Conference 7.286::golf

    Sometimes a person who hits a good tee shot but hits irons fat is
    falling back during the swing.  With a ball on the tee, its still
    possible to make good contact, but very difficult with the ball
    on the ground.
    
    Try putting a little more weight on your left foot at address (60%)
    and play the ball back in your stance a bit more.  Also, narrowing
    your stance a bit may help.
    
    Good luck and I hope this helps
    
    Bob

    I agree with .1 pay particular attention to the ball position in
    relation to your stance. It sounds to me like you have the ball
    to far foward (closer to your left foot if you are a righty) in
    your stance. This is the proper ball position for the tee shot and
    fairway woods but you need to have the ball closer to center for
    the irons. Have a pro take a look at your stance. That may be the
    ticket to your recovery.
    Ken

    
    I am currently going through the exact same problem.  I have been
    killing the driver off the tee, but can't hit a bull in the a**
    with a shovel with an iron in my hands.  The problem is really quite
    simple (in my case), I am/was staying on the left side during the
    backswing (irons only).  How did I find this?  Whenever I have a
    problem with my swing I ALWAYS GO BACK TO THE FUNDAMENTALS.
    
    Is your address position square (feet,knees,hips and especially
    the shoulders)?  Weight evenly distributed on the inside of your
    feet?  Then make sure your backswing is square and oh yeah don't
    be in such a hurry to hit the ball :-).
    
    There is of course a 90% chance you are swaying.  The real trick
    is to stop it.  Make sure of the fundamentals from above, and
    concentrate on staying behind the ball during the downswing.  Try
    to take 10 yards off your normal distance with an iron, and think
    about soild contact.  That will help keep your upper body quite
    during the shot.
    
    						KO

    Also, tee shots tend to be hit with more of s sweeping action and
    short irons should be hit with a more descending blow. Once I learned
    how to make a descending blow with my irons, they flew further and
    bit the greens harder.
    
    Your divot should start slightly in front of where the ball is.
    About 9 years ago, Golf Digest had an excellent 4 page article on
    how to hit crisp iron shots. I have kep this with me for 9 years
    and it helps me every year to get my irons going again. There are
    some really good drills and the explanation of how you should hit
    a good iron shot is excellent.
    
    As I think has been mentioned, you don't want to shift your weight
    as much for an iron shot (but use the same swing). A good divot
    will start at the target and slide to the left (if you stand behind
    and look). It's the correct looking divot. The club face will be
    square at impact and when it begins to close and force the divot
    to the left, the ball will already be well on its way to the flag.
    
    Mike
    
    PS - Remember to repair your ball marks in the greens!!!!

    re: .1, .2

    Yep, I bet you're right about the ball position, I've been neglecting
    that aspect of the address.


    re: .3
    
�    There is of course a 90% chance you are swaying.  The real trick
�    is to stop it.  Make sure of the fundamentals from above, and

    This is definitely part of it.  I'd been working on really getting my
    weight into my drives and have been focusing on the weight-shift, so
    I'll bet it has contributed to my iron problems.


    re: .4

�    Also, tee shots tend to be hit with more of s sweeping action and
�    short irons should be hit with a more descending blow. Once I learned
�    how to make a descending blow with my irons, they flew further and
�    bit the greens harder.
    
    I didn't know that.  Can you tell me what issue of G.D. this article
    was in?

    I'm off to the driving range...

    The article appears in Golf Digest of November 1979. It has a picture
    of Tom Kite on the front and in big letters says "How to hit crisp
    iron shots" and starts on page 44. The article starts by explaining
    what a descending blow is and why it is important (the way it imparts
    backspin for iron shots). It then talks about how "then angle of
    approach" (IE, how the club does the work for you on a descending
    blow).
    
    If you try some of their drills and understand what this article
    says, then you will be truely amazed at your iron play. You may
    wonder how guys can hit a 9 iron 150 yards while you are still hitting
    an 8 or even a 7. When you learn the descending blow, the extra
    distance may surprise you. I am not saying that this will give you
    extra distance even though I gained about 5 to 10 yards with it.
    
    About backspin: It is a common misbelief that you only are supposed
    to have backspin on your short irons and topspin on your woods.
    This is wrong! The golf ball needs backspin in order to get air
    born. The more backspin, the higher the ball flies. Therefore, you
    want to MINIMIZE backspin with your driver and maximize it with
    your 9 iron. Topspin will make your ball dive into the ground (that's
    just what happens when you top a shot). A descending blow helps
    you maximize that backspin with the right clubs.
    
