help por favor

[trackster]

so my friend has gone from a mid to low 50's player to a low to mid 60's player. He has improved on his chipping but continues to not hit an iron. When we finished today we walked over to the driving range and there was a bucket and a half of range balls there. We didnt see any one around so we went to hit them. I tried to teach him to hit an iron (gave him the tips i use) but all he seemed to do was captain hook and shanks into the trees/drink . Can any one give me any drills he can practice or any tips?

[BigBoy]

Have him hit a bucket of 30-60 yard pitches with his wedges to get the feeling of good contact grooved in his mind -

I have a tendency to have my ball striking crumble about every 5 rounds or so and I try to get to the range either after the round or the next day and just taking small swings wiht short clubs till I get contact down, then I try to thing about things like distance and trajectory by the end of the bucket -

[NotAStick]

I agree. Have him hit short shots with a 9iron or so. As short as he needs to in order to make PERFECT contact, hitting the ball with the club square and clean. That's how I warm up. I hit 10-20 half-swing wedges, focusing on sharp, clean contact.

Tell him to gradually increase it. 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards etc. You have to have the feeling of proper contact. Anyone can wail away and swing, but it's the contact that matters. He needs to forget his current muscle memory and focus on that contact.

The other thing to ensure is that his left arm is straight on the swing on those short shots, until after contact. That will probably feel really unnatural to him. I think that's the #1 beginner error that causes inconsistent contact is bending the left arm. Keeping it straight is almost impossible in a full swing for a lot of people because it feels so unnatural, which is why the short swings help. Remind him that a golf swing is a shoulders, hips and wrists thing, not arms.

You will probably go through a bucket or two of balls until he can hit it 60 yards with a wedge with solid contact and a straight left arm.

Also, most guys have an ego problem not swinging 100%. Remind him that most professionals swing at about 80% effort with their irons, especially short irons.

Be sure he's hitting a downward motion on it. Tell him that the clubhead does the work, not the player.

Good luck! It's always a challenge to teach that!

[senorchipotle]

  trackster said:

so my friend has gone from a mid to low 50's player to a low to mid 60's player. He has improved on his chipping but continues to not hit an iron. When we finished today we walked over to the driving range and there was a bucket and a half of range balls there. We didnt see any one around so we went to hit them. I tried to teach him to hit an iron (gave him the tips i use) but all he seemed to do was captain hook and shanks into the trees/drink . Can any one give me any drills he can practice or any tips?

tell him to keep his left arm straight and his knees slightly bent at all times, from address, to backswing, and until his elbow passes his hips on the follow through. keep it simple. telling someone this info who does not already know it is invaluable.

[PhilsRHman]

  senorchipotle said:

tell him to keep his left arm straight and his knees slightly bent at all times, from address, to backswing, and until his elbow passes his hips on the follow through. keep it simple. telling someone this info who does not already know it is invaluable.

Sorry, but not sure we define "keep it simple" the same way. For someone who can't hit the ball, this seems like a lot to think about, no matter how simple it sounds.

Everything I've learned early on came from the Little Red Book and 2-3 fundamentals from my uncle. I've had great luck with friends who are knew to the game by instilling these few things: 1. Hitting a golf ball is an athletic move, so get yourself in an athletic position (this will inevitably help him get into a fairly good stance that will feel good). 2. Clip the ball off the tee (this is straight lifted from Harvey Penick, but it works wonders). Encourage your friend to be athletic and make sure he knows there's not some scientific formula he needs to solve. Swing the club, hit the ball, it's that easy. Once he's at the the point of making good contact, regardless of where the ball is going, give him one really easy, simple swing thought that I used for many years: See the triangle your arms and chest make at address? Try to maintain that as far back as you can. Obviously taken too far this could break down, but this will encourage a strong one-piece takeaway and should set the foundation for making good solid contact. This is also a good time to make sure the grip is in good position, as that will likely cure any weird, crazy directional errors an also help build a solid foundation. But more than anything, as with everyone I play with that's struggling, convince them that hitting a golf ball is as athletic a move as throwing a ball, something they've probably been doing since they were up on two feet. Once it's de-mystified, it's amazing how quickly progress can come.