Fairway Woods and Very Low Irons - Club / Help Needed

[johnclayton1982]

Hi All,

This is my first post.  In fact, I joined to ask this question.

I have been playing for about 1 year.  I love the game.  I play two rounds a week, one thursday afternoon one saturday afternoon, look forward to them all week.  I play match play saturday and stroke thursday with the same people about the same skill level as me (i.e. they can't help me).  However, it is an absolute blast.  I usually get out to the range two or three other days.

The past two rounds, I shot the lowest two scores I have ever shot (93 and 95).  In a review of the rounds, however, I noticed that I was driving my score much higher by not being able to hit - at all - long shots from the fairway.  In fact, of the par 3s of the two rounds, I parred all but one, and did very well on the short par 4s and one short par 5 (which, at my club, because of water, you don't have to a single particular shot far).  Virtually all my strokes came from second shots on long holes.  They would almost uniformly be horrid - mishits, topped balls, into the woods - one par 5 triple bogey came from a 4 hybrid off the fairway pulled almost 45 degrees into the woods, followed by two shots trying to get out.  Over the two rounds, I only triple-putted twice.

I need to fix how to hit the ball from the fairway more than 155 yards or so (the max i can hit my 7 iron, which is the lowest lofted club I am relatively consistent with).  The 6 iron is about 170-175 and is about 50/50.  Below the 6 iron, 5i, 4 hybrid, 3 hybrid and fairway woods, its worse than 20%.  its terrible!

I don't have all that much money, but I am considering splurging on a lesson just to ask this question.  The problem is that I had to save up cash for a long time to join my club (best purchase ever made!) and I could only afford to do one or two lessons once in a while - my club doesn't have a pro and i wouldn't know who to call for a lesson.

I know technique is king, but I improved my driving game and putting by replacing with new equipment, and I would love to replace my woods or hybrids if you have some game-improvement suggestions.  My bag:

Driver: Calloway 2004 X 11* (<- I love this driver, got it for $25 used)

FW: King Cobra 3 (16*), 5 (19*) (also cheap, used)

Hybrids: 3, 4 Adams Idea (not the nice ones, the ones that come with the $99 starter set.  These are the only clubs I haven't replaced from my tight lies starter kit - and i would like to replace, as i cant hit them at all)

Irons: 5-PW Cobra s2 2005

Wedges: Cleveland Black Pearl CG15 50, 56, 62 (by far my best clubs)

Putter: Rife Antigua Blade (love it)

(when i play one course i ditch the 62 wedge for the 5 wood, the other the 5 wood for a 62 wedge.  The club course has a hole that is perfect for a 5 wood off the tee with my swing, so i add it for that.)

I would love to hear any thoughts on easy clubs to hit, or how to hit the ball from the fairway 170+ yards.

Thanks.

Best,

John

[CalBoomer]

Here is one very simple thought to address your problems with the longer clubs. Many beginning golfers try to hit all their shots with the same swing plane, one which is relatively vertical. This works fine for the shorter irons only. In general, the longer the iron, the flatter your swing plane should be for consistent results.

[johnclayton1982]

Thank you for your reply.  I had thought the swing was supposed to be the same, just letting the loft do the work.  I tried a flatter swing plane at the range and saw some definate improvement in terms of not slicing or pulling as much - but i still can't get it to go very far at all.  The furthest I hit my 4 iron hybrid was about 125, shorter than my seven iron.  I was really swinging hard, but I had a hard time getting the ball airborne with anything below a 6.  I was practicing using cobra baffler rail hybrid 5 and 4 (26* and 22*), and a cobra fist 5 wood.  Most were low, line drives about 6-7 feet off the ground with tons of pace but no distance.

Are there any instructional videos you like, or dvds or drills to practice hitting the ball long from the fairway?  I have a round tomorrow on a long course and I am worried aobut these shots.  I may just hit 7 iron on all these shots and take the 150 or so straight as oppossed to chancing it with a FW or hybrid.  I would feel pretty good about my game (not great, but pretty good) if I could develop something from the fairway that could go 180 or so yards straight...

I'm not very concerned with accuracy at this point - just trying to figure out how to get some loft / distance with the low clubs w/o a tee.

Thanks,

John

[iig0tem]

John, I know where you are coming from.

I hate it too. No confidence when you approach the ball at the course with low irons. Shanking them into hazards. It's a mess.. But really, you have decent clubs and don't worry about dumping your money in new clubs. Practice hard at the driving range and get those clubs down. This is what I did. It took a little persistence, but in the end, you'll love that crisp sound when you hit that hybrid 200 yards. Try to learn something new every time you go to the driving range. It is no use going to the range and merely hitting balls for enjoyment. Everytime I go to the range, I learn something new and I always make adjustments. They are little adjustments, but ultimately are the foundation of a profound swing.

