5-4 Irons and Driver - I couldn't hit them to save my own life.

[carpediem4300]

i swapped out my 3 hybrid at the weekend for my 3 iron,....damn i hit that thing well,...i definately think the concept of hitting down on the fairway makes it much easier to hit irons of any loft than opposed to having a hybrid/fairway wood that you almost instinctively try to hit up with,..but its a personal thing for sure

when you stand over a long iron and see how steep the loft is you need a loft of faith to swing it and trust the length/loft of the club is gunna do what you want it to

PS: when i start struggling with ball striking because i occasionaly flip the club, i get myself onto a grass bay and start with half swings with the intention of "sticking" the club into the ground and not having a follow through,..... the idea being to hit down on the ball, take a nice divot,.....moving up and down the club range on half swings and watching the results,....then slowly build the swing up to a full swing, still trying to "stick it in the ground" but you will notice the momentum will take the club through the earth, a nice divot and decent ball flight.,...

the most interesting bit of this drill is the difference in ball flight and distance between clubs,....a half swing with a 9i goes nowhere near as far a half swing with 5i,....both stopping in the ground at impact,...sorta re-inforces the concept that the club does the work and not you

[rustyredcab]

How far you hit you 7 iron does matter some. If you hit a really long 7 iron but can not hit a 5 iron, you may be way overswinging everything and just getting away with it on shorter irons. Want to hit better irons? Learn to take about 25% distance off every iron. Let's say you really hit a 175 yard 7 iron, try hitting it 145 and swing your longer irons with that swing.

[Sandy Trap]

I ended up taking a lesson this past weekend.  I scheduled and paid for a 30 minute lesson, but the guy ended up working with me for over two hours.

The only club we worked on was my driver.  He changed my grip so that my club face was in the correct position at the top of my swing, and we worked on releasing earlier and really whipping the club.  One of my big problems was that I was turning my shoulders ahead of the club instead of letting the club bring me around.

Needless to say, after he made the adjustments and a few practice swings, he put a ball on the tee and told me to swing hard.  I hit an awesome high draw shot that bounced past the 250 yd mark into the woods at the end of the range.  Man that felt good after struggling so hard recently.  I hit three large buckets of balls trying to drill the movement into my brain.  It's something that is going to take a lot of practice to dial in consistently.  I was consistently drawing the ball from right to left but my distance and height wasn't always there.  Someone recommended a "low-kick" shaft so I might explore that option.

Below you can see some still shots from my swing.  The club is a TaylorMade Burner 2.0 with a stock stiff shaft.  For those of you who were questioning the markers on my range, this is it.  The 250 yd sign is right at the edge of the woods.

Thank you to those of you who have offered helpful advice instead of "no you dont".

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Sandy Trap

I ended up taking a lesson this past weekend.  I scheduled and paid for a 30 minute lesson, but the guy ended up working with me for over two hours.

The only club we worked on was my driver.  He changed my grip so that my club face was in the correct position at the top of my swing, and we worked on releasing earlier and really whipping the club.  One of my big problems was that I was turning my shoulders ahead of the club instead of letting the club bring me around.

Needless to say, after he made the adjustments and a few practice swings, he put a ball on the tee and told me to swing hard.  I hit an awesome high draw shot that bounced past the 250 yd mark into the woods at the end of the range.  Man that felt good after struggling so hard recently.  I hit three large buckets of balls trying to drill the movement into my brain.  It's something that is going to take a lot of practice to dial in consistently.  I was consistently drawing the ball from right to left but my distance and height wasn't always there.  Someone recommended a "low-kick" shaft so I might explore that option.

Below you can see some still shots from my swing.  The club is a TaylorMade Burner 2.0 with a stock stiff shaft.  For those of you who were questioning the markers on my range, this is it.  The 250 yd sign is right at the edge of the woods.

Thank you to those of you who have offered helpful advice instead of "no you dont".

What sort of grip are you using there?

[Sandy Trap]

"Baseball" grip (no fingers linked or crossed) with a small gap between my hands.  The instructor made me hold it that way so I could really feel the difference between my two hands.  Training wheels of sorts I suppose.

Before then I was using the interlinked fingers.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Sandy Trap

"Baseball" grip (no fingers linked or crossed) with a small gap between my hands.  The instructor made me hold it that way so I could really feel the difference between my two hands.  Training wheels of sorts I suppose.

Before then I was using the interlinked fingers.

