a "missed shot" thought right before you swing! Even if you miss 10 iron shots in a row, learn to go right back into that mode of idiotic confidence. Start believing that you are going to stiff every shot. Good luck!

I've recently because quite proficient at hitting my driver. Usually carrying about 310-320 and sometimes beyond. Before this improvement, irons were my best, and basically any of them. Not so anymore. While I know the general things that cause me problems (dropping shoulder, popping up hips) I still don't really know what a good iron swing looks like or is made up of.

[Rugger]

Personally, I would focus on trying to swing exactly the same way between your irons and your driver. Same ball position, everything (maybe small adjustments to your back foot; see the Hogan 5 Lessons book). If you can figure out how to hit a solid iron shot, you can hit a good drive using the same swing with the same ball position. Worry about maximizing driving efficiency later. It sounds like you don't need the help anyway. Simplifying things this way will help you groove your swing faster without having to worry about two different styles. Oh, and if you have an ugly swing (be honest) then do yourself a favor and teach yourself how to swing the club correctly. It will save you loads of time. Hogan's 5 Lessons is one great choice for just about everything you need to know. You can watch him swing the club on YouTube.

Thanks a lot for the tips and taking the time to help me out. I'll definitely write all that stuff down. I created another thread with some short videos of my swing if you would like to look.