Extremely short...

[StrmStlkr]

Hey all,

Where do I begin. First, I know that all you can do is provide suggestions as you are not able to actually see my swing, but I am currently working on getting a video for that. Here is my problem:

All of my shots are short. To give an idea I will give you a list of some of my clubs and their distances. And these are considered good shots for me.

Driver - 230-250.
5w - 200
3i - not sure, don't really attempt that club right now. I would guess 180-190
5i - 160
7i - 135
9i - 100
Pw - 90
Gw - 60
Sw - 50

Pretty bad huh?

Any suggustions on what I can start looking at?

I plan on starting to take lessons as soon as I get some prior engagements done this month that have been tieing me up.

Thanks for all suggestions.

~Brian

[lamebums]

How tall are you? If you're over six feet, consider getting a clubfitting - and an extension. Longer clubs in that case would mean a better fit and more swing speed.

Also, hit the gym. Work on biceps, triceps, and especially hip abductors/adductors. A larger muscle, contrary to most opinion, doesn't destroy your ability to swing (see Jason Zuback), but it does give you a better tool to do work with, such as swinging a club.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

  StrmStlkr said:

Hey all,

Actually, no, that's not bad. Distance is very over-rated my friend. I would always suggest lessons, especially to someone starting off. Don't try and extend yourself. Once you start getting more consistant and making solid contact more often the distance will take care of itself. Good luck.

[StrmStlkr]

I'm 5'6'' and only like 140. As for the strength part, I know its not that. Ive played baseball all of my life and am in pretty good shape and very active. That being said I still do plan on hitting the gym again also since the company I work with provides a membership at their training center right down the street.

Cleveland, I know its not that bad and im not all that dissapointed in it. What does bother is there is a gap from about 160 to 200, or 5i to 5w. That can be changed as soon as I can learn to hit my 3i and 4i. It also bothers me that my wedges are so short. Kinda embarasing when I take a full swing with a Sw and it only goes 50 yards, goes higher than that in the air.

I guess that is something else I should mention. When it comes to my wedges, it seems like the harder I swing, the higher the go and shorter in distance. But when I do like a pitch shot, its lower and I can hit it a bit farther is seems.

[lhshurdl3r]

  StrmStlkr said:

I'm 5'6'' and only like 140. As for the strength part, I know its not that. Ive played baseball all of my life and am in pretty good shape and very active. That being said I still do plan on hitting the gym again also since the company I work with provides a membership at their training center right down the street.

try this... with your wedges, don't use a full swing. instead take a half swing and make a strong follow through with the ball. ive been having problems with my short irons and wedges lately and that's helped a bit. it's easier to make the right contact when you let your club travel a shorter distance.

please, if any of this is off, correct me :) i'm not really a golf vet.

[greenail]

where do you play all those clubs in your stance?

[Franco!]

haha looks like you hit about as far as corey pavin, and hes not doing too bad for himself. distance is overrated, just be straight and develop a great short game and you should be fine

[StrmStlkr]

Wedges in the back of the stance. 7,8,9i little bit further up, 3,4,5,6i about mid and everything else towards the front.

[Finn07]

My suggestion is buy Hogans Five Lessons Book. You cant go wrong reading this book. Youll learn a ton about the swing.

[fusioncal]

  StrmStlkr said:

Hey all,

  StrmStlkr said:

I'm 5'6'' and only like 140. As for the strength part, I know its not that. Ive played baseball all of my life and am in pretty good shape and very active. That being said I still do plan on hitting the gym again also since the company I work with provides a membership at their training center right down the street.

Hey there Brian! Don't get too discouraged because you hit them short. In golf there's no such thing as the "standard" distance where people use to measure with each other. There's only one distance and that is your distance.

