bruno

Go to the store, hit some of the new irons, and get some advice. I just bought the Callaway X22 tour's last week after about 3 years of trying different irons and not finding a set I liked enough to replace my Titleist DCI 981's. You have to like em and know you are going to feel comfortable with them on those days when your swing isn't as good as usual.

Have a look at it from the other side of the hole, and the sides. Is there any water by the green? Ball will normaly tend to break toward the water if the line looks flat. If all else fails get down and have a look at it like Camila Vijegas.

Pull right hip straight back while pointing left knee at the ball to rotate instead of shift, and finish the swing with perfect balance. Just using the finish swing in perfect balance is a great thought. Once you start feeling it you want to feel it on every swing.

I havent played them, but I have hit them at the range on more than one occasion and they felt nice. Check the prices out here Apex Forged . You could probably get a lower price than the $250.

Never broke one myself, but have seen a friend break a sandwedge over the knee after going from one greenside bunker to the other more times than I can remember. That was five years ago and he still wont even go to that cource with me yet. Saw another friend helecopter a short iron into a small patch of woods that never came out of the trees. And the reason I don't break clubs is I saw a friend break a club with a steel shaft, try to put it in the garbage and sliced his arm open requiring alot of stitches. Whenever I see something really funny I file it away in my memory for bad days on the course. Then when anger flares up on the course I remember the time a friend walked face first into a sliding glass door or something stupid like that. Helps erase the anger pretty quick.

You can keep an eye out on the Cleveland putters on Ebay on this site also. Cleveland Putters

Try to imagine a rod sticking through the top of your head, out your rear end, and into the ground when you are in your setup position. Now the only way to swing the club would be to spin your hips and shoulders, and not sway. To start the swing use the thought of pulling your right hip straight back (as in straight behind you) while pushing your left knee forward and pointing it at the ball. This thought process has helped me out, and I very rarely sway when it used to be one of my problems.

I'm not a coach, but this drill seems to get me back on track once in a while. Try hitting balls with your feet together. Take half swings (otherwise you will fall over) and concentrate on pulling your right hip straight backwards like behind your self instead of shifting to the right. At the same time push your left knee forward and point it at the ball. When you can hit some shots with good motion, try moving your feet apart an inch or two and hit some more. When you hit well in that position move feet apart a little more and so on till your in your natural stance. Imagine your inside a barrell you should feel like your rotating inside that barell and you can't sway to the right, only rotate. Another thing that seems to help me when I find myself shifting instead of rotating is to pre-turn my hips a little at setup before even starting my swing. Set up to the ball, shift your hips to the left a little, and pull your right hip straight back a little. It should now be easier to start your swing rotating instead of shifting.

Has to be the irons. I play the Titleist 981 DCI irons and they aren't all that forgiving, but have a sweet feel when hit pure. The drivers these days have a nice feel to them, but you can miss pretty bad and still have a good feel. I play the Taylormade r7 460 and can almost miss the face completely and still be amazed at the results. Still nothing like a pure strike on a mid-long quality iron to me.

I don't own one but have played with friends with one and it really does make a big difference. Check out the prices on this site CheapCaddie they have some listed for reasonable prices in that range. I think I will break down and pick one up this year myself.

First you need to sit down and figure out why your score was that bad. Was it driver irons, short game, putting? The older i get the more I sit down and realize where my scoring goes wrong, and the less of a gap I have between my good rounds and bad rounds. Know your tendancies!!! If your slicing your driver, don't hit it on holes with trouble on the right. If it's your putting is off that day, take a little extra time with your short game shots and concentrate on getting it closer to the hole. Whatever your problem is that day be honest with yourself and think your way around the course. You would be amazed how many strokes you can shave by using your head on those bad days. Jack Nicholas once said he has played some good golf with some bad swings, but he always knows what swing he has on that particular day and uses his head to get around the course with it.

