Help Purchasing New Irons For 18 Handicapper - My First Ever Post Here

[Hosehead]

Hello ladies and gents, glad to have found this forum ! I am at the end of my rope with my game , particularly my irons. I have always been a very good putter and although not a long hitter , quite accurate off the tee for an eighteeen handicapper. It's the irons that consistently kill me. I may hit nearly every fairway in a round and hit maybe two or three GIR. Miss the green , chip it on and two putt for bogey - round after round , year after year. Earlier this year I went six rounds whilst losing just one ball and still only managed to score three of those rounds in the 80's. That's how many fat misguided irons I hit. And last week I shot a 106 on a tough course that I usually shoot 88-92 on . I took it out on my PW and the shaft is now 6 inches long. I can't fathom going back on the course and the driving range has been terrible. Yes, I could use a lesson. But that would likely make things worse than better and I have my first child coming in three weeks and I don't need to be in a shitty mood 24/7. The guys I play with laugh at the fact that I still play blades at my age and skill level - they are probably right. I need a change.

Here is a little about me in terms of my game and stats:

44 years

5'11" 250lbs - bodybuilder physique (a curse if there ever was one) I have been lifting weights as long as I've been playing golf. Both a huge release and love them equally.

Average drive - 230 yards - down significantly from last year. Old Callaway BB. Was a great club for me until this year.

PW-110

9 iron-125

8-135

7-150

6-165

5-couldn't get one off the ground if my life depended on it.

4 hybrid Adams Idea - 185.

4 iron - awful. Should be holding up my wife's tomato plants.

I have little to no backswing and very little follow through as I have a very large and tight upper body. Legs are tree trunks. Every shot is more or less everyone else's punch shot. Low ball flight. But for years it has worked OK. Don't think my swing is going to change as I will be built this way for as long as I can. Perhaps a new set of irons (or used) will at least allow me to get the damn ball in the air and hit it on the screws from time to time.I know this is a lot to take in , especially for a first post, but I think if I find a better fit my game may come around some. Thanks in advance for your feedback folks.

Oh yeah , in case anyone is wondering my blades are 1993 TNT Traditions lol. What can I say - I live in the past. I went Canadian because I am a Canadian. A gift from my folks for graduating university.

[WUTiger]

Have you had any minor injuries the past year? This might explain why things are going so poorly this year.

As for bodybuilding, could you work in a little flexibility exercise? You are an extreme case of what plagues many US golfers: good strength (ability to do heavy work with muscles), but low power (ability to combine strength with functional speed in golf movements).

This fall I started taking karate lessons to improve my flexibility, balance, and hip turn. I have trimmed two strokes off my HDCP, and it should go down further if it ever quits raining!

What you might do is look at Titleist Performance Institute. http://www.mytpi.com/ The TPI program pairs a fitness trainer with a golf pro. The two do an assessment of  your golf swing: Trainer charts 29 golf-related movements and flexibility measures, and gives you a fitness Handicap and a set of routines to improve your deficient areas. The pro looks at your swing, and tries to improvement using your natural tendencies.

(I went through the TPI routine, including a follow-up. The karate seemed a more fun way of curing my remaining deficiencies).

I would suggest you try the TPI analysis, or a parallel Nike program, before you worry about new clubs.

[Hosehead]

Looks like a good idea, thanks . I did injure my right hand just before my game went to shit. I couldn't lift weights but it did not hurt when I swung a club at all. Maybe it weakened my grip some. Having said that , I do think that even without an injury I could use more forgiving irons than blades given that when I am prefectly healthy I am still shooting high eighties - low nineties. My best last year was 82 and best ever was 78 (which I shot with a herniated disc in my lower back)