Another major thing that affects your distance is the way you swing. Of course well hit shot will go further than fat/thin shots. Also if you create enough "lag" in your swing it will also contribute to your distance (and consistency!). If you feel you've done these things and you don't still gain any distance, let's refer back to the term "your distance." I don't know whether or not you've heard this before, but irons and golf balls do affect the overall distance. To my knowledge, titanium faced irons give you more higher and further shots than steel faced irons. As for golf balls, look for the word "distance" whenever you decide to purchase some. As far as heights, there's an assumption that bigger guys hit farther than smaller guys. That's not necessarily true. My close friend who is 5'8" hit average of 265 yards using his driver. There's this one time he almost won the longest drive in a local tournament but lost by only 3 yards to 6'4" tall guy who hit 297. While myself, I can say I'm as tall as you and I'm not trying to brag myself, but I do hit my SW around 75 yards. I feel there's still a little bit more I can achieve in distance if I manage to work on my swing better. What I'm trying to say here is that you still have plenty room to achieve in regards to distance. So, don't get the feeling you're embarrassed because you hit them short. Once you work on the fundamentals, I'm sure you'll be able to bomb it as far as the rest of the guys there.

[mjbartow]

Honestly, your swings aren't that short with your scoring irons, if these are from a range, then yeah they aren't LONG but they aren't SHORT. If they are out on the course then I think they're normal.

The only gap I see is with your 7i and up. What about your 8i? Where is it? And 6i?

Your 5i is pretty much the only thing I'd call short, 160 with a 5i is a bit below average, I can get a 6i to go 170ish and I'm just about your size. As of late the only irons I use up to are 6i, then anything 200+ I use my hybrid (3iw). So there is definetly something odd about 5i, and I'd even venture to say there is something wrong with your 7i.

Are you realizing the fact that your PW swing and 5i swing shouldn't be exactly the same? Maybe you are putting it too far in your stance?

For a 7i-5i I like to take practice swings until I get a perfect mix between divot and sweep, maybe a little nic on the grass, not a dollar sized divot, but a thin line that only goes for an inch or two.

There is nothing like hitting your 6i perfectly, because it is difficult to do, but as for generating velocity, I don't really know how I do it, but I'm just helping you to analyze your problem

[mjbartow]

I just figured out what could be a problem.

You aren't trying to scoop the ball are you? Make sure your hands are infront of the ball and you are hitting down.

What tipped me off is your 50yds for a SW. 45-50yrds for a SW is what I hit when I put my hands directly above the ball to flatten out the loft and flop it into the air. I can also hit it 90yds if I put it back in my stance and my hands in front of it.

Maybe sure you are hitting down on the ball and not trying to scoop it.

[guitarace372]

I used to have a problem with distance, and I just had to remember to have a nice slow backswing, and accelerate down into the ball.

[The Golfing Polack]

To reiterate what a lot have already said, the actual distance you hit a club is pretty much just a matter of pride/ego. I'm a guy who hits it long (200-205) with my 5 iron, but if you're consistent with your distances who cares. If I hit a 165 yard par 3 with my 8 and you used a 5, but are closer to the pin, I'd tip my hat to you, not smirk that I used 3 clubs less. The distance drop in your wedges is a little startling, and it seems like you're probably executing a flop shot with too much wrist action. Stiffen that wrist and move the ball back in your stance. You can also try hitting with a more closed stance which will deloft the club enough to gain you some distance, but most importantly keep your wrists stiff and hit down through the ball. You want a relatively large divot with the sand wedge.

[TheSuperCaddy]

sorry about cutting into this thread but finn, how is hudson hills, cuz i usually play at mohansic? and also, distance is really overated. i have a friend who is five 1 and only drives 240 and could still destroy me.

[StrmStlkr]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. Im fine with my distance for the most part and It has never bothered me in any way. Im usually the one who makes jokes about it with my playing partners and strangers.

I am afraid I might be trying to scoop the ball a little bit. So that is one thing that I am going to make sure I do is hit down on the ball. It's funny, I will practice swing in my house on the carpet, jusg pick a spot and act like the ball is there and the carpet will show where my divit is in realtion to the spot i.e. before, at, or after the ball. On the carpet, it looks perfect but I just seem to lose it when I actually stand over a ball.

[fusioncal]

  StrmStlkr said:

On the carpet, it looks perfect but I just seem to lose it when I actually stand over a ball.

It's a mental thing.

Sometimes it happens to me on the course doing a few practice swings before I hit the ball. When there's a ball down there suddenly everything is different, because now you have a target to hit. So what I do usually is I look at the pin imagining how my shot would be, address the ball, look at the pin again and then I hit the ball right away. No practice swings. Better results for me. Everyone has different routines so find the one you're comfortable with.

[Ringer]

RELEASE THE CLUB!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ckECXHu4U