Woods over irons

[bazooka Don]

This year has been very strange. Last year i was hitting my irons really well, for me. My favourite club was my 7 from about 150-160. this year right from day one I can't hit an iron if my life depended on it. I have purchased a Cobra strong 4 which i can hit around 175- 205 depending on how hard i swing and i have a Callaway 7 which i use between 145-165, any balls between 90 and 145 i basically have to use either do a punch with my seven wood or hit two sand wedges. I am thinking it is because my swing plane is so steep. I take huge divots whenever i try to hit my 7, 8 or 9 iron. Can anyone suggest something simple to fix this iron problem. I am scoring better than last year with my woods but i want my irons back. Thanks ......................bD

[Indio]

This year has been very strange. Last year i was hitting my irons really well, for me. My favourite club was my 7 from about 150-160. this year right from day one I can't hit an iron if my life depended on it. I have purchased a Cobra strong 4 which i can hit around 175- 205 depending on how hard i swing and i have a Callaway 7 which i use between 145-165, any balls between 90 and 145 i basically have to use either do a punch with my seven wood or hit two sand wedges. I am thinking it is because my swing plane is so steep. I take huge divots whenever i try to hit my 7, 8 or 9 iron. Can anyone suggest something simple to fix this iron problem. I am scoring better than last year with my woods but i want my irons back. Thanks ......................bD

Pick up a 9, 11 and 13 wood!

[bazooka Don]

I tried the inside approach to shallow out my swing plane, but i can swing all day with that and not hit it and still take huge divots with my irons. Playing on soft ground is brutal. When the ground is hard it just disguises my flaw. Almost like hitting off a mat you can never take a chunk.

[Tanglegrip]

I had the opposite problem, hitting my irons thin. Took a lesson to fix this problem and the pro had me focus on a spot 2 inches in front of the ball instead of at the back of the ball. He said that most people hit behind the spot they are looking at. Fixed my problem right away. It was a little different not looking at the ball but the results speak for themselves. My set-up and swing stayed the same, the only change was where I focused my eyes.

Hitting it fat you might want to try the same thing but focus on a spot an inch or two behind the ball.

[bazooka Don]

I will try this and any other suggestions. I am going out to play nine holes Thursday evening and the only wood i am bringing is my Driver. This may be a very frustrating evening, i am sure my wife will enjoy it but i need to try some different things to get this part of my game back. Any other suggestions are welcome. I will right down the different ideas and get back to you Friday if i have any luck. Again my problem is i am taking HUGE divots before the ball when i use my irons. Thanks to anyone who replies......................bD

[zoic]

Well I may be completely wrong, but when my woods went on vacation on day, I pulled out my 3 and 4 iron continually, and finally figured out that I just needed to stand up straighter like when I hit a wood, instead of bending into it and dropping my shoulder. I chunk fewer irons shots now, and hit it cleaner and farther.

[bazooka Don]

Didn't get out today, those weather forecasters are brutal. Hope to get out at Nationview on Monday.

[sharkshooter]

Here I was wondering why Tiger beating Jeremy was a big thing.

[bazooka Don]

For now i am going to avoid using my irons as much as possible. What i need to do is get out to the driving range but time doesn't often pertmit that. Any free time i have i would rather be playing. Maybe i need to lose the scorecard for a couple of days and just hit irons all day.

[BC MIST]

For now i am going to avoid using my irons as much as possible. What i need to do is get out to the driving range but time doesn't often pertmit that. Any free time i have i would rather be playing. Maybe i need to lose the scorecard for a couple of days and just hit irons all day.

Since you once hit you irons well and now don't, you have either developed a swing flaw and/or lost your confidence in the clubs. If you have lost confidence then you now swing with anxiety, wondering what is going to happen as you have taken huge divots, BEFORE the ball, and now you expect them. It is like developing the shanks, duck hooks, 3 putting or whatever, and is comomnly called the "yips." Instead of swinging smoothly through the ball, you jab at the ball, unintentionally and probably with a restricted follow through.

I agree that you should put away the scorecard as this only increases the anxiety and you don't need any more. To get the confidence back I would suggest you go to a place where you can hit little 50 yard type shots with a lob wedge. Tee the ball up or place it in rough with a lot of space underneath the ball. When you swing take slow motion like swings at about 50% effort, with no conscious acceleration through the ball, BUT, the finish must be high and complete and longer than the backswing. Pretend that the ball is not there and just make a slow, full swing motion. As you get better, lower the tee or go back to a normal fairway type lie and repeat the above.

Next, do the same kind of swing but with a short iron, emphasizing the long follow through and the ball being incidental. The process will take a little time but your confidence will come back. Later, I would suggest that(a) you look at the inside quadrant of the ball, not the back of it, and (b) just before you swing, raise the iron head off the ground a little. This will encourage a smooth takeaway and if you return the club to the same position, you will make perfect contact. You must hit down on the ball, taking as long and as shallow a divot as possible, but the ball must be struck first, just below the eqautor.

While the long follow through and slow swing are not important by themselves, if you have them they will prevent the jabbing at the ball which I suspect you now have.

The difficulty you are experiencing is common and obviously mental, so I would you suggest you save your money and not but clubs to compensate for a mental problem as you will soon be swinging the same way with them, unless you solve the true problem.

[Fozz]

I suggest you practice hitting your irons in a stance with the ball is slighty higher than your feet. This will force you to stay higher on the ball at impact.