Buzz71

iacas, With the longer clubs its a curved flight right when I don't get back square. But with the wedges and half swings it just goes straight right 45 degrees because of the open clubface.

Hey azgolfer, thanks for the tip. I already have a fairly strong grip but I will have a tinker with your suggestion when practising. It's certainly a frustrating problem!

Thanks 69below :) It's a frustrating problem becuase I can hit 50 balls great then suddenly I start unconsciously doing something different. Then the mental doubt creeps in and its really tough to stay soft and tension free when you ate worried about hitting it so far offline!

Hi everyone ... not sure if this is the correct forum but hopefully someone can point me in the right direction if not. I've been struggling with a particular issue since returning to golf and its frustrating me no end. In my original incarnation as a golfer, basically picking up the game as a kid with no lessons, I adapted my own swing with a fairly closed clubface. Along with a strong reverse pivot this allowed me to be relatively consistent but lacking in distance. This time round I am trying to rebuild and swing the club correctly. Trying to get much more correct body action rather than just swinging with the arms. In particular I've been working to get that feel with half swing pitching wedges, starting the downswing with the lower body firing through and trying to let the arms trail. Major problem ... half the time when I do this I end up with a radically open clubface, to the point I hit a weak shot 45 degrees right. I've tried slowing this down and often I think its over-rotating open on the backswing, sometimes its "leading" with the hosel, or a combination of both. The other half of the time I am starting to get a nice pitch action. I just hit 4x30 balls down the oval ... the last 30 were sweet about 50m, the first three contained many horrendous open face slices. It's driving me crazy ... I almost have the pitching yips. Often when it happens I grip the club tighter and tighter in an effort to stop the problem which I know is the exact opposite of what I need to be doing. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can address this and/or drills to instill the correct wrist action? Everyone says wrists should be passive but the more I try this the more open clubface distasters I have. Any advice greatly received!

Yes it has been quite pleasant so far ... fairly mild and great golf weather for the most part. Tempeatures will probably soar in the next few weeks though! I have thought about swing video, I'll have to check out the best way to take one via iPhone, I will search around and see what the best method is. Thanks for the welcome!

Hi everyone I've just returned to golf after a five year absence ... life got too busy and also being honest I had reached a level of frustration with my game because I could not find a way to improve. I had managed to get my handicap down to 19, but seemed to be stuck in the 19-21 bracket. Historically my short game was generally ok but my distance is terrible. I don't hit the ball long mainly due to what I think is a bad reverse pivot habit ... I never learned properly as a kid when I took the game up. I was all arms and its only recently I finally had some lessons and learned about weight transfer etc. Problem is now at age 42 overcoming the habit of a lifetime is really difficult! So anyway I returned to golf about six weeks ago, again off 19 (my club reactivated my old handicap) and I've been a bit all over the place. Worst round is 108, best 94 so far but generally I am stuck at 101 or so. My distance is still terrible but I am passable enough on my good days. I'm determined to improve my game starting with the short game ... while I have always been a passable putter since coming back I know I am wasting so many shots leaving pitches and chips short and I'm certain I could knock 5-8 shots a round off if I can find some short game consistency. Anyway I am keen to talk golf with those more experienced and try to find the right way to overcome the flaws in my game and improve!