Severe Loss of distance

[kiwi91123]

Hey guys, here is my problem.

I have lost alot of distance on all my clubs. I mean alot:-

Club                 Old yardage             New Yardage

Driver                  270                             220

3 wood                240                             200

Hybrid                 215                             180

4 iron                  210                             165

5 iron                  195                             155

6 iron                  180                             150

7 iron                  170                             130

8 iron                  160                             120

9 iron                  150                             100

PW                     140                             80

As you can see that is pretty dramatic. I personally dont feel like my swing has changed at all during the off season.

My ball flight is now alot higher aswell but does mostly go straight, not the dreaded high slice.

I have tried to do several things in order to try and fix the problem such as, moving the ball back in my stance to try and deloft the club but didnt really do much also tried turning my wrists over during impact which I did see a gain in distance but it was really uncomfortable.

Is there any one else out there who has had the problem and managed to fix it or does anyone else currently have it?

Any in put would be much appreciated

[LuciusWooding]

Are these new distances from range balls? Do you know for certain your old distances are correct? Did you hit the ball first and take a divot? Do you make really solid contact? Any changes to your swing? Do you end up in a good finish and use a sound setup? There are dozens of factors here that are a possibility.

Don't chase the distance. Fix your swing properly. If your car suddenly couldn't go over 30, you don't floor it and try to force it; you take it into a mechanic or study it properly. ie, you need to get a lesson to determine the fault or take some video on your own and really study what you see, not what you feel. A winter off can throw off your feel just a tiny bit.

Trying to deloft the club to get distance is great if you're in a situation you can risk it and you don't drastically change your swing. Been there, ruined my swing, done with that. If you make the low draw your default shot because you're chasing iron distance, expect to not hit anything above a 7 properly, and to need a lot of effort to get any distance. Trying to manipulate your wrists to save the direction of the shot is another way to make bad contact. Get your swing plane and setup sorted out, the distance will be there automatically. One doesn't suddenly lose that much swing speed and stay with the same mechanics.

What fixed it for me was trying to hit the ball more solidly and not harder. I also tried to make sure my setup and takeaway were better, since I was really inside even though I didn't think so. And stay connected, especially with woods. Keep the arms in front of your chest the whole way and don't flip your hands. Those are my fixes for poor contact, anyway.

[14ledo81]

I lost distance last year myself. Not as much as yours, but enough to be annoying. I took video of my swing and found I was flipping and adding loft at impact. I have been trying (with practice swings) all winter to get the hands in front of the club at impact. Can't wait until I can go to the range and see if I have made any progress. We are in the middle of another snow storm, so it does not look like I will get to try anytime soon.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

I lost distance last year myself. Not as much as yours, but enough to be annoying. I took video of my swing and found I was flipping and adding loft at impact. I have been trying (with practice swings) all winter to get the hands in front of the club at impact. Can't wait until I can go to the range and see if I have made any progress. We are in the middle of another snow storm, so it does not look like I will get to try anytime soon.

I'm still struggling with that very thing. The OP has probably got something similar happening.

A way to see is impact tape on the sole of the club and strike a board with a swing. Most likely you'll find (as I did) that the tape will have a mark in the center to the trailing edge.

Either we hang back and don't have a proper weight shift or possibly our trailing shoulder is dropping severely. We also could also be getting the club stuck behind us and in an effort to square the face, we get too 'handsy'.

[kiwi91123]

Right ill try and get into this in a little more detail

The balls I mostly use are srixon ad-333. I dont use any that appear to be damaged and scuffed too much so the ball is not the issue.

Next point is my divot. It points way too the left of the target maybe at a 45 deg angle to the line.

I think I may be hitting the ball before i reach the bottom of my arc.

Another point is I hold the club kak handed. Meaning my right hand goes on top of my left. I have played like this my whole life so I dont see that being too much of an issue.

I appear to hit the ball solid. Sometimes it looks like it going alot further than what it actually is.

I know I still have the power because I can sometimes get back to my previous yardages but very very rarely.

I really want to get this fixed, its so frustating.

[kiwi91123]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

I'm still struggling with that very thing. The OP has probably got something similar happening.

A way to see is impact tape on the sole of the club and strike a board with a swing. Most likely you'll find (as I did) that the tape will have a mark in the center to the trailing edge.

Either we hang back and don't have a proper weight shift or possibly our trailing shoulder is dropping severely. We also could also be getting the club stuck behind us and in an effort to square the face, we get too 'handsy'.

The bit in bold there is a problem when I watch the video of my swing my shoulder drops. I really do think it is something to do with my arc but I hit the ball 1st the majority of the time but I dont start swinging up for another 6" roughly.