Phases of hitting woods or irons decent but never together!

[Metcalfeclive1975]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and I have a very frustrating problem...

First a little background... I'm very much a leisure golfer and play maybe 20 rounds per year, normally on weekends away with mates so many different courses followed by lots of beer! I do however goto the range approx once per wee and hit a bucket of balls. Ive been playing for about 8 years, starting out with dunlop sports direct clubs but about 4 or 5 years ago I bought some Cobra S3 max irons, a baffler hybrid and s3.1 woods, although i have had maybe 4 or 5 drivers bought and sold on. I also took about 20 lessons and my scores cut from 120+ to about 95-100 and thats where I have been ever since.

The problem I have is I go through phases of either being able to hit my driver and 3 wood pretty well off the tee, at the expense of every other club being crap, ie lots of topped/pushed irons with no control. This results in decent length and position off the tee but I may as well then pick up the ball and throw it into the trees/water/bunker etc as thats where the 2nd/3rd/4th shot will end up. Or I can hit irons pretty well but have to hit them off the tee and suffer lack of distance as I cant keep any kind of wood in the course!

The latter option is by far the better but it just doesn't feel like golf not hitting a booming tee shot. I have tried many things and have just won a some cheap taylormade RAC HT 3 and 4 irons to try and get more length off the tee with the hope of keeping some accuracy, but i havnt had chance to try this latest theory yet.

I am obviously changing my swing but it doesnt feel any different. I feel as though i have the game the wrong way round as I am 100x more confident of getting a 190yd shot close to the pin with a 5 iron in my hand than I am standing on the tee and hitting the fairway in any way shape or form.

Any ideas? I have one, even though I am 6'4 and built like a tank the woods feel too long, I have toyed with cutting an inch or so off the shaft butt.

CM

 

[patricks148]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and I have a very frustrating problem...

First a little background... I'm very much a leisure golfer and play maybe 20 rounds per year, normally on weekends away with mates so many different courses followed by lots of beer! I do however goto the range approx once per wee and hit a bucket of balls. Ive been playing for about 8 years, starting out with dunlop sports direct clubs but about 4 or 5 years ago I bought some Cobra S3 max irons, a baffler hybrid and s3.1 woods, although i have had maybe 4 or 5 drivers bought and sold on. I also took about 20 lessons and my scores cut from 120+ to about 95-100 and thats where I have been ever since.

The problem I have is I go through phases of either being able to hit my driver and 3 wood pretty well off the tee, at the expense of every other club being crap, ie lots of topped/pushed irons with no control. This results in decent length and position off the tee but I may as well then pick up the ball and throw it into the trees/water/bunker etc as thats where the 2nd/3rd/4th shot will end up. Or I can hit irons pretty well but have to hit them off the tee and suffer lack of distance as I cant keep any kind of wood in the course!

The latter option is by far the better but it just doesn't feel like golf not hitting a booming tee shot. I have tried many things and have just won a some cheap taylormade RAC HT 3 and 4 irons to try and get more length off the tee with the hope of keeping some accuracy, but i havnt had chance to try this latest theory yet.

I am obviously changing my swing but it doesnt feel any different. I feel as though i have the game the wrong way round as I am 100x more confident of getting a 190yd shot close to the pin with a 5 iron in my hand than I am standing on the tee and hitting the fairway in any way shape or form.

Any ideas? I have one, even though I am 6'4 and built like a tank the woods feel too long, I have toyed with cutting an inch or so off the shaft butt.

CM

Unfortunately thats golf!! if we all managed to get the different parts of the game all working together we would all be on tour.

 

[Metcalfeclive1975]

Unfortunately thats golf!! if we all managed to get the different parts of the game all working together we would all be on tour.

Ha ha fair point well made! I just hate the feeling of having hit a wall and don't appear to be improving.

Reading around and one thing I will try is more practice swings to transition into the club i am about to use... I do tent to choose club, and intended shot whilst walking upto the ball and then pull the trigger very quickly once everything is clear.

CM

 

[patricks148]

Ha ha fair point well made! I just hate the feeling of having hit a wall and don't appear to be improving.

Reading around and one thing I will try is more practice swings to transition into the club i am about to use... I do tent to choose club, and intended shot whilst walking upto the ball and then pull the trigger very quickly once everything is clear.

CM

nothing wrong with walking up to the ball and just hitting it.

I did notice you say you only play 20 times a year which is not much in the scheme of things. if you are just starting out i would suggest playing more and getting into a grove as such.

You usually find guys who started young and got very good while still young would be able to get away with playing once in a blue moon, but for us mortals we need practice.

 

[Metcalfeclive1975]

Yeah true, I should play more but that's the way things pan out. Strangely though I often find I play better after a lay off, on a multi round weekend my best score will more often than not be the first round. Probably over thinking!

 

[Huwey12]

As others have said, 20 rounds isn't enough to hone any skills, but you could always remember basics and don't try to hit the skin off the ball
Sounds like irons is your problem, I resort back to basics when things go wrong and do a check list. Here's what I go back to
1. Ball in middle of stance for middle irons
2. Feet wide enough apart for balance
3. Pelvis back ( stick ur bum out ) just allow the arms to drop down naturally
there should be about a hands width between top of shaft and thigh
4. Lift chin to allow lead arm and shoulder to go under
5. Move shoulders, arms and club together to start the back swing till just outside your rear thigh, then cock the top wrist and turn hips
6. Don't rush to swing down, complete back swing, this also gives time to start the forward hip movement and rotation
Im no expert these tips are well documented but they work for me