Sounds good.  Did he mention anything about spine angle?

[Sandy Trap]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

Sounds good.  Did he mention anything about spine angle?

Nothing that I can recall.

He said my swing looks good, just made some minor adjustments.  The biggest obstacle for me is that I worry about where my club face is.  If I just hold the club how I am supposed to and swing like there isn't a ball on the tee, I crush it.  As soon as I start to worry about the ball everything falls apart.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Sandy Trap

Nothing that I can recall.

He said my swing looks good, just made some minor adjustments.  The biggest obstacle for me is that I worry about where my club face is.  If I just hold the club how I am supposed to and swing like there isn't a ball on the tee, I crush it.  As soon as I start to worry about the ball everything falls apart.

I'd need to see a side view of your swing to be sure, but that shaft appears to be too soft for you.  I would not recommend going with a low kick shaft.  As for reasons why the lower lofted clubs wouldn't get up, it has to be swing related.

[Sandy Trap]

I don't have an angle from the side but I'll update if I get one.

That is a stiff shaft and I can't imagine my swing speed got over 110 with any of those swings.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Sandy Trap

I don't have an angle from the side but I'll update if I get one.

That is a stiff shaft and I can't imagine my swing speed got over 110 with any of those swings.

A stock stiff shaft on most OEM clubs is still pretty whippy.  Probably rated for someone who swings 90 to 95mph with a moderate tempo.  You need to be more concerned with how hard you load the shaft than how fast you swing.  Obviously swing speed is a major factor in loading the shaft, but so is how you accelerate during the golf swing.  Switching to a higher kick, stiffer "stiff" shaft may be all you need.  A lot of the premium shafts that are labeled "stiff" will play stiffer than the stock OEM shafts.  Especially if they are low torque or higher kickpoint.

[carpediem4300]

Tm stock stiff shaft isnt that stiff, spesh as its 46.5" long

[inthehole]

try a smoother tempo - don't need to swing that hard all the time.     If you make good sweet spot contact with a hands forward downward contact, you have to get the ball up, even with a 4i.    Slow it down a bit & force yourself to hit down on it & see if that helps, I bet it will.

[Sandy Trap]

Originally Posted by inthehole

try a smoother tempo - don't need to swing that hard all the time.     If you make good sweet spot contact with a hands forward downward contact, you have to get the ball up, even with a 4i.    Slow it down a bit & force yourself to hit down on it & see if that helps, I bet it will.

I figured it was cheaper to slow down my swing than it was to buy a new shaft, so I slowed it down today at the range.

Slowing it down a little definitely helped me get more air under the ball.  Maybe too much air.  Lost a little distance but I can live with that if my shot is more consistent.

Also, I hit my 7 iron again.  It was closer to 150 than 175-200.  Not sure where I go those number from last time.  I was hitting from a different area at the range so I think maybe the first time was at an angle that made the distances much shorter than the signs.

[FuzzyB1]

So how are you making out with the 4-5 irons after the lesson?  I hate to jump in here but if I were you I'd make sure at address your hands are slightly in front of the ball and center to your body.  If the ball is up too far in your stance it will likely make you hit the ball on the upswing and decrease the compression on the ball and shorten your distance.  The only club that should be lined up with your front armpit or inside front foot is your driver...everything else, hands even or in front of the ball.

[Sandy Trap]

Originally Posted by FuzzyB1

So how are you making out with the 4-5 irons after the lesson?  I hate to jump in here but if I were you I'd make sure at address your hands are slightly in front of the ball and center to your body.  If the ball is up too far in your stance it will likely make you hit the ball on the upswing and decrease the compression on the ball and shorten your distance.  The only club that should be lined up with your front armpit or inside front foot is your driver...everything else, hands even or in front of the ball.

I hit my 4 iron a few times off the mat and off the grass.  It definitely felt better.  I move the ball further towards the middle of my stance as the clubs get shorter.

[carpediem4300]

A good tip my pro showed me to ensure the ball is in the right positions is to take your stance and your grip and hold out your arms parallel to your waist, then bend from the hips until you sole the club, generally that is where the ball needs to be for that club,...obviously you may need to play around with that but its a quick fix to finding the right place,...

when i do it with my 3i/4i its almost like the ball is in the middle of my stance,....but when the pro laid some alignment sticks down it was still set 2-3 balls forward of middle,.....showing "feel aint real"

most amatuers play the ball far to forward with most clubs anyway,