It was the most dissatisfying experience of my life. I was bored, uninspired, and wanted to do nothing more than swing my driver as hard as I possibly could until exhaustion sent me home.
Proceeded to record a personal best the very next day at my local 9 hole. Everything 100yds and in was automatic. Felt like a god.
I know this isn’t new news, but as a high handicapper, practicing small shots is sincerely the best way to practice. If you really want to feel the juice, save the last 10 balls in the bucket for your driver. But start with and hang onto those wedges for 90% of your session.
If you’re a high handicap, the best advice I can give is to never full swing inside 150 if you don’t have to. You will hit so many more greens in regulation and have a lot closer shots than you’d imagine you can hit. I can hit my 9 iron full 148 ish but I will never swing it full unless it calls for that exact shot; I’ll always flight an 8 iron at 80-90% and find the green more times than not.
@Harley
This sounds like my issue, along with slicing every fucking drive into the woods.
I can hit my 9i about 145-150 full swing. So when the distance is that far I usually default to bringing out the 9i. It sounds like I should consider using my 8i with a nice, easy swing instead?
Bennie said: @Campbell
That nice easy 8i will always turn into a nuke that I hit in the center of the club face, then fly the green…
Same. I picked up golf back in April and 18 Birdies says I’m a 34hcp. So I’m not very good, and I swing hard. Probably too hard. Might need to get on the range and try it!
@Campbell
This sounds like my issue, along with slicing every drive into the woods.
One of the best things that happened to me was getting randomly paired with good female golfers.
Their swing speed is so much more deliberate and they will pop the ball 200+ yards down the middle of the fairway every single time.
I always have a better tempo on my swing after playing with ladies who can hit the ball because they are a great visual reminder of letting the clubs do the work.
@Harley
That’s great advice! I currently employ a similar strategy, and that’s to use the club that will get me to the back of the green, then dial it back just a bit. Gramps was right when he told me an 80% swing was all you need!
@Harley
I’m not sure I agree, as a high handicap. To me, it’s like adding another variable that I can fuck up. Now not only am I trying to hit the ball straight and true, I’m also trying to judge the difference between 50-75-80-90%. Which I’m simply not good enough to consistently judge. Also, how do I execute that. Choke up? Shorter backswing? Slower downswing? It’s like adding so many additional failure points.
I’d much rather strike every ball with the same force and let the length/loft of the club be reason for the difference in distance.
Exceptions are things like being behind a tree where you need to go over it and hit a higher lofted club as if you’re going to blast out of your shoes in an attempt to get more distance than your normal swing.
It also sounds to me that what OP did on the range, hitting his wedges over and over again, is meant to build consistency while still hitting full shots, albeit with a short club.
@Harley
I love this. I’m not very consistent with intended distances for irons but my low power swings tend to do really well. I hadn’t even thought to half swing a lower iron instead of trying to blast a 9. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks.
You can also get a lot of benefit going back and forth between wedge and driver on each ball. It can really help your rhythm/tempo, especially if you have a tendency to overswing with the driver.
Blake said:
You can also get a lot of benefit going back and forth between wedge and driver on each ball. It can really help your rhythm/tempo, especially if you have a tendency to overswing with the driver.
Yeah, wedge driver is a really good combo to switch between. It’s basically the extreme of one’s swings. I like to mix it up with real world pairings or combos I find on the course too. 7w, 6i, 52, etc.
It’s so weird to me when people talk about practicing irons and wedges like it’s torture and practicing drivers like it’s ecstasy. For me, it’s very fun to try and hit the 50 yard sign, 100 yard sign, try and pick patches of dirt and try and hit those same spots with different clubs.
Charley said:
I bet if you did the same thing on the putting green next week you’d get the same result. A week of that and a putter grip change is what caused me to start breaking 90 overnight.
Breaking 90 is the dream for me. Have come so close, so many times but I just can’t do it. I live in Canada and our golf season is coming to an end. I gotta keep going to the indoor ranges so I don’t lose my progress and have to start over next year.
I ran a 9 hole golf league for 9 years. Whenever someone shot a score that was significantly lower than their handicap. I would ask them what was working for them that time. Over 90% of the replies was putting the ball in the fairway with the driver. Lost balls, punch outs, and OB kills your score all the time.
