new irons

Got a new set of taylormade irons & played with them today for the 1st time & scored my 2nd lowest score 87 on a par 70 really chuffed with that considering the weather. H/c going in the right direction for now just thought I'd share this with you guys

not bad with new irons Matt, i couldnt face the weather this weekend!!

Well done Matt. Let's hope the honeymoon period with the new irons lasts forever. One assumes you drove and putted pretty well also, or do you put it down to the irons alone?

Thanx nick & Michael, my driving was pretty good & I had 33 putts so it wasn't really down to irons but in saying that I did have some really good shots with them & I felt really comfortable which is unusual with new irons

Good solid round Matt and no blobs. Very good 41 out. Any reason why you dont record your FIR and GIR? I always find it useful to see if I am inproving in both of these. Also if your gIR is getting better your putts will probably go up. If your putts are going up and you dont record GIR you may think your putting is getting worse, but it may not be. Keep up the steady golf and you may break 80 before me. Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Dave,I started playing bout 2/3 years ago but maybe only once every 2 months & never took it seriously, but this year I'm very serious bout it i just started to record putts yesterday & in time will record fir & gir but so far concentrating on my game is hard enough Thanx for the encouragement P.s I'll try to break 80 asap

I agree with Dave in that it is best to record all your stats as it will definitely highlight strengths and weaknesses.

I know my weakness is my short game at the mo and the stats back this up. So I solely practice my short game currently.

Keep going Matt, my advice would be to practice more on any weaker parts and it wont be long before you break 80 :-)

Thanx nigel,both you & dave are probably right I'll start nxt round which will hopefully be Saturday weather permitting

Nigel,long irons are my weakness pleased with my short game but could tear my hair out at my 2nd shot at times but hey practice makes perfect as they say lol

Matt

Your current weakness used to be mine as well - do you suffer with hitting your longer irons heavy? ie ground first?

I have to admit that I have invested in lessons which has taken my long irons from my weakest part to now almost my strongest - in short my grip/swing process was completely changed and I now "fat" very few Irons.

Nigel,that is exactly the problem sometimes hit them great then fat no consistency I'm blaming ball position then when I move the ball forward in my stance I'm thinning it !!!!

Exactly what I used to do - some good connections but others awful.

It turned out to be all due to my swing/body movement - my head and body went so far back during the swing that it was near impossible for it to catch up on impact - leading to hitting ground before ball. I never realised this until my coach took video of my swing and it looked awful!! I think the good connections were just due to my eye being in. Also my low point of the swing was behind/on the ball and not in front if this makes sense?

Might be worth investing in a lesson or 2? - it has helped me no end.

Looks like I'll be visiting the pro then cos everything you say makes sense to me how many lessons did it take to sort you out Nigel

It all really depends what you want to change Matt - do you want to start from scratch ie grip upwards or just tweak things. These things you would need to discuss with your pro after an assessment.

I went for the start from scratch approach in July last year - now being honest it was bloody hard work - 1 step forwards and 2 steps back for the first couple of months - my coach said a lot of his clients give up when things go the wrong way to begin with so you have to believe in your coach and practice hard.

So I guess it took 4 lessons for me to see solid improvement (about 4months) - I have now had 8 of my 10 lessons, my handicap was 20 when I started, my confidence has risen so much and I am now enjoying the game. Just need to improve my up and down stats and I might get into single figures?

Hope this helps a bit

Thanx Nigel you've been a great help hope you reach your goal of single figures soon cheers

Matt, do you carry any hybrids? I use 3 and they have replaced the 3 and 4 irons. 5 is the longest iron I carry. I haven't looked back since then and only carry a 3 wood for very rare occasions. The change completely upped my confidence when sat in the fairway/rough on long par 4's or 5's. What I might lack in distance I make up for by being accurate. I never could hit a long iron with any authority and no longer worry about it. Maybe worth you thinking about.

Matt. The usual reason that high handicappers cannot use their long irons successfully is because they think that more effort is needed to hit the ball further and completely alter their usual tempo. It is essential that the swing should always remain a swing and not a controlled thrash at the ball. The club will do its job, if the player does his, by swinging smoothly through the ball to a controlled high finish.

Matt, I would like to back up what Michael has said.

Like Michael I do not carry a 3 or 4 Iron any more, 5 Iron onwards for me. I replaced the 3/4 Irons with a 21Deg Hybrid. Mainly due to the fact that it is easier to hit the Hybrid from the rough than a 3 or 4 Iron.

Also as John rightly states the swing is all about being controlled and the process being kept constant. I hit my Hybrid with the same tempo that I hit my 5,6,7 Irons etc and let the club do the work for me.

If you decide to see your local pro, I hope things improve in the same way my game has, GL

You are spot on John and I would admit to being one of those who changed their tempo when moving from the mid/short irons to the long. Like Nigel I swing the hybrids more easily and feel that the club will give me the distance. (I didn't get this from long irons). The change to hybrids has worked so well for me and I think suit my game at a more senior age. Keep up the good work Matt.

Hi Matt I am glad you have got on with your new irons so quickly, I am taking much longer to adjust to the set I bought last year. For me I would disagree with everybody else so far. I don't carry a rescue / hybrid club. The problem is not the equipment ie 2, 3 and 4 iron but as J.P says it's the swing. It may be easier to hit a hybrid, but that is only important in the short term. If you learn to hit longer irons it will make your swing better for your whole game in the long run.

I understand the point you are making Tim but if pro's are willing to use Hybrids and Rescues they must feel they are of benefit surely? The way I look at it is if there is equipment out there that enables the handicap golfer to become more consistent then why not use it?

Anyhow each to their own that's why there is such a wide range of equipment available.

However I totally agree with what you say about having the correct process/swing, as my lessons have taught me this.

Thanx for all your help so far, I'm going to throw another one in here see what you all think could spine angle be a factor?

Matt, this is relatively new in modern golf instruction, but, I feel, most important.

There�s a good reason for this, as maintaining spine angle leads to proper rotation, proper swing plane, proper angle of descent into the ball, and proper release. In other words, start wrong, and you�ll end wrong.

"In other words, start wrong, and you�ll end wrong" - my coach is pretty strong on this.

When I went for my first lesson he told me "everything starts from the grip" - Yes of course you can tweak things and still improve without the need from going right back to the grip but I now feel my swing/process is a lot more solid and less things to think about over the ball!!

I would expect your pro/coach to talk about spine angle if/when you see him Matt

Am I correct in saying the "swing should be the same with all clubs" & if so why do I only have a problem with long irons??

Because all the clubs are different lengths, adjustments have to be made to accommodate this, usually in ball position, but one thing must be maintained and that is the tempo of the swing should be unchanged.

The majority of players will attempt to hit the ball harder when they have further to go usually resulting in a completely mistimed shot.

Cheers j.p i'll keep that in mind