[johnclayton1982]

Just got done another round, still having serious issues.  I shot a 91, which I am pumped about.  However, five double bogeys killed the round, and all five were the result of a shanked 4 or 5 iron.  Ugh.  One, exactly one, time I hit a nice five iron onto the green and two putted out for par.  All the others were disasters.  Went to the range after the round for an hour and still couldn't bang anything out beyond 120 or so with the low irons.

Anybody have any lessons or dvds they like to learn this shot?  Frustrated!  If I could hit a semi-consitent long iron I might be able to hit 88 or 87.

[Robato]

Hey there. I can remember my struggles to hit longer irons and fairway shots. I think the key to hitting those shots well, if you have a nice lie in the short fairway grass, is to swing smoothly, not extra strong, and get the club to skim the grass. If you can get that skim to occur in front of the ball, then the clubhead will hit the ball with a nice downward blow, which will give you more spin and definitely more yardage.

I totally recommend searching for any tips by Chuck Cook on Youtube.

[vikramraju]

Hey John,

I've had the same issues for a long time and only recently been able to get my 4,5 and 6 iron swinging well. For me, the biggest issue was that I was searching for a perfect shot from between 160-190 yards using one of these clubs. I found that my swing mechanics were essentially thrown out the window because I was really going after the pin and swinging hard.

I think the easiest thing to try would be to do a more counter intuitive thing like forgetting about the ball and actually trying to swing easier. I found its helped a lot.

[johnclayton1982]

Thank you for the tips.  I played 9 today, and concentrated very hard on simply swinging freely and trying to "skim" the grass and hear that "whoosh" sound on my practice swings from it skimming the grass.

It was going very, very poorly, with a shanked 4 iron responsible for a triple bogey on one and a shanked five iron a double on seven.  Other holes were pars and one bogey (do not require long irons on my course).  On the 9th, I actually did it right and it felt freaking *great*.  Smacked the heck out of a four hybrid and hit it about 210 straight to within 45 yards of the green (triple putted for bogey, but that is another story...).  It felt awesome.  No divot at all left on the grass.

I guess that is golf.  You are about to quit, and just when you've given up hope, you stop trying, and bang, you hit a great shot and all you want to do is play some more.  Went to the range after and couldn't recaputre it; hit about 40 so-so balls before having to leave.

Thank you for the tips.  I guess it is a practice thing and I need to keep at it.  Man, that one felt great though.

[mp33]

Originally Posted by johnclayton1982

Thank you for the tips.  I played 9 today, and concentrated very hard on simply swinging freely and trying to "skim" the grass and hear that "whoosh" sound on my practice swings from it skimming the grass.

It was going very, very poorly, with a shanked 4 iron responsible for a triple bogey on one and a shanked five iron a double on seven.  Other holes were pars and one bogey (do not require long irons on my course).  On the 9th, I actually did it right and it felt freaking *great*.  Smacked the heck out of a four hybrid and hit it about 210 straight to within 45 yards of the green (triple putted for bogey, but that is another story...).  It felt awesome.  No divot at all left on the grass.

I guess that is golf.  You are about to quit, and just when you've given up hope, you stop trying, and bang, you hit a great shot and all you want to do is play some more.  Went to the range after and couldn't recaputre it; hit about 40 so-so balls before having to leave.

Thank you for the tips.  I guess it is a practice thing and I need to keep at it.  Man, that one felt great though.

Isn't it amazing what one well struck shot will do for you.

[SpacklersEdge]

Sounds to me like you need to SLOW DOWN that swing.  You may not be realizing it, but you must be swinging hard to "bang a 4H 210", and earlier you said you were trying to hit your 6I 175.  That seems far to me with a beginner.  You said at the range you couldn't get a 5I past 120.  I bet if you choked up 2 inches, and swing at 50% it would go well past 120.  Start with that and work on tempo.  You are probably really attacking it on the way down, missing the sweet spot as you know since you are shanking or topping them.

[johnclayton1982]

Thank you for the response.  A few clarifications.  On the range, I can hit them past 120-125, but they never go straight.  I meant I can only hit the 5 iron straight 120-25.  And they are bad shanks too.  I do usually gather the 6i at the range at 175, but its about 50/50 shank / non-shank.  As to the 4 Hybrid shot, i didnt measure it.  I could easily have been 195 or 200.  I was really excited about the shot when wrote the post, and it sure FELT like 210.

You might be right about the slowing down.  I was so frustrated I wasn't even thinking about any swing cues or tips or anything and just blasted it.  I'm trying to get that swing again but haven't yet.