Iron play very hit and miss

[Shane Cummins]

Hi All,

I am a 38 year old, 24hc playing just over 1 year. I am playing in the high 90's to the low 100's at the moment. I hit my irons very inconsistently and been to a few Pro's but I can't seem to get an understanding of how my swing should feel so as a result it feels strange at address and a lot of doubt creeps in even though I try to stay positive which seems quite difficult when I don't feel in control of my swing. I have become a little more consistent with my driver in recent months but my irons are very hit and miss (excuse the pun)

A local Pro gave me a drill of  3/4 swing with my feet together, which in a practice environment I get a much better strike rate. I would go so far as to say that I hit the ball cleaner and straighter than with a regular setup. It has to be said that when I hit the ball with the regular setup I do have a slightly better success rate on the practice range than on the course. I practice a lot, I try to hit around 300 balls a week over a few days at the range and I play once a week with maybe 9 holes on a midweek evening if work allows.

As an example, last Saturday, drove 225 yards on a pa r5, hit the next 2 shots fat and then topper the 4th one. Then on the next par 4 I was on the green in 2 and putted for par. I suppose the worry is not knowing what to expect from each shot.

Just to add in case it may be significant, When I do strike the ball cleanly (or reasonably so), I get enormous height. I'd be lucky get 170 with my three iron (assuming I didn't top it ) personally, I would accept accuracy over distance every shot at the moment.

Despite my tale of woe, I enjoy my golf and try to remain positive but I can't accept to just plod along and not see improvement.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Shane.

[Paiste]

I used to have that problem and it all boiled down to one thing; I was standing to far from the ball. I'd hit a solid shot and then the very next shot, I would "toe" it. This kept happening and it was extremely frustrating because I knew that I was a much better player than what my results were showing. I found a great video on you tube about distance from the ball at address and now my irons shots are much more consistent. Try looking at your ball position and distance from the golf ball. These are things that are commonly overlooked by most amateurs.

[anthony]

The "feel like 75%" is a good place to start. I'd even go a step further and have it "feel" like 50-60%. For me, that was a big part of getting my iron game better. Not just with your feet together, with your regular swing. I was obviously overswinging by a lot, and the conscious 50-60% backswing feeling noticeably led to crisper, and more consistent strikes. It sort of introduced a bit of a pause at the top too.

Another thing to try is having your right arm "feel" a lot straighter going back. It will bend eventually, but feeling like it's almost completely straight going back will prevent you from bending your right arm past 90 degrees.

[dave s]

The only club you mentioned was a 3-iron.  If you have 3-5 irons in your bag, does the same thing happen with 6-iron down through wedges?

If you're hitting your shorter irons more solidly, might want to consider easier to hit hybrids than 3-5 irons.  Just a thought.

dave

[jclark]

Get video of your swing up. If you top your shots and hit them fat and when you make contact the ball goes sky high, this tells me you flip. Start a my swing thread and get your video uploaded. Some really knowledgeable guys on here can square you away quick.

[mvmac]

Yeah post a video in the Member Swing forum. Very good chance it's going to be a Key #1 or #2 issue.

http://purestrike5sk.com/

[tomvk77]

What you are talking about you get better contact with the feet together. It sounds to me you don't rotate the hips but slide the hips ( sway ) on the backswing. This causes huge inconsistency.

You can start by taking your normal setup and than turn your knees out, you will feel more stable and the sway will be a lot less.

You should feel that on top off the backswing your weight is on the inside off your right foot.

hope this will help you.

[Shane Cummins]

Thanks one and all for the help, It happens with all the irons but more so with the long irons than the mid to short. I played last night and I made a conscious efford to stay over the ball, pause at the top of the backswing, re-focus on the ball and it still hit them fat, thin and the ocasional top. It also has to be said that I did hit some clean shots also. I think I may be casting the club bucause I don't feel that I'm moving that much but that may be just my perception. I have been practicing a drill where I assume the address position, put my arms across my chest and rotate in front of a mirror or focusing on a spot on the ground, saying that, under pressure on the course I may not be doing it correctly even though I think I am. I will work on getting a video uploaded. I'm calling to a pro this evening just to see if I can get a handle on things.

Thanks once again for all the help,

Shane.

[tomvk77]

Always the best solution go to a pro.

[Crim]

Always the best solution go to a pro.

I recommend everyone to post their swing in the "my swing" thread. I've had a couple lessons with one of the "best pga/pro teachers" in the Minneapolis area but I've learned 10x more about my swing and how to make it better from posting my videos here.

It's also saved me hundreds of dollars that I can use to get out on a golf course.