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From Ben,
golfer: |
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My problem is that I cannot control my
iron distance, especially the short irons. I can comfortably hit my sand
wedge over 120 yards, likewise other short irons, but lack control and
spin. I have many problems with 150 yards in, and 100-50 and 50-0 being
quite terrible, with little control and thus an inability to hit quality
high spinning pitches. I have large divots but little spin. I can hit the
longer clubs a little better, but as the clubs get lower I seem to be able
to hit, like say a 5 iron, the same distance as a 3. |
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PGA/LPGA
TEACHING
PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSES: |
California
"It would seem your problem is using your fingers and
hands too much and not allowing the body to stay connected
throughout the motion. When you snatch the club away with
your fingers squeezing, you disconnect your club from the rest of
you body. Keep your hands passive as they swing the club away and
make certain your whole body moves in concert with your club.
Changes in grip pressure cause loss of control." - John
DeSantis, Teaching Professional |
Florida
"Learn to control your distance by the amount of force
you apply to the handle (grip end) of the club on the forward
swing. Think of throwing a ball. You control the distance by the
amount of force you apply on the forward motion. Using that
concept, hit shots with your sand wedge in 10 yard increments to
get a feel for the force you need to apply to hit each distance.
Once you have a feel for this, use any other club in your bag to
see how the amount of force you apply affects the distance of your
shots."
- Andrea
Drake, Teaching Professional |
Illinois
"If you are hitting your sand wedge 120 you are swinging
too hard to control your shorter shots. Your sand wedge is
intended for 75-100 yards not 120. Slow the motion down and
pay attention to the length of the back swing. Use your left arm
as an hour hand on a clock and controls the shot by the length of
the back swing. For instance a half of a back swing (9:00) with my
sand wedge goes 45 yards. Make sure you keep good tempo with
all swings no matter how short. In other words don't create
a full swing speed from a half a back swing position, as this
would defeat the purpose."
- Scott
Mayer, Teaching Professional |
Pennsylvania
"To me it sounds like you generate your club head speed
from your arms and hands without your body. Especially on the
short irons, your arms and body should move together. A good drill
for this, place a credit card under both of your arm pits. Now
swing and don't let the cards drop. In order to swing you will
have to rotate your body and this rotation will control the speed
of the swing."
- Don
Beardsley, Teaching Professional
|
Pennsylvania
"Learn
how to grip the club. Golf clubs won't work if you hold them
incorrectly. Its like owning a car and not having a key to start
the darn thing. It just won't work." - Bob
Sheppard, Teaching Professional
|
South
Carolina
"Ben: Where is your weight at set-up
for the shots that require a full swing? Are you changing clubs to
change distances? Do you have the proper tools in the bag to
hit these shots, or are you trying to manufacturer a shot with the
wrong club? These are just some of the questions that I can
ask after reading your question. It sounds pretty easy, and will
be somewhat boring, but you are going to have to investigate these
questions and devote more time to pitch shots in your practice
regiment. The good news is that a pitch shot is a mini full
swing, recreating a good impact position if practiced correctly.
Before hitting these shots, make sure that you have accomplished a
good set-up position with hands mid grip, ball position middle.
Finally, make sure that complete the swing versus cutting it off
short. This will lead to deceleration that can cause extreme
inconsistency. Let me know if I can help further."
- John
Hughes, Teaching Professional |
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