odd problem...power at the strangest times

[Jack Lee]

Ok, I have been working with a pro and taking two or three practice sessions at a local range a week.

Here is the issue I am coming up with.

I am coming up with insane amounts of power at the strangest times. For example, Saturday, I had a shot into a green backed by water. Check the range and get 140 something to the center and 155 to the back of the green. There is 7-10 yards of fairway/fringe behind the green and then it drops off to the lake. I took out my 150 yard club and put a smooth, clean swing on it. Right on target, line is good, I watch with amazement as my shot soars clear over the green and lands 5 yards or so past the land with a lovely spash. An easy 170 yard shot.

That happened one other time that same round. I play a shot that should be exactly what I need and hit it so clean and pure that I overshoot my target by 20 yards.

I am trying to work out how to account for this in my practice. I can only guess that these monster shots are coming from much better iron contact. It is just giving me fits on the course. I am minding my distances in my practice sessions and using those ranges on the course.

So, any tips on how to address this?

Thanks!
Jack Lee

[DavidFehertysBike]

On those shots, you probably made cleaner contact. You learn distance control through consistency with your full shots, so distance can be hard to manage if you don't have that.

[keiko]

When we swing smooth and allow things to work we get distance. Your other swings have tension from trying to hit the ball hard, tension kills distance(and trajectory).

You should be swinging tension free-so-go re-calculate those distances. When I want extra distance, I swing easier.

Ok, I have been working with a pro and taking two or three practice sessions at a local range a week.

[sean_miller]

So, any tips on how to address this?

In time those long shots may be the standard. Pure contact and all that jazz.

[1dayIllBaPro]

What are the factors? Wind, downhill line, uphill line, day temperature, humidity, balls, etc... and range balls are not gonna go as far. sometimes you have to see how far the ball fly in the day, and recalculate every club distance.

[Shanks A Million]

Want someone to hit the ball farther? Tell them to lay it up short of a hazard. Most people swing too hard, which kills distance. Most people can shorten their swings to half of their current length and lose almost no distance.

[ericstamper]

ive found that pure shots dont go as far as slightly missed shots. solid means more spin, more spin means less distance

[WUTiger]

I tend to get those power shots when I really swing smoothly - sometimes, until I see the ball taking off, I think I didn't hit it hard enough.

Have been working on my irons a lot this year. I played one round where I had no GIR, but shot an 89. It was small greens on a windy day. My solid shots were hitting the back fringe and bouncing over, and my lesser shots were pulls left or short-right fades.

A clean shot goes about 20 yds. farther than my lesser shots. So much for distance control.

[KEEPITSIMPLE]

I could tell you from my experience is that the tempo of your backswing was ideal and IMO you probably slow down your backswing and started your downswing a fraction of a second before you completed your backswing.What happens with that is you are able to create more seperation between the lower and upper body and that allows more lag,whip,delay release,hands ahead at impact or whatever people want to call it.It all start at that little fraction of a second. When you backswing is too fast, the hands tend to get stuck behind you on the downswing. Also,One is basically fighting your backswing on the way to accelaration . If you start your downswing too late, the tendency is to drop the hands first and you lose the coil and the power.

The analogy I like to give is like a whip. When you are cracking the whip the only way you can do it correctly is to speed the handle on the downswing while the tip is still moving backward. Even if is it is just a fraction of a second,the amount and efficiency of kinetic energy transfered when one get the proper timing down is quite extraordinary. Lot of people like to focus on swing plane, but personally, I could swing in number of different planes and hit it all pretty straight but how well I make a swing has more to do with how I transition and the timing of that transition than anything else.

I can assure you once I made myself aware of this fact, I can get distance without really having to swing hard. I don't know if it is what happened with you but again It works for me and perhaps you can try it and see if that is the case here, and judging by your handicap I am guessing you probably don't know how to create lag and I would bet you coil and lag in this case without really understading how to repeat the action.

[14ledo81]

This happens to me now and then also. There is a hole a my home course that is 132 to the center of the green. My nine iron is my 130 yard club, and I usually am anywhere from 15-20 feet on to maybe 3/4 of the way across the green. Now and then tho I hit one just right and it carries long. To make it worse this hole slopes down after the back of the green, so even if I only carry 10 feet long, it winds up 20 yards past.

[1dayIllBaPro]

I agree with KEEPITSIMPLE. To create lag, seperation, and power, start your downswing just right before you alomost finish your backswing. changing direction create power in golf. I hate the idea of pausing at the top of the swing. I never stop during swing. just need to make a smooth transition. actually I never pause at anything (chipping, putting, full swing, half swing, etc). just make sure to keep it smooth and accelerate through.

[Amofada]

Happened to me my last round as well. I did a little tweak with my swing, shortening it and slowing down my tempo and I airmailed a bunch of greens with my irons. Shot one of my worst rounds of the year as a result but can' help but feel good about it anyway!

[Leftygolfer]

If you didn't hit it thin seems like a good problem. I know your scores suffer from long but hitting one pure is lots of fun. I'd just try to duplicate on range and take one less club on the course. Don't go after it though, that actually make you hit it shorter since contact would suffer. I also wouldn't trust range balls for distance. The only way to figure that out is through trial and error with your balls on the course.

[saevel25]

First, why were you taking a 150 club for a 140 something yardage, especially with water in the back. Why take the chance of hit going long, why not take your 135 club and leave it a bit short of the hole?

Also, just keep at it, you will get use to the yardage. My dad got new clubs and a swing change, he's gained 15 yards to his irons. But when he first starting the swing change with his older clubs he would have a ball just fly over the green a bit, it took him a while to trust the new yardage.

[sean_miller]

First, why were you taking a 150 club for a 140 something yardage, especially with water in the back. Why take the chance of hit going long, why not take your 135 club and leave it a bit short of the hole?

Maybe because the vast majority of pros on TV tell amateurs to make sure they "take enough club". A lot of armchair pros on this site concur. Like you, I'm not one of them.