Power down a full swing?

[golfmonkey]

Hello all, I’m beginning my 2nd year golfing and after a couple of lessons this spring all of the sudden I’m hitting my pw about 125 yds before that maybe 80 yds… my question now is do I shorten my sing to reduce my distance or just power down a full swing? Or as my friend keeps telling my…..buy more wedges.. he has money It’s killing my short game!

[shootin4par]

Re: Power down a full swing?

buy more wedges, If money is an issue you can always buy compenents and put them togethor yourself, it is really easy

[lgskywalker37]

Re: Power down a full swing?

i don't know what you mean by power down. but you shouldn't change your tempo too much if that is what you mean. one thing to control distance is to think of your right arm as a clock arm. full swing with wedge is 11 try to have a 9 swing and so one and use the clock hours to learn certain distances. it may also help to choke way down, that will give you less distance with a full swing or less distance with a 9 swing, and different variations like that. your followthrough distance can vary too, to half followthrough and so on. try a bunch of differnent combos of thoose variations and see if any of thoose work.

[BrianW]

Re: Power down a full swing?

I agree that you can vary your pitching shot distance.

You will have a PW and a SW, you can use both to vary the distance of your pitch shots. You can also vary the distance you hit both of these clubs, rather than forceing the shot play a relaxed tempo on all pitching shots, vary the distance by shortening the length of the back swing and follow through.

For example, with your PW:
Knee high to knee high for 30 yards
Waist high to waist high for 50 yards
Shoulder high to shoulder high for 80 yards
Full swing for say 100+ yards.

You will need to practise this on the range to groove in the distances but try to keep the same swing tempo with all pitch shots. You can also choke your hands further down the shaft to reduce distance.

Hope this helps
Brian

[msklar92]

Re: Power down a full swing?

I think it depends what you grew up with. If you are in your late 40's or 50's there was only a sw and pw. However, one of my relatives who is a pro, said the pw when he was growing up was equivalent to the gap wedge of today and the pw of today is about equivalent to the nine iron of old. In essence, manufacturers have delofted clubs over the years for marketing purposes. Now, if you only have a pitching wedge and SW of today, there is a 10 degree gap between them. Therefore, I think a gap wedge would probably be beneficial and easier to hit that 100 yd distance especially under pressure. In addition, if you can play with it, a LW is probably also a good idea, particulary with fast greens and tight pin placements. So, if you have a driver, 4 wedges, a putter and 4-9 irons what 2 woods or hybrids do you put in your bag??

[LowPost42]

Re: Power down a full swing?

So, if you have a driver, 4 wedges, a putter and 4-9 irons what 2 woods or hybrids do you put in your bag??

A 64° wedge, and a 3 hybrid.

[msklar92]

Re: Power down a full swing?

?? a fifth wedge you already have 46, 51, 56 and 60. a 64 is really hard to use.

[Seattlepop]

Re: Power down a full swing?

I find I use both methods BrianW posted depending on the ball flight I want. If I want the ball to stay down and roll, I use a system similar to Brian's for shortening the swing. If I want the ball to come in high and stick, I choke up on the grip and swing full which sends the ball much higher. I use these techniques for pw, sw, and lw, which for me means everything inside 110 yds.

[LowPost42]

Re: Power down a full swing?

a 64 is really hard to use.

Says who?

[golfmonkey]

Re: Power down a full swing?

Thanks for the imput.
I was out at the range practicing before my lesson yesterday and having some luck chokeing down with a shorter swing. my instructor agrees with that school of thought... he said learn to control distance that way first then buy some wedges. thanks for the help

[GreeBoman]

Re: Power down a full swing?

Says who?

Says your handicap

LW's and GW's can be very bad for your game.
You have to know when to use them and exercise restraint.
It gets all too easy to use them at every opportunity which doesnt pay off over the course of a round.
Keep the ball on the deck as much and for as long as possible.
Thats what my mother does and thats why from 50 yrds to the pin she kills me.

[vp27519]

Re: Power down a full swing?

Golf Monkey - love the picture.

Listen to your coach. I agree with changing the position of your grip on the club, ball position, three quarter swing and so on.

A far better player is one who is creative and has the imagination to improvise.

Practice the tricky shots - you'll get a buzz (and confidence) when you pull them off.