Weak Distance

[kleraudio]

Questions about distance.

I am striking the ball VERY well lately, nice compression and everything, but from 130 its a 9 iron, 140 an 8 iron, my PW only goes 120...

I remember before I started getting serious about the game like 6 months ago, my PW was 130 9 iron was 145, and 8 iron was like 155-160....

I didnt strike the ball as well but when I did I pounded it...

Has this happened to anyone? Better ball striking but less distance?

I feel like I have a great tempo now, but am I swinging that much slower? Would coming down faster screw with my tempo?

Thanks!

Jim

[lcfd42]

Questions about distance.

Jim, I experience the same problem, but it seems to be due to my clubhead being released just slightly early in my swing. Tempo is fine and swing is fine, just seem to release early. Been working on it and when I do keep my hands in the correct position at release, I can hit a SW 120yds. The whole problem is related to muscle memory. Tape your swing and check your timing. Good luck.

[flopdarock]

sheesh id kill to get my pw to go 120 without topping it... i havent hit it like that in forever...

when you did hit it farther... was the contact just as good?

[woodzie264]

Questions about distance.

depending on the weather's been like, below 50* you need to club up, and below 40* twice....the colder weather (more dense air) knocks the ball down for less carry...

[DaSportsGuy]

You've still got me beat. My 150 club is a 5 iron.

[Texas Jim]

Jim, I with man. mine are: 8-145 9-130 PW 110 SW 90. I used to be 10yds more a year ago but when I started really trying to concentrate on solid ball contact and placement I lost some yds. BUT I'm more accurate I believe due to more relaxed tempo without that urge to give it a "little" extra. I think I may have the same issue another poster stated. I think my release is coming a little early and is robbing me of some length.

Can't wait to get out and work on it more!

8degs out with WC at 1deg

[Shanks A Million]

Swing changes bring a settling period.

Before your body is totally comfortable with a new swing, or swing changes, you tend to slow down a bit. After the swing seems second nature, the distances should creep up again.

As I got better and better, the distances slowly increased with less effort. I always keep track of how far I hit each club, and try to keep it updated as much as possible. I hit a Pitching Wedge about 135, 6 iron goes about 180 yards, 3 iron is 225. The PW includes no roll, 6 iron includes about 5 yards of roll, and 3 iron includes 25 yards of roll. This is important to know. I simplify by having a "minimum allowable carry" that I calculate. If I have 130 yards to carry, I chose a PW, 140 for a 9, 150 for 8, etc. If I'm not confident, I knock off 1 yard per club, so PW is 130, 9 is 139, 8 is 148, 7 is 157, etc.

So, when I go to the course, I have a list that I keep:

D - 240, 290
w - 220, 270
2 - 210, 235
3 - 200, 225
4 - 190, 215
5 - 180, 200
6 - 170, 190
7 - 160, 175
8 - 150, 160
9 - 140, 150
P - 130, 140
S - 110, 120
L - 80, 90

These are my range tolerances. The left number is the minimum, and the right is the maximum. You can see pretty clearly, I've very inconsistent with woods. In fact, I believe most of my handicap is fairway woods, and pitching from 30-70 yards. Last time I played, I tripled 3 par 5s... I'm desperate to get more long irons.

[kleraudio]

Awesome replies, thanks guys! Never even considered the weather, I hope that may be a part of it, its been quite cold the past month out here (very weird)....

I guess once I commit the new swing changes into muscle memory, hopefully the distance will creep back in. Ive been playing just fine, its just having to remember different yardages every month will drive me crazy!

Thanks again!

[kpaulhus]

Jim, Im in the same boat as you. Feels really dumb when your 195 Par 3 and you hit it mad short. Weather in Tampa has been pretty different.

[RIduffer]

Weather makes a big difference. When I go to the range lately, I'm not even paying attention to distance, just trying to make good contact.

Also agree that when you are making swing changes you are probably losing some swing speed temporarily, until things get automatic.

[Matt-in-Georgia]

To go along with what others have said, weather does in fact make a big difference. Although you must also consider some other factors that could have contributed to your loss of distance.You may be releasing the club too soon, as some people have stated already. Another reason that you could be losing distance is because you are not turning behind the ball.

I know many folks that I work with down at the country club do not pay much attention to shoulder turn and coil, yet it is a fundamental component for distance and accuracy. If you are shooting lower scores however, I would not worry too much about being a club shorter on your irons. Just continue to fix the swing flaws you have, work on your short game, and you will be good to go.

