MCFung

So, over the last few years, I have avoided hitting my driver like the plague. the typical result for me was a smother hook. I would always use the same swing I use for my irons, but while I hit my irons fairly well, my driver was virtually unusable. Now I was browsing the forums the other day, and found a post by a short guy (5'6") who was having the same issues, and people told him his driver swing plane was too shallow. Since I'm the same height, I thought I'd give the remedy a whirl. I choked up a bit, took a steep swing, and AND IT WORKED! By taking a very upright swing plane on the driver, I was able to put it down the pipes. But the problem is, it messed with my iron swing. Suddenly I was struggling with hitting irons that I was normally very comfortable with hitting. So what do I do? Do I keep working at this two swing method to try and make it work? Or can I find a happy medium swing that will work with both irons and my driver? HELP! Thanks, Mark

HELP! So over the last year, I've been working on my swing fundamentals. I'd say they've improved greatly. I stay on plane, better hip turn, etc. But now I can't hit a driver for the life of me! I am getting good clubhead speed (I can tell by the sound), but they take a quick dive and hook HARD. What gives? I shouldn't have to make a drastically different swing for my driver, so I essentially make the same swing as my irons, but a dramtically different result occurs. Anyone encounter this before? Any thoughts or tips? Thanks in advance! Mark

Honestly, my swing thoughts have nothing to do with the course itself. My thoughts are more focused on staying on plane, hip rotation and weight shift. I know if I make a good swing I can get it to where its supposed to go. I guess I just worry so much about my swing itself and making it a good one, that I fall apart.

[QUOTE=golfdad;222941]most of the pros see psychologists, so it seems that the demon affects all. back to mark's original concerns,,, 1. in driving range, are you hitting off mats or real turf? Mats. I play a lot of munis and public courses, so I very rarely get the option of hitting off turf to warm up. I have heard some people make huge arguments on mats vs. turf, but I never really gave it much credibility. Does it make THAT much of a difference? 3. develop a set of very simple, repeatable pre-shot routines and follow them religiously everywhere you go, driving range or course. I feel like my pre-shot routine is pretty repeatable. I stand behind the ball, lining it up to the target. Pick a spot 2-3 ft in front of the ball along the target line for alignment. Grip the club. Get into my stance. Double-check alignment. Pull the club back once or twice to make sure my takeaway is on plane, and let it rip. Once I get into my stance, I do tend to stand over the ball for a while, trying to get comfortable and clear my head. People always tell me I think about it too much, but if I just approach the ball and swing away, the result is almost always a bladed shot. 4. learn to THINK about why you make certain bad shots (that 5 mins ago you do not have this problem). what fall short? I really tried to do this last round out. I analyzed the ball's flight path, determined I was coming way over the top by the ball flight and my divot pattern, and tried to tuck my rear elbow into my hip to help stay on plane. That didn't seem to work. So I tinkered with everything else over the course of the round, and nothing but awful shots ensued. The worst part was, I couldn't FEEL a difference in my swing between the awful shots and the good ones. Takeaway felt the same, but once I hit impact, I knew it was awful just by the feel. ARGH!

Here's my problem with playing the swing I brought that day: that swing SUCKS. It is impossible to play a skulled 7 iron that goes 50 yards ahead, and 50 yards left (I am a lefty), especially when at the range I *JUST* hit a high 7 iron fade to about 150 yds. I literally cannot play the swing that I bring to the course, and can't fix it within the span of 18 holes. Essentially, I need to figure out: A) how to bring my range swing to the course and B) how to hit the mental 'reset button' once I make a bad swing on the course. I apologize if it sounds like I am ranting/whining, but this is really stressing me out.

So lately this is becoming a recurring theme for me, and its destroying my enjoyment of the game of Golf. On Saturday, I got to the course early to warm up. Hit about 40 balls, and was very satisfied with my swing. I warmed with a variety of clubs: wedges, irons, and woods. Distance and direction were good on all my clubs. I felt comfortable and confident standing over the ball. Then i get to the first tee box, and it all falls apart. And I am not talking about first tee jitters, here. I had an awful round, maybe hitting 3 or 4 shots I could actually play the entire time. I felt like I took the exact same swing from the range to the course, but I was hitting hosel rockets, shanking, hitting thin, coming over the top, you name it. It was so frustrating, especially since 45 minutes prior, I was hitting some pretty nice shots. Needless to say, I put up a monster number that day, and walked away frustrated to no end. I guess my question is, what the heck am I doing wrong? I would assume the problem is mental, so what swing thoughts should I carry to the course? Does this happen to anyone else? What do you do when you have days like this? Thanks in advance, Mark

Hi, So lately I have been working on improving my weight transfer and hip rotation. I've always struggled with having essentially no hip turn, and having my arms/shoulders pull my hips through the swing as opposed to vice versa. My swing trigger is now to shift my weight to the outside of my front foot followed by kicking my rear knee in to force a hip turn. Only problem is, my head is now moving forward when I shift my weight forward. I know I should be keeping my head behind the ball at impact, but if I make a conscious effort to do so, I feel like I still keep a lot of weight on my rear foot, even after doing a hip bump to get weight to the outside of my front foot. I feel like I am leaning back, and the weight builds on my rear foot. My questions: A) If my head continues to slide forward, what mishits will this tend to cause? B) What drills are out there can help me shift weight while keeping my head behind the ball? Thanks!

My lag isn't the same as Sergio's, but its not THAT bad. :) I have much bigger struggles with my weight shift and hip rotation. What is the desired outcome of this drill? To build lag? Also, what should my ball flight look like when I hit balls during this drill? I couldn't even make solid contact with this drill, so I have no idea. Thanks!