Lee Travino when asked how to improve your putting said "chip it closer to the hole"

Number 1 thing that helps me is making sure my head stays perfectly still wile pitching and chiping. I lock my eyes on the ball, and when I take the club back I concentrate on keeping my head from moving side to side, and up or down. This seems to help me rotate a little more instead of shifting off the ball and seems to work very well for me. Jack Nicholas teacher used to physicly hold his head still while he practiced when he was younger. He must have known something.

At your handicap you may want to consider a 5 and 7 wood, or rescue club. I put a 5 and 7 in the bag last year, finished the season with a 6 handicap, and can honestly say they helped my scoring. You can find some nice deals on used woods at this site also MazboGolf

Witout a doubt short game practice (100yds in) would probably be your best time spent. Be honest with yourself about your game and learn what your tendancys are. If you tend to hit a slice off the tee and there is trouble on the right, aim for the left side. If there is trouble behind the green, make sure you hit a club that if you hit it pure won't be too long. If you have trouble putting, spend more time practicing chipping and putting. Know your game and learn how to score better with what you have untill you have time to practice on your weak spots. Make notes when you play is also a great way to know what needs improvement. When i play i will leave leave room on my card between mine and playing partners name, and write down putts, greens in regulation, and anything else that i feel i will want to remember that will help me improve when i practice. With a little thought and honesty with yourself you can easily break 100 without improving your swing. Hope this helps you out.

Try keeping your head still during your swing. no side to side, or up and down movement, but perfectly still and keep your eyes locked on the ball. It seems to help me when i'm not hitting my short shots good. Jack Nickolis once said his teacher when he was younger use to physically hold his head during his swings when he practiced.

I have the same problem with the game improving irons. They are hard to control. I use the Titleist DCI's which are more like a blade with the smaller heads but have some cavity on the back and like the way they feel. Take a set with smaller heads and partial cavity backs for a test drive at the store, you might like em. Mizuno, nike, and Titleist make some nice ones.

I also use you tube alot and fing many videos to be very informative. If you filter your searches specific to the instruction your looking for there are some good ones there.

It could be lack of balance causing you to speed up the swing. The more you turn while not balanced, the faster your body is going to try to change your direction which may also be causing your coming through the ball open causing your slice. I like to think of my swing like this when that happens to me. When i start my swing I point my left knee at the ball (right hand golfer)while pulling my right hip straight back which makes sure i rotate my body instead of slide, and keeps my upper body from having too much tension alowing me to control my plane with my hands easily. I also think stop at the top and slowly start the downswing from there. This seems to get me back when i'm swinging bad, hope it helps you a little.

Have 4 pairs. Wear the Adidas power band shoe most times. Have worn Nike, Footjoy, Dunlop, and the powerband is the most comfortable by far. Have one season on them with alot of walking rounds and they are still in nice shape.

Core strength and flexability is a must. Always stretch. Swing speed is the best distance gianer and i think the lower body workout like squats and the leg press will be a great help. By strengthening your legs (base) you are poised to make a more balanced swing. If you have stong legs you can rest your weight on your lower body alowing you to rotate your upper body freely alowing you to create more clubhead speed just from the extra balance. Always do squats with free weights to increase your balance. Free weight squats are fantastic balance improvers and will help the swing alot. Hope that helps ya.

Just might need to adjust your grip. How does your hands (grip) feel during your swing now compared to before. Your grip may be off a little causing your hands to not work together slowing you down a little.

When practicing try imagining there is a tree branch a couple of feet in front of you and a couple feet off the ground. Try to hit a low punch shot without a complete folow through to get the feel of hitting down on the ball. I've seen Vjay use this next tip, and it works good for hitting down on the ball. To start your swing, move your hands forward a little towards the target (to get the feel of having your hands in front of the club head) as a triger move, then try to have that feeling of having your hands in front of the club head at impact. This triger move works good for me, hope it helps.

Don't know you age or swing type, but i would consider the tour edge. the hybrids are nice if you dont hit long irons well and the irons on the tour edge have a wider sole and more weight around the perimiter. The wider bottom will prevent you from digging into the ground too much if you tend to hit behind the ball a little, and the more weight around the perimiter will be more forgiving on off center hits than the others. Hope that helps you out a little.