Hitting it too long?

[Recoil]

Ok. So I know the interwebs is full of guys with 300 yard PWs but I'm not that. However I do hit my irons fairly long. A little background. I'm 30 years old. 6' 215lbs fairly lean. I have been working on my swing alot this season. 3 months ago my 150 yd iron was my 5 iron. For the last month or so I have been hitting my 9 iron on 175 yd par 3s and putting it on. I'm not swinging out of my shoes and I feel very comfortable with the same tempo with every swing. The distances I have been getting are very consistent and when I swing well the accuracy isn't bad either. I have had to outfit myself with 4 different wedges is order to have clubs that work from 115-60yds. I will hit a shorter iron if needed to give me a shot at the green that is between 100-150 yards because that's where I am most accurate. The question is 1. How can I get more accuracy without screwing up the tempo I have found and the swing I am very happy with right now? Any one else dealt with this? I know alot of guys who say they would love to hit their irons as far as I hit mine consistently without blowing a blood vessel but honestly I'd rather hit them shorter and beat the snot out of those guys on the card. Also I don't hit a driver. I out drive my buddies with a 4H so I gave the big stick up in favor of being in the fairway.

[DarkPrince]

Phil Mickelson if I remember right had to weaken the lofts on his irons because they were flying too far, not sure if it's true though.

[Recoil]

Lol. I'm no Phil Mickelson

[BIGTRUFFLE]

Without seeing your swing I cannot tell exactly how you may be able to improve your accuracy however I have a thought about what you might want to try.

How far a player hits the ball is decided by several reasons such as club head speed, having solid contact by hitting the ball in the sweet spot of the club face and having the club face square at impact. Long and accurate shots require all three.

A slower tempo produces an increase in time which gives the body more of a chance to achieve the above. Try slowing your pivot down a fraction, this in turn should lead to a slower left arm and the chances of hitting the club square will increase.

[newtogolf]

You may not be Phil, but Dark Prince is right in that weakening the lofts of your irons is an option that won't require you to make any swing changes.

Originally Posted by DarkPrince

Phil Mickelson if I remember right had to weaken the lofts on his irons because they were flying too far, not sure if it's true though.

Quote:

Lol. I'm no Phil Mickelson

[Harmonious]

Learn how to hit partial wedge shots.  Maintain the same tempo, but adjust the length of your backswing to produce different distances.

[SAGolfLuvr]

I used to have that problem. I solved it by gaining weight in an unhealthy way, getting rid of my graphite shafted irons, and 3 years later, changing my swing and getting fitted with my current irons. You don't like that fix :-)  ??

Ok, I have one that may actually work for you. Try using a 58* instead of a 60*, and use a 54* instead of a 56*. Practice using the same tempo full swings and 3/4 swings. Then look at the 3/4 swings by the OLDER Pro's on You Tube; Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf0HrGBtO-c Full Swing would be your normal distance, 3/4 swing will be less distance for the same iron.

LASTLY, do the Fred Couples drill, take your irons, add loft and/or de-loft, use the same tempo, and try to hit ALL of them (OK, PW-5Iron) to 120yards. Then do the same with 130yrds. Work your way up to 170yards. You will learn how to Loft, De-Loft, 3/4 swing, Full Swing, 1/2 swing, all at the same tempo and zero in on the distances you need when you need them.

Good Luck!

[Recoil]

Thanks alot for the advice. I am going to try most of what was said here and see where it takes me. All but the gaining weight thing. I'm lucky I've been able to stay in shape this long. I have been working like crazy to produce a swing that I can repeat consistently that feels right and hits down without chopping at the ball. Biggest things I've done to get where I am so far is close my stance. ( had a buddy look at me one day and mention that I looked hunched over and like I needed to take a crap on the tee. Funny guy but got me watching alot of video and taking a look at my shaft length of my clubs. Next best thing for me was just really being aware of my postyre throughout my swing to make sure I wasn't standing up during my downswing. This really cut down on the thin and fat shots. The stance helped the distance but the posture helped the consistency. I have to say I'm scared to post a vid of my swing. In my head I love it but having never video'd it Im worrying I look like a monkey f c ing a football out there. I'll get a video and am very open to constructive criticism but no banana jokes.