So I just got back from my second lesson with my teaching pro. He had me working on some drills that I found very awkward. Now, I understand that he is the pro, and I should be listening to what he has to say, but I've studied a lot of swings and read a fair amount of books, so I thought I knew the majority of the swing fundamentals. I am not so arrogant to think that I know ALL of the fundamentals, but what he was trying to get me to do was WAY out of left field for me. Essentially, he was trying to get me to pull the handle of the club across my body during the down swing, and not release until the butt end was past my front foot. And then, his idea of releasing the club was rotating the club, almost flexing my leading arm's forearm, to square the clubface to the ball. This concept is incredibly foreign to me. Not only that, I don't think my body is physically capable of doing this! It puts incredible strain on my leading arm, and when he puts my hands in the correct position, my trailing hand almost comes off the grip, because I can't get that much wrist cock. Has anyone heard of a downswing technique like this before?

Yeah, I am definitely chicken winging it after contact. I just recently bought new clubs and I never got them custom-fit. Being fairly short (5'6"), standard length clubs are a little too upright for me. I have attempted to adjust by using a very upright swing plane. I wonder if that is just my body/mind's way of compensating for such an upright swing? I definitely want to flatten the lie angle on my irons to compensate going forward. As for my upper body/arms swing, I have always struggled with using my hips properly. Its something I continue to work on.

Typically, my lead elbow is pointed at the target due to my strong grip. My trailing elbow is pointed at my rear hip at address. Are you thinking I should take a more neutral grip?

You really think my hips are outracing my arms? At impact, it looks like my hips are facing the ball, same as my shoulders. I thought my hips should be almost facing the target at that point?

Hey gang, Just started to put together this swing, because my old swing was AWFUL! (trust me ) Anyways, just saw a teaching pro for the first time, but he is so booked, it will be quite some time before I can get back to him. I was hoping you guys could take a look and let me know what you think. I am really struggling with my hips, and having my shoulders outrace my hips. Also struggling with club extension past the line, my club comes right back inside in a hurry. Any tips or drills you guys could provide would be a great help. Here's my swing: Front View: http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1809 Target View: http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=1808 Thanks!

Klaymon, I move the ball more forward in my stance progressively depending on the club length. I typically play wedges just behind center, all the way to 3 iron 3 balls in front of center.

Wedge, 9 iron is carrying 110-115, which is also abnormally short for me. I typically play 9 iron dead center or just ahead in the stance. I am a shorter guy, so I promise its not uncomfortable for me to get the shorter clubs down. :) Maybe body rotation, but I feel like I am really getting after it with my body?

Everardo, Clubs are only 1 year old, Callaway X-20 irons w/ stock steel Uniflex shaft. Would I really need to check the lofts?

Hey guys, So I've recently been going to a pro to help with my swing. We're working on really swinging from the inside and getting my hands in front of the ball. The results have been pretty good so far, resulting in a baby fade, like 1-2 yards. The issue now is, my distance gaps are very inconsistent betweeen irons. The worst gap is b/w the 7 and 8 iron. The 7 iron carries about 155. The 8 iron carries about 120! What gives? I used to be able to hit the 8 to 145. Ball position is maybe 1 ball ahead of center. I was always taught to not put balls behind center unless its a wedge. Help?!?! Thanks!

Hey gang, So my question is, when did you decide you were ready to upgrade from Game Improvement irons to Players' Irons? Lately I've started to work the ball a little more, but I am not a pro at it by any stretch. I know the clubs are supposed to help you with that. Am I going to lose distance by switching to thes types of irons? Any advice would be great. Thanks! Mark

I believe you can get TaylorMade RAC OS2's from Golfsmith for $400?

So... I hate my hybrid. Am I the only one? I can flush a 3-iron to 210 fairly consistently, but when I have an opportunity present itself to hit the 3-hybrid, its low hook city. Its an Adams Ideawood. Its got a fair amount of offset, but I don't think that alone is enough to cause that big of a hook. I see all these reviews and pros saying how they are so much easier to hit, but I just don't get it. Am I the only one? Thanks!

Hey guys, I have always struggled with hitting a fairway wood. Severe case of straightening up my spine angle at impact. I have been working on a more upright stance to fix that. As I have been working on this, I have been taking a few swings with my 5 wood. I am a pretty short guy (5'6") so when I grip the club in a normal place, the toe is up in the air. When I take some swings, the sole of the club hits the turf and skips upward, almost over the top of the ball. I think the once the heel grounds itself, it bounces off the turf. Now when I choke up, it improves the lie angle of the club so the sole of the club is square on the ground. When I take a swing choked up, the sole glides across the turf, like it should. All that being said, am I imagining things, or does the club work better with the sole plate even on the turf? (I hear this doesn't matter as much with the driver since no turf contact is made.) If that's the case, do people get the lie angle adjusted on fairway woods? Or am I better off cutting the shaft down (I typically choke up 2+ inches.) Any help is appreciated with this. Thanks! Mark

As long as you are moving the ball more forward in your stance for your longer irons, this makes sense. It should help keep your clubface square and keep your hands in front of the ball when making contact. Think about it, if you used the same grip on a 9i as on a 3i, but you moved the fall several inches forward, by the time you clubface arrived at impact position, it would already be closed.

Adams i-Wood 3i.

I am in IT sales for a Fortune 500 company in Chicago. I figure I need to get good at golf so I can impress my clients!