Need help with my mental block please!!!

[timastyle]

So here it is. I have this mental block that makes me think that I need to swing harder and harder with each club I go up. I can get my 58* and put nice smooth swings on it, one after the other, but as I keep going up in club, I start swinging harder and harder because it has to go further. I don't let the club do the work itself.

So my question to you that have/had this issue, what can I do to get that mental block out of my mind and just put nice, smooth swings together. This is one of the biggest causes of my inconsistency I believe.

Thanks!

[Scott_K]

Get a good feel for your 58 as it seems it's the club your comfortable with and have good tempo. Hit a few balls with it and then switch to and 8i or 9i and use that same 58* swing. Let the ball go where it goes (distancewise) and accept it for now. Chances are you'll hit it further because your hitting it cleaner. If you can get yourself to around 80% of your max power with your swing and hold your balance in the finish, your heading in the right direction.

When I was younger and a "swinger", I use hit the ball straight, straight and straight, but I was short relative to my playing partners. They were all "hitters" and a lot longer than I was (probably 2 irons longer), but they were inconsistent, had trouble making contact and spraying the ball all over. I've gone from being a "swinger" to a "hitter" and now I'm working on melting the two together.

[RIduffer]

So here it is. I have this mental block that makes me think that I need to swing harder and harder with each club I go up. I can get my 58* and put nice smooth swings on it, one after the other, but as I keep going up in club, I start swinging harder and harder because it has to go further. I don't let the club do the work itself.

Just a thought...Try taking one more club than you'd usually hit, so that you don't feel the need to muscle the shot. For example, if you have 170 to the green and would normally hit a 6i, try taking a 5i and making a smooth swing. Yeah, occasionally you might really flush the 5i with this approach and end up long...but I think that's usually a better result than trying to bash a 6i and mis-hitting it. It might also help dissolve that mental block of yours, by proving how far the ball can be hit when struck cleanly, rather than forcefully.

[timastyle]

Just a thought...Try taking one more club than you'd usually hit, so that you don't feel the need to muscle the shot. For example, if you have 170 to the green and would normally hit a 6i, try taking a 5i and making a smooth swing. Yeah, occasionally you might really flush the 5i with this approach and end up long...but I think that's usually a better result than trying to bash a 6i and mis-hitting it. It might also help dissolve that mental block of yours, by proving how far the ball can be hit when struck cleanly, rather than forcefully.

I will definitely give this one a try. Would you recommend choking down on the longer club to ensure that if I do hit it flush, it doesn't go flying? If so, how much should I choke down?

[RIduffer]

I will definitely give this one a try. Would you recommend choking down on the longer club to ensure that if I do hit it flush, it doesn't go flying? If so, how much should I choke down?

I do choke down sometimes when I want a little less distance, more control, or a lower ballflight. When I choke down I probably grip the club about 2-3 inches above where the grip and shaft meet.

Some people like choking down because it allows them to get a desired result (i.e. less distance) without changing their swing. But in your case, you want to change your swing (make it smoother) so I would just take an extra club without choking down at first. My thinking is: If you feel like you have to kill a 5i to hit it 180 (or whatever distance), why not use a 4i and swing smooth?

[WUTiger]

Lots of good suggestions here. You might also check to see the tempo of your takeaway. Take it from me, if your backswing starts getting quick, you may try to kill it on the way down.

[The Recreational Golfer]

Try this exercise. Go to the range and hit six 6-irons as hard as you can. Hit another six making sure they don't go past the first six. Odds are the smooth stroke you put on the second six will send each one past the shortest of the first six. The smooth tempo you use when you swing easier gives you cleaner contact and a longer flight.

Or, you can try swinging every club like your 8-iron - easily. When you see that whenever you do this the ball just flies off the clubface, it's one more drop in your subconscious mind that an easy swing gets you the results you want.

[Brakkus]

I think this probably a common problem most of us have been through.I started alternating between my Lob Wedge and a hybrid or a 4 iron so I concentrated on the tempo of the swing.The trouble is especially at a range when you see that huge 250 board at the end of the range you think you can smash the ball past it with a longer club,it's worse when the pro tells you that it's really 262,so you swing even harder.

I also now have a net,which obviously is only a few feet in front of you,so you have no option but to get good contact,after a while every club starts to feel exactly the same,yesterday I was convinced my 4 iron felt like short iron,it's the brain and the subconscious taking over which is a feeling you want to repeat,where the number on the club has no importance other than it travels a specific distance.Mentally to switch off the ego I tell myself this is a game of precision and accuracy,and control which really helps me to stay tighter and more controlled when I swing,it might even help to actually write down the words to yourself of how you would like swing.