Question:

Folks I’ve been playing golf for about a year now, and everything was fine, more or less. I’ve started driving decently with my shallow faced 3 wood, my putting and chipping were reasonable, and I thought my irons were fine.The one problem was that I was constantly being outhit, particularly on my short irons, by mere wisps of men compared to me. A good friend of mine, at about half my weight and none of my (pathetic) muscle mass, hit his nine iron longer than I did. The problem, however, is not ego driven. Because of my distance problems, I’m forced to hit 7-irons from positions that everyone else seems to be hitting 9’s or pitching wedges! Consequently, I frequently can’t get close or onto the green. I think I’ve found what’s wrong, but I’m not sure, and I’m also not sure when I can get on the course to test it out. (Scotland+Winter=limited golf). So, after that prelude, the question is simple. Could a mistake in the grip have been the cause of the horrible distance? I think that with my grip (The "V" of my left hand was pointing towards my LEFT shoulder) I was actually opening up the club face by a few degrees, in effect hitting a sort of knock down shot every time. It isn’t the swing that’s at fault, I think. My shots went fairly straight, and with a decent trajectory. Only the distance was skewed. Does any of this make sense to any one? At the range yesterday I tried the proper grip, and it seemed to make a considerable difference, but again I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks for your time. Raffy

Response:

What you have described here is exactly what I have been through. I have never taken any lessons. But I think I should now. The top of the upside down V of my right hand was pointing to my left shoulder. This rep at a demo day event suggested I turn my right hand into a stronger position with the V pointing to my neck instead and then follow thru my swing  thru the target line on the downswing. I instantly noticed more power. On course last week, I was hitting 10yards longer on each club. Cant wait to see how many more things I can fix in my swing. -Ram.

: Folks : I’ve been playing golf for about a year now, and everything was fine, more or : less. I’ve started driving decently with my shallow faced 3 wood, my putting : and chipping were reasonable, and I thought my irons were fine.The one : problem was that I was constantly being outhit, particularly on my short : irons, by mere wisps of men compared to me. A good friend of mine, at about : half my weight and none of my (pathetic) muscle mass, hit his nine iron : longer than I did. The problem, however, is not ego driven. Because of my : distance problems, I’m forced to hit 7-irons from positions that everyone : else seems to be hitting 9’s or pitching wedges! Consequently, I frequently : can’t get close or onto the green. I think I’ve found what’s wrong, but I’m : not sure, and I’m also not sure when I can get on the course to test it out. : (Scotland+Winter=limited golf). : So, after that prelude, the question is simple. Could a mistake in the grip : have been the cause of the horrible distance? I think that with my grip (The : "V" of my left hand was pointing towards my LEFT shoulder) I was actually : opening up the club face by a few degrees, in effect hitting a sort of knock : down shot every time. It isn’t the swing that’s at fault, I think. My shots : went fairly straight, and with a decent trajectory. Only the distance was : skewed. Does any of this make sense to any one? At the range yesterday I : tried the proper grip, and it seemed to make a considerable difference, but : again I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks for your time. : Raffy

Response:

I’m a relative beginner (started last January, 20 handicap), and I was having distance problems, and after a lesson, discovered it was because I was bending my left arm too much, losing too much power. After a second lesson today, I learned to shorten my backswing, not sway, quiet my lower body, turn my shoulder, keep my arm straighter, and hit down on the ball, and my 7 iron was flying past the 150 yard marker consistently. I’m am putting less effort into my swing, and the ball is flying significantly higher and farther.  Go figure. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Folks I’ve been playing golf for about a year now, and everything was fine, more or less. I’ve started driving decently with my shallow faced 3 wood, my putting and chipping were reasonable, and I thought my irons were fine.The one problem was that I was constantly being outhit, particularly on my short irons, by mere wisps of men compared to me. A good friend of mine, at about half my weight and none of my (pathetic) muscle mass, hit his nine iron longer than I did. The problem, however, is not ego driven. Because of my distance problems, I’m forced to hit 7-irons from positions that everyone else seems to be hitting 9’s or pitching wedges! Consequently, I frequently can’t get close or onto the green. I think I’ve found what’s wrong, but I’m not sure, and I’m also not sure when I can get on the course to test it out. (Scotland+Winter=limited golf). So, after that prelude, the question is simple. Could a mistake in the grip have been the cause of the horrible distance? I think that with my grip (The "V" of my left hand was pointing towards my LEFT shoulder) I was actually opening up the club face by a few degrees, in effect hitting a sort of knock down shot every time. It isn’t the swing that’s at fault, I think. My shots went fairly straight, and with a decent trajectory. Only the distance was skewed. Does any of this make sense to any one? At the range yesterday I tried the proper grip, and it seemed to make a considerable difference, but again I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks for your time. Raffy

