VanillaEps

Interlocking. Felt the most comfortable.

As other have said, the 3-wood for me is a must when I can't hit my driver.

Update: So, as others have suggested, and I had guessed, it was the grip that was causing the severe hooks in my iron game. Yesterday, I scheduled an hour lesson at a small par 3 course in the Hamptons, and was able to cure the hook and learn a lot of new things as a result of my lesson. First off, for some reason, I had come away from my first lesson thinking that a proper address meant forward pressing on all my iron shots. Its no wonder that I was getting very low ball flights from my iron shots. This instructor promptly told me that forward pressing is suitable for chipping and certain chip shots. In addition, also not a bad idea for windy days where you want to prevent the ball from being carried away. Otherwise, I should be addressing the ball with my hands just inside the inner thigh of my left leg (RH) with the ball placed in relation to the club in hand. Second thing the instructor taught me was how to create lag between my hands and club. Trying to aim the end of the club towards the ball on the downswing. The first few shots, in trying to implement this new piece to my swing, went awry. But, once I got the hang of it, the ball carried farther, straighter, and with more purpose. I now knew what it meant to create torque and add power to my swing! In doing so, I no longer possessed a natural fade, but created a natural draw to my swing. It was unbelievable to watch and a joy to start to understand. Hopefully I can recreate this session on the range this week.

I picked up the game around the same time you did. I have about two months under my belt as well. My advice to you would be to completely ignore the driver. Stamp down your irons before you move on to the woods and driver. Any problems with a swing will be magnified with the use of the driver.

I had a lesson on Monday. My instructor was able to get me to drive the ball straight with my irons and woods, but could not figure out what my problem was with the driver. The driver would pop up and slice horribly. I'm starting to think that it might be the shaft as well.

Those beautiful mounds defy physics and gravity.

That's probably the most plausible explanation.

I don't understand that comment either. Regardless of what club you use to get to your distance, as long as you know how far you can hit your clubs, its all the same.

I feel the exact same way. I feel like I'm swinging a hose. No confidence, no foundation, and I also feel very unbalanced.

Magic? Why?

I wear a glove. Improves grip. Prevents blisters. I also wear tape on my non-glove hand at points where I've noticed blisters start to develop. The tape has a two-fold purpose. It also prevents blisters, but it also serves as a mental reminder not to grip the club very tight. It has helped the last few sessions at the range.

Funny you should mention that. During my lesson yesterday, my instructor told me that every practice swing I take should be touching the ground. Sweeping the grass or the mat.

I just purchased this bag about a week ago. Absolutely love it. 14 club divider is great for organization. Pockets galore for everything and everything. From personal items, to cooler area for a drink, waterproof pocket, etc. What sets this bag apart from most is the ball sleeve and tee holder. Very functional for the course. Its very light, even with 14 clubs and the straps are comfortable. The looks are nice too.

Hahaha. That was an interesting picture in my head. So, for slower swing speeds, a "flexier" shaft would be recommended.

I'm surprised that a stiff shaft wasn't recommended. I assume for swing speeds below 90MPH, a stiffer shaft would be better.

What shaft did you get on your Sasquatch?

I agree. Space out the lessons so that you are able to practice and implement what you have learned from each lesson. Otherwise, you're going to get all this new information, not have time to full implement, and it will wind up being a waste of time. Take a lesson. Go to the range and ensure that you completely understand and can repeat what you have learned before you take the next lesson.

Heel cut to get it in play??

Ha. Yes the long clubs slice - specifically the driver. Although the 3-wood and 5-wood does not slice anymore. I've really worked on it and it has a natural fade to it. However, the ball does not get a lot of air time. Very low trajectory.

Next time I'm out there I'm going to take it slow and try and pin point the problem. I'm pretty sure that if I neutralize my grip, the hook will disappear.

Your absolutely right. I'm not great and have yet to break 100 on the course. However, considering that I started playing in August of this year, I felt like I had made a really nice progression towards hitting ball straight and being able to know the distance at which I was carrying my short irons. That progression was evident in the last round I played and I was VERY happy with my results. I had such great confidence with my short irons, that I made those shots with least amount of tension. However, now I feel like I need to start all over again. It's not a great feeling whatsoever. Maybe I am over reacting and its a simple grip issue that I can fix at my next range session. Its just frustrating and I've learned my lesson - don't mess with something that works unless under supervision of a licensed professional.

Same here. I employ a strong grip to begin with because I tend to slice the ball. I think now, I am overly strengthening my grip for some odd reason. I felt such a disconnect because I could feel my right hand over powering my left AND my right hand just felt in the wrong place at impact.

My hooks aren't necessarily lower than my straight shots were. If I were to describe the trajectory of the ball, it would do as such: -Upon impact the ball shoots straight left of my intended target -At times the shot will either shoot straight left or bend left of the target My educated guess has got to be the grip as I was messing with it the day before. I got out of my comfort zone with the grip. I was trying something new. I should have just left well enough alone. Even PGA Tour players lack fundamentally/textbook grips.

A couple of days ago, I started to tinker with my grip. Don't know why, I suppose I was bored. In hindsight, don't fix what ain't broken. I take a trip over to the range on Sunday night and last night and a hook was completely and utterly destroyed everything that I had success with the past couple of weeks! Is it my grip? Would an overly strong grip create a hook in my iron game? I've decided to stay away from the range for at least a week to ensure I forget about the past two nights and hopefully forget the bad habit that I exhibited the past two nights. Any feedback would really help.

That's a great analogy.