    Mike

re: .0
    My iron play at the beginning of the year was much as yours.  All
    of the above-described keys help.  Right now, my iron play is good,
    and I've literally gained 10-20 yards through all clubs in my bag.
    My keys?  
    1.  Balanced stance with weight on INSIDE of feet.
    2.  STABLE right side on backswing.
    3.  With smooth tempo, HIT THE BALL FIRST  (helps give descending
        blow).
    
    Distance increase and accuracy come automatically with the proper
    fundamentals - there is NO need to swing hard.
    
    ..........steve
    

    If you would like a good example of swings which emphasize solid
    fundamentals and also prove that strength is not critical to a good
    golf game, travel to the Ferncroft course in Danvers this week for
    the LPGA tournament. The woman pros hit the ball long, straight,
    and accurate. Watching them really brings home the point that a
    fundamentally sound swing is the key to good golf. 
    
    Some of the points made in other replys have helped me with some
    iron problems of late.
    
    Thanks guys
    
    

I am doing some of the some problems, I usually have been hitting my drive very
 well off the tee unless I start "thinking" about it...my only real problem is
 accuracy, I can not get the ball to go straight. I hit it straight off the tee
but with the fairwoods ESP and irons on keep hitting left!  Now you  say
my alignment is wrong, well believe me  I align my ball with a divot or
something before is strike. I also check my club face and what appears 
to be my body...still left of target. So I end up facing way right of the 
target to try to get the shot to the target...but it feel watered...
any help I pay for!
neal
PS I read Ben Hogan fund. of golf (good book), it says on your short iron step forward
     on the line, and back to low and woods. fairway wood I have no idea 
     where my foot should be.
    
    

    It sounds to me like a classic case of the pull hitter in baseball.
    The first thing to do is to continue looking at the fundamentals.
    You said that your alignment is correct including the club head.
    The next thing is the takeaway.  Make sure that you transfer your
    weight back to the right side.  Staying on the left side in the
    backswing is one of the major causes of a pull.  The downswing should
    start with a lateral shift of your weight back to the left side.
    The next move is to pull the club down with the LEFT hand.  Try
    to drive the butt end of the club through the back of the ball.
    
    I've never read Hogan's book, but I've seen his swing.  He must
    talk about the various components of the swing (the set up, the
    takeaway, the downswing and the finish)  When you swing, try to
    finish your swing like you're posing for a picture for the cover
    of Hogan's book.  
    
    As for ball position with a fairway wood, play it off the inside
    of the left heel.
    

    reply to .9
    
    If you have good alignment and hit everything to the left, you might
    try one simple change in your hand placement. Not your grip, but
    rather when addressing the Driver for example, take a normal stance
    that feels comfortable than move your hands forward about 1-2 inches.
    This could help get your swing path inside out and add more distance.
    
    If you ever duck-hook your driver intermittently this could help
    that also....
    
    later,
    Richard

    
    This is an old note, but it fits my question.
    
    I have been hitting my woods extremely well this year.  I've even
    learned to hit my 12 degree driver out of the fairway, but I can no
    longer get any reasonable distance out of my irons.
    
    My swing over the last year has gotten a little shorter due to a back
    problem, but it had no significant impact on my play with my woods.  If
    anything it helped stop me from over swininging.
    
    The big problem is no distance with my irons.  I can only get 110-120
    yds out of my 7 iron.  I used to hit it from 140.
    
    My swing seems to be smooth and crisp, and the ball flies high a
    straight, it just won't carry!
    
    I've been playing most rounds with my woods, (Driver, 3W, 5W, 7W, and a
    used 9 W I added this year).  I've been in the 90's many more times
    this year than in the past, but I feel if I could add a little distance
    with my Irons I might get into the low 90s.
    
    I am considering bying a 6W and 9W to match my other woods.  When I
    swng the woods I've mery relaxed and expect to make a good shot, and I
    am confident of the distance I will get.  When I swing my mid and low
    irons I can make a good swing but have no idea as to the distance I'll
    get.
    
    Any thoughts?
    
    Shane
    

    re: .12
    
    check ball position, may be too far forward causing a high shot
    and loss of distance...
    
    
    insure left shoulder is behind ball before starting downswing...
    
    

    I started loosing distance on all my clubs after a golf lesson where my
    pro straigtened me knees.  I ended up with very little bend in the knees
    (Freddie style) and thus began using mostly my arms during the swing.  
    I know I probably stopped turning properly too.  So, I went back to my old
    stance, knees bent properly for me (Faldo style) and I started to get
    back my distance.  This position allowed me to turn better (from the
    waiste up) and drive a little with the legs.
    
    Hope this helps - good luck.