Response:

Raffy, firstly, it’s very important to play your own game!!   Forget about what clubs the others are hitting!   It’s much more useful to know which club you need to get a certain distance and use that instead of hitting the same clubs the others hit.   I’ve seen many seniors who can’t hit a 7 iron 120 yards play of 9 with deadly consistency – they know when they have 120 yards to the flag that they need to hit a 7-iron! The description of your grip sounds like a problem, and will most likely result in weak shots with a tendsency to slice.  I cannot recommend strongly enough to you at this point that you disregard all responses to your message (OK…  Even this one!!) and go and see a professional. I think that many beginners are also short and inconsistent because they put too much physical effort into trying to control the club head through the shot.  This also results in little difference in distance between the irons – where a capable golfer might manage 110 yards through 210 yards from a PW to a 3-iron, the beginner only gets 80yards to 150 yards. Therefore, the drill suggested in the previous post where you take a 7-iron and try to hit ten balls the same distance as a 9-iron is a good idea (OK..  don’t disregard that advice, either….).   By backing off to hit a softer shot with a longer iron you will naturally start to make sweeter contact and hit the ball further. By the way, winter in Scotland is a good time to work on your swing with a teacher. Oscar. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Folks I’ve been playing golf for about a year now, and everything was fine, more or less. I’ve started driving decently with my shallow faced 3 wood, my putting and chipping were reasonable, and I thought my irons were fine.The one problem was that I was constantly being outhit, particularly on my short irons, by mere wisps of men compared to me. A good friend of mine, at about half my weight and none of my (pathetic) muscle mass, hit his nine iron longer than I did. The problem, however, is not ego driven. Because of my distance problems, I’m forced to hit 7-irons from positions that everyone else seems to be hitting 9’s or pitching wedges! Consequently, I frequently can’t get close or onto the green. I think I’ve found what’s wrong, but I’m not sure, and I’m also not sure when I can get on the course to test it out. (Scotland+Winter=limited golf). So, after that prelude, the question is simple. Could a mistake in the grip have been the cause of the horrible distance? I think that with my grip (The "V" of my left hand was pointing towards my LEFT shoulder) I was actually opening up the club face by a few degrees, in effect hitting a sort of knock down shot every time. It isn’t the swing that’s at fault, I think. My shots went fairly straight, and with a decent trajectory. Only the distance was skewed. Does any of this make sense to any one? At the range yesterday I tried the proper grip, and it seemed to make a considerable difference, but again I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks for your time. Raffy

Response:

A lot of the basics can have an impact on distance. The weak grip that you describe might have something to do with it but might not be the total story. If you have the basics down you should be able to chart the distances for each club. A nice drill is to take your 9 iron and consistently hit 10 shots with it at your normal distance. Then try to hit 10 shots with the same club 10 yards less. Then use the same club and put the ball back in your stance and try to hit it 10 yards further. Next take your 8 iron and try to hit 10 balls to each of the 3 previous spots. These are good drills to try to learn control and feel. One thing to remember is that you can always take one more club if you need more distance (unless you are already hitting your driver). Good luck. — Jim Brewer http://www.iso9000help.com Address anti-spammed Take out the trash before replying – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Folks I’ve been playing golf for about a year now, and everything was fine, more or less. I’ve started driving decently with my shallow faced 3 wood, my putting and chipping were reasonable, and I thought my irons were fine.The one problem was that I was constantly being outhit, particularly on my short irons, by mere wisps of men compared to me. A good friend of mine, at about half my weight and none of my (pathetic) muscle mass, hit his nine iron longer than I did. The problem, however, is not ego driven. Because of my distance problems, I’m forced to hit 7-irons from positions that everyone else seems to be hitting 9’s or pitching wedges! Consequently, I frequently can’t get close or onto the green. I think I’ve found what’s wrong, but I’m not sure, and I’m also not sure when I can get on the course to test it out. (Scotland+Winter=limited golf). So, after that prelude, the question is simple. Could a mistake in the grip have been the cause of the horrible distance? I think that with my grip (The "V" of my left hand was pointing towards my LEFT shoulder) I was actually opening up the club face by a few degrees, in effect hitting a sort of knock down shot every time. It isn’t the swing that’s at fault, I think. My shots went fairly straight, and with a decent trajectory. Only the distance was skewed. Does any of this make sense to any one? At the range yesterday I tried the proper grip, and it seemed to make a considerable difference, but again I’m not sure. Anyway, thanks for your time. Raffy

Response: