my irons go nowhere!

[jesperparnevik]

I've noticed lately that the distance I hit the ball with my irons is pathetic. I seem to be hitting maybe two clubs more than my playing partners on approach shots (from similar yardages) Even on par 3's when hitting irons I might hit a 6 iron for instance and they will be hitting in 7's and 8's and they'll still be longer than me! and yet with my 3 wood and driver from the tee I'm generally the longest hitter. any ideas what I could be doing wrong?? Please HELP!!

[LowPost42]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

My first idea would be to check the lofts of your gear compared to theirs.

If you've got an older set of clubs, your 6 iron may be the same loft as their modern-day 7 or 8 iron.

[msklar92]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

How far do you hit a driver and how far do you hit a 7 iron?

[jesperparnevik]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

My first idea would be to check the lofts of your gear compared to theirs.

If you've got an older set of clubs, your 6 iron may be the same loft as their modern-day 7 or 8 iron.

I use callaway X-16's and two of the others are using X-16's and X-18's, so I think the lofts are the same. As regards to 7 iron and driver distances it's funny because in the range I'm hitting 7 iron about 145-150 but on the course it's only going maybe 130. My driver is pretty much the same in the range and the course about 250-260 average. my 52 degree wedge is going about 85 and my 9 iron 110-115. these iron distances don't sound right to me. I'm 6' 1" 196 lbs and they reckon I should be hitting the ball further than I am. It's really getting frustrating. When I try to hit down more on the ball to compress it more in an effort to get more distance I end up with a weak 'slap' at the ball and it ends up even worse and usually out to the right>>>>What am I doing wrong????

[gord962]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

Equipment considered equal, the difference is technique. Do you find your ball flight much higher than your playing patners? If so, more than likely they are hitting down on the ball which will significantly increases their distance, accuracy and consistancy.

[jesperparnevik]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

My ball flight isn't noticeably higher (maybe just a touch). 2 of my partners actually tee the ball up on a very high tee peg on par 3's even when using short and mid irons and there is no way they could be hitting down sufficiently to warrant the extra distance. I'd actually go so far as to say I've never seen one of them in particular hit down on a tee shot! I always tee the ball very low to try encourage me to hit down and through, but when I try to I get that weak slap I mentioned. I did look at my swing down the line on film and my spine does seem to straighten a bit when I'm coming into impact, could this be the reason? When I made an effort to correct this and tried to maintain my angles at address I eneded up hitting the ball fat!

[Durtman]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

I had a problem of being short with my irons. MY PROBLEM was and still is getting to armsy and not maintaining a wide swing path. Now I concentrate on keeping my hands in line with the center of my chest and start my backswing with the shoulders, I learned this by posting a video of my swing on here and the helpful members went into action.

[msklar92]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

My guess is that if you feel you are slapping at the ball, that for some reason you are not rotating your hips correctly with your irons. You maybe overtotating your hips on the backswing. This makes it difficult to to rotate them properly through on the downswing. Much of the power comes from firing the hips through on the downswing

[jesperparnevik]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

My guess is that if you feel you are slapping at the ball, that for some reason you are not rotating your hips correctly with your irons. You maybe overtotating your hips on the backswing. This makes it difficult to to rotate them properly through on the downswing. Much of the power comes from firing the hips through on the downswing

Do you think rotating my hips more through impact may help me to keep my spine angle throughout the swing or is this a whole different problem? I find if I concentrate on trying to use my hips more my timing goes out the window and I hit all types of shots.

[msklar92]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

unable to comment about the spine angle part. I do know that lack of proper hip rotation on the back swing and downswing is a major leak of power.

[nickwbryant]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

jesperparnevik - Without seeing your swing but just going on your first post I am wondering if you have a flat swing. You say you are good with the driver and three wood where being flat(ish) is an advantage and the ball being on a tee and more forward in your swing gives you more time to hit the ball well. However with an iron, if your swing is too flat, typically you will have to come over the top to hit the ball and this will lead to a weak slap. Like i say without seeing you swing this is just a guess.

I had a similar problem myself this winter - i was hitting the ball as far as my mates with the irons but destroying them with my driver. My irons just seemed to go high and fade with no zip. What i realised was my old problem of crossing the line at the top had come back and this means i then come over the top on the down swing for a weak slap. Solved this and bang I am once again puring my irons past my pals (as i absolutely love to do!)

nick

[jesperparnevik]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

I have my swing on film. How can I put it up on the web? (for free) I'm a complete novice, so I haven't a clue where to start It would be great to get some feedback.

[jesperparnevik]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

Hopefully this link will work. I'd appreciate any analysis.............

http://www.youtube.com/w/jesper-7-iron?v=8kCf8IED42c

[gord962]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

Hard to tell from this video, but it looks like you are starting your downswing with your upper body and jerking through the impact zone. You don't want to hit the ball, you want to swing through the ball

[Simon Woo]

Re: my irons go nowhere!

Got a couple of questions here. How does swinging through the ball relate to release and slapping of the ball, and how does that imply an improper rotation of the hips?

I've always been taught to swing through the ball, and as a result, I think I have not learnt to "release" the hands at impact properly (they just seem to contradict - to me). Recently I have tried incorporating this release/slapping/rotation of hands at impact, and it has easily added 10yds to my iron shots. But is that wrong?

Jesper, from my amatuer point of view, you do seem to be using a lot of your arms and not that much of the body. Definitely that's quite a lot of power loss if you do not employ more of your body.