[ronbo25]

My son had the same problem. He is a strong 20 year old that can hit a baseball a mile. I was very surprised to see how short his shots are on the course, especially his iron play. I have been working myself with a local club pro for the past 6 months and I have realized there are SO many factors that go into a consistent swing. IMO, one of the biggest factors to get a penetrating ball flight (added distance) was to make sure that at the point of contact the back of your left wrist is flat and your right wrist is bent (for a righty). Until recently, I was the exact opposite, causing me to hit very high irons. I have been working with my son on getting his wrists properly set at impact and he has added considerable yardage to his iron play. Take a look online or any golf magazine for snapshots at the moment of impact to see what I mean. Good luck.

[kleraudio]

Jim, Im in the same boat as you. Feels really dumb when your 195 Par 3 and you hit it mad short. Weather in Tampa has been pretty different.

Your not kidding man, but I cant blame it all on the weather

We gotta get out and play sometime man, your in Tampa quite a bit. I should get myself on video to see what going on I think. Before when I didnt care much about my swing, I was swinging HARD and getting good contact but very inaccurate, so I did defintely sacrifice lots of yards for distance, but I feel like I shouldn't have lost 20-25 yards per iron. Whats funny is, driver distance keeps going up.....

[Shanks A Million]

Weather makes a HUGE difference. When it's in the 60s, I can't hit it nearly as far, but I'll give you a secret...

My secret weapon, is Lady balls. When the weather drops below 60°, I use womens' golf balls. They compress much more in the colder weather, and go about the same distance as the normal 105 compression balls do in warm weather. Most guys are too self conscious to play a lady ball, but when your playing partners see you slam a pitching wedge 140 yards, they'll shut their traps. I love the Precept MC Lady, or Srixon Soft Feel for low temp golf.

[kleraudio]

Weather makes a HUGE difference. When it's in the 60s, I can't hit it nearly as far, but I'll give you a secret...

Seriously? I'll have to give that a go. Soft feel, what is that compression? and will they stop on a green? I'll the the precept lady too, as long as they stop on the greens from 150-190...

Thanks! Jim

[Leftygolfer]

Really... You are complaining about weather... In Tampa. What is it only 65 today? It is a sweet 20 and forcast are cold all month.

But in regards to your post one thing that strikes me is for you to say you are driving it farther than ever but hitting your irons shorter. This is an indication that you aren't taking a divot and having the hands ahead at impact. Good iron players really don't swing that hard but they hit short irons a ton because of the dynamic hitting position they are in. That makes just as big of difference as how hard you swing.

[Shanks A Million]

Seriously? I'll have to give that a go. Soft feel, what is that compression? and will they stop on a green? I'll the the precept lady too, as long as they stop on the greens from 150-190...

Don't know the compression, but the range I go to has lake balls instead of limited flight balls, so I get the chance to hit all sorts of top notch golf balls, and the first time I hit a soft feel, I was blown away. It was like a bouncy rubber ball that kids play with, just jumped off the face. The MC Lady is a more interesting story. I was out playing and hit a ball near some water, but was having trouble finding it. I found about a dozen others, though, so I took them. One of them was an MC Lady, so I put it in a different pocket, figuring I wouldn't use it. A few days later, I ran out of balls on the course. I had the MC lady in my bag, though, so I pulled it out... It was a cold day, maybe 60°. I hit the thing and it felt so much more alive than my regular balls. I put the two together that a soft ladies ball would, in effect, be more like my regular ball when it was cold out. As for stopping, I put so much spin on the ball, I don't worry too much about stopping it.

Really... You are complaining about weather... In Tampa. What is it only 65 today? It is a sweet 20 and forcast are cold all month.

True, I hit farther in relation as the club gets shorter. The shorter clubs can be hit about 120% as far as they normally go, but the longer ones can only get about 105% of the distance.

[kleraudio]

Really... You are complaining about weather... In Tampa. What is it only 65 today? It is a sweet 20 and forcast are cold all month.

Thats interesting Lefty, thanks for that insight, as your right, I have altogether stopped taking divots for some reason. What a wake up call! I figured I was too shallow but Im probably flipping the club and killing my distance. I really appreciate that comment man! Any drills to really pound in the image of hands ahead of ball? And what could be some reasons for flipping the club at impact? Weight shift problem?

Shanks-Im gonna go and get a dozen soft feels and see how they go for me, thanks for the insight. I love this forum!