[sean_miller]

Try swinging slower. Visualize a target 5, 10, 15, 20, (i.e. whatever) yards in front of your typical landing spot and try to land the ball there. Vary the height, the spin, the shape, etc to see what works best for you. For me, varying the trajectory does interesting things to shot length. Some days higher is better and some days it's lower.

[Recoil]

well I injured my right shoulder on wednesday but was feeling pretty good today so my Father-in-law and I went out for a round. It went well. Good scores for both of us. I still have the same issues though. Im long with a slight fade and in the fairway off of the tees for most of the round however the second and third shots to the green that are within 100yds were adding numbers to my card. Trying to slow my swing down got me out of my normal tempo and therefore my normal swing which usually ended up in hitting the ball fat or thin and a stroke to the hole. As long as I could get the ball between 100-150 yds from the green off of the tee or off the 2nd shot on par 5s I was on or near in regulation. (btw near in regulation is a stat I invented to make me feel better about myself)

So from here I am going to move over to delofting my irons. I dont like the way my swing feels when I change it up as much as I feel I need to in order to hit a 50 yd shot. ( I do realize I need to get this down or Ill never get my score down but for now I'm sticking to making my swing consistent and repeatable)

No vids of my swing this week guys, Id rather not get swing advice until my shoulder is all better so that I dont get information that may be just to fix what time and ibuprofen can.

[Zeph]

It's unusual to ask for ways to hit it shorter, but not unheard of. In my opinion, you can take two routes on this issue. 1: Take a look at your swing and see if something is too extreme and maybe can be dialed down a bit. 2: Make some equipment changes. Shorter ball, more lofted clubs, shorter (in distance) clubs etc. I've hit some different irons, and all don't fly as far for me. I recommend posting a swing video if you are currently able to swing like you normally do. It doesn't mean you'll get a bunch of tips on various stuff, but it's always interesting to see the swing. It is a place to start. You can for instance have too much forward shaft lean, which launch the ball lower and with a high speed. This can however affect your accuracy. You can have too much of a good thing.

[Robato]

I can understand hitting it long. I'm also over 6', lean, etc.

It sounds to me like you are asking what to do in short situations now. For example, how to hit it when you're inside your full 9i shot. Using 4 wedges is perfectly OK. Don't deloft your whole set. For example, I use my 60 degree wedge for chip/pitch shots and approaching up to 80 yards away. My 54 sand wedge for about 100, and my 48 pitching wedge for about 115. I would recommend Dave Pelz Short Game Bible to learn more about a good 4 wedge setup. Learn to love the 100 yards and in situations, cuz there are a lot of birdies to be found.

[saevel25]

really, if you have the technique, then all that matters is getting reps.. That means, find a way to set up 40,50,60,70,80 yard markers and hit shots to them over and over again. I know walmart sells bags of golf balls, like 40 of them for 20 bucks. There basically muck balls, but find a park were you can hit shots like that. and just practice those shots to gain the feel.

[Recoil]

really, if you have the technique, then all that matters is getting reps.. That means, find a way to set up 40,50,60,70,80 yard markers and hit shots to them over and over again. I know walmart sells bags of golf balls, like 40 of them for 20 bucks. There basically muck balls, but find a park were you can hit shots like that. and just practice those shots to gain the feel.

I believe the key word there is "feel". Im pretty sure that by trying to perfect my primary (full) swing I have neglected to learn any kind of feel. Guess I'm pretty much numb. I'm not stupid enough to complain about distance but having that with no feel has left me missing a key part of the game. I cannot post a swing right now since it will not be good data due to my should has shortened my backswing. Without the full backswing I lost some distance today on the course. On a 175 yd par 3 I always use a 9i on I had to hit an 8i to get it on the green ( pretty proud of that shot though, not so much the 3 putt for bogey ;) I really need to figure this out. I'll look more at de-lofting a couple of my clubs to test. I really like the idea of hitting the crap walmart balls and my neighborhood has a field next to it.