Good Shots to the Wrong Place

Besides Robert F's good advice, you may also want to make sure you are not cupping your left wrist (if you are a righty) during the backswing in an attempt to get the club back further. Cupping means bending the wrist so that the back of the hand moves closer to the top of the forearm.

Cupping opens the clubface, and it is difficult to get it square again by impact. This is sometimes a problem of mine, and to correct it, it almost feels like I need to bow the wrist (the opposite of cupping). It does not really bow; it just feels like it is.

The idea is to keep the left wrist in the same position as it was at address when the clubface is starting out square.

Dick, I live in Tulsa. Would like to meet you sometime. Right now is a really busy time for me. Working 6 days a week. I have two teenage boys, one plays baseball and golf; the other one is graduating from High School in May (going to OU by the way!). Perhaps sometime in the future we could meet. I am praying for your sons also.

Bocomo,

Both wind and damp conditions will affect the distance the ball will travel. I usually have to take a club or two extra during those conditions. For example, the other day I played in very windy conditions and was having to hit a 5-metal for a 150-yard shot. I was taking 4 fairway wood shots to reach the green on a par-5. Also, on damp days, the ball will not roll as far. Overall, it sounds as if you were stroking the ball well.

You do not mention a driver, so I presume you do not use one. Getting a properly fit driver and learning to swing it well will add some of the distance you are lacking.

Keep at it and keep it vertical.

Kevin

Good luck Dick. Keep em down the middle and in the cup.

Dick lee:

I think Bocomo has me -- I rarely note "second or approach shots" ( they are most 3W, 5W or 7W in my case anyway). I do record ALL drives and distances, per my GPS though. And number of bunkers/"Sandies" and number of putts taken - and penalty strokes also.
I also monitor a thing that I call a "G1" -- that is a GIR shot that hits the green, covers at least 1/3 of the green, but somehow winds up just off of the green -- in effect a "near miss" or maybe a "near green" lol

I started doing this on the "other site" when we had Shot Tracker to record the results -- at one time I was at about 81% on Fairways, near 15% on Sandies, about 18% on Scrabling and using 31 putts per round -- cumulative over 1 1/2 or 2 years. Near the end of that time though the most current would have had fairways down a bit (I was hitting the drier longer) but the other stats would have been a point or two higher.

I look forward to the return of Shot Tracker in the IC !

Keep hitting them STRAIGHT and LONG

Amos

A couple possibilities. You may be playing the ball too far back in your stance for your arm speed. Try setting up with the ball about half-a-ball further forward in your stance and see if that helps. It's also possible that you'd benefit from clubs with a little more offset than what you have now.

Or like Badbobrst found the other day, you may be tensing up your arms to try to force the club face closed, which actually makes it harder for your arms to perform their natural rotation through impact, keeping the palms perpendicular to the ground and the left wrist firm until impact, that will allow the club head to square up without any apparent effort on your part.

I know from experience that the more you get a bad result, the more you want to force the good result, but in a case like this that makes you more likely to continue to get bad and worse results. The only control you have of the ball is through the club, and the only control you have of the club is through the contact between your hands and the shaft. If your hands grip the club properly and move through the swing with the palms remaining perpendicular to the ground, the club will follow suit. So, forget the ball, forget the club, and just focus on swinging your hands around the nape of your neck. See if that helps.

Thanks. I understand. Picure is unnecessary :)

Actually, he said he accidentally left his driver at home because he'd been taking practice swings with it the night before. :)

The biggest question, Bocomo, is how the round compared in score and feel to what you were doing last year at the end of the season. Do you feel you are progressing, or not?

You all know the old saying, "When you at the bottom, the only place to go is up." The difference between yesterday and today is the Story of two days. You all know how yesterday ended for me. I spent a couple of hours at one of our favorite courses chipping and putting. The guy who runs the marshals and starters program saw me and called me over to the office. A while back I put in an application for their volunteer program. I start this weekend. I will work Sunday afternoons after church helping senior golfers get their clubs on their carts, riding around the courses looking for problems, or acting as a starter on the two courses. For that, I get free unlimited balls on the driving range, and here is the best part, free golf. I can take a cart and play as many holes as I want every day, except while I am working. They have two great courses there and it usually costs a little over $30 to play a round. They are city courses. Can you say, golf every day. Well, I still have to go out and do my inspections when I have one scheduled. I will just have to work out the inspection schedule so they don't interfere with my golf. I am so happy I could just holler.

There is only one down side to this. Now, I will have no excuse if I don't get my act together and really get this swing down pat.

We got an email from our daughter in law. Our son got to his assignment and is getting settled in. I will keep you updated on how the boys are doing.

Keeping it vertical, and playing for free, in Oklahoma
Dick

Hi Dick, Glad you will get out tomorrow for some serious Golf [ie, as long as you beat your opponent],it will be a good day.
Just finished checking the sweet spots on all my 'In favour, in the bag clubs'. Quite interesting indeed. Only one club in my bag had the sweet spot plumb centre and that was a 24deg Rescue club, I was lucky enough to win in a UK Golf magazine. Ironic, it has always been the one club I could pick up guaranteed and nail, sending it long and straight.
The LW was on the money, the SW/PW as near as made no difference.The 9/8/7 irons were a smidgeon towards the heel, the 5HL and 4HL irons were noticeably towards the heel.
r7 Drvr towards the heel, Mizuno Drvr a smidgeon off centre, the Mizuno 3W and 5W's right on the money.
It is strange but the clubs with the sweet spot on the centre are the clubs I most like walloping?
I only hit a couple of hard sponge balls, noted bags of power, dead straight and a lower . It will be interesting to see if that continues, when it is converted to the range. I have always normally hit the ball high.LW and SW mortar round trajectory,ie, plenty of time to observe them falling.
T.Medley I thank you sincerely for this most timely reminder about the sweetspot's actual position. Keep it vertical and long.

I am the only guy in my golf group that aligns my shots in play and on the range. I find my line, pick a landmark about a foot ahead of the ball that is on the line and then plant my feet parallel to that line. If I feel uncomfortable with my alignment after that, I lay the club on the ground across my toe line, get behind the club and see where it is pointing. If it is off, I move the club where it should point, get into position and pick up the club and swing.

Robert, I think you may have found a better answer. I didn't even consider that aspect as being what he was referring to. Makes more sense now to me. Cheers