Conference 7.286::golf

    	I've found that for myself the swing changes depending on the club
    	I'm hitting.  On the short irons I tend to be more upright and 
    	come straight down on the ball.  With the driver and long irons
    	the swing tends to flatten out some.  If I stay upright on the 
        driver I get a hook, a duckhook or even worse.  I was at the
    	driving range yesterday working on the driver and managed to keep
    	the ball heading pretty much where I wanted with the slightly 
    	flatter swing.
    
    	This is not to imply that I am shooting par or less but just that 
    	it seems to hold true for me.  Had a 76 Sunday and the irons were
    	real good for me, even the long ones which is unusual.  My biggest
    	problem is staying down on the ball.  Hit too many thin.  Skipped
    	a 7 iron across the water and onto the green on a par 3 and got 
    	my par.  Luck was riding there.

    
    re: .0
    
    Mad Hacker,
    
    I don't have any suggestions for you, but when you get it figured
    out please let me know.
    
    It scares me when I read notes you wrote describing your game, you 
    could be just as easily describing mine.
    
    I have the same problem with the long irons, and any wood over a 
    5.  As a matter of fact, I had a 7 wood made for me this winter after 
    reading how you substituted it succesfully for some of the longer 
    irons. I havn't used it yet but here's hoping.
    
    Shane
                                                
    
    

    MH & Shane too,
    
    	Making good contact with the short irons and fairway woods and
    and doing the indescribable with long irons is a very common problem.
    (Trust me on that one guys)  What finally occured to me was that when
    swinging the shorter irons you are not trying to hit the ball very far.
    The opposite is true with the long irons.  So you tend to swing harder
    with the long irons causing inconsistancy.  Watch the pros on TV this 
    weekend (if there is TV coverage), they swing the 3 iron the same as 
    they swing the wedge.
    
    So my guess is that the problem has very little to do the equipment
    (in this case  :-)) and more to do with trying to kill that poor little
    golf ball.  When you swing a 3 iron tell yourself that solid contact is
    more important than hitting it hard.  Keep the swing smooth, easy and
    with good tempo and remember the goal of this shot is to hit to a spot 
    where you can hit it again.
    
    
    						KO

    
    I have to agree with K.O. on this one. I used to have alot of trouble
    with the long irons until I got it through my thick scull that what I
    needed to do was swing it like I did my wedge. It is also important to
    play those long irons towards your front foot. If you think "wedge"
    everytime you hit a club I'm sure you will see an improvement. You need
    to take the same swing because if you don't you get the results you are
    getting now. My rule of thunb is to play the 7 iron directly in the
    middle of my stance and move the up in my stance to the 5,4,3,2,1 irons
    and back in my stance fro the 8,9,pw and sw. I acually play the 6 and 7
    in the same place in my stance but do adjust for the others. Same swing
    different position in my stance.
    
    Good Luck
    Pete
    
    P.S. Be careful on the range it cause more problems then it solves if
    you don't have a solid practice routine. Start slow and finish slow.

    I hit some balls into my net last night with my 4 iron and 
    concentrated just on making good contact and not hitting so
    hard. It is immpossible to tell what the flight path is into
    the net but I was hitting the sweet spot often and generally
    was pleased with the results of not swinging so hard. It also
    seems that the sweet spot on my long irons is very close to the
    hosel ! This wasn't the case with my forged blades and may be
    part of the cause for so many mis-hits !! I have to hit the ball
    almost a half inch closer to the hosel to get solid contact. It
    is sort of scary as the dreaded s word comes to mind !! I thought
    that perimeter weighted clubs were supposed to expand the hitting
    area by spreading the mass around the clubface ??
         Also was doing some reading last night and Nicklaus reinforced
    the "same swing" concept. He said that he always knew when he was
    swinging well because he swung every club like his 7 iron.
    
    Mad Hacker

    re: .5
    
    note Nicklaus also says that along with the same swing with every
    club in the bag, the BALL POSITION REMAINS THE SAME...unlike what
    .4 is saying....the ball position changes only to hit a different
    type of shot i.e. ball back in stance = knock down shot
    		      ball forward in stance = high shot
    
    your normal ball position should not change from club to club...
    one less variable = more consistancy...
    
    just my $.02 worth

    
    RE: .6
    
    I would say that there are as many pros that adhere to the school
    of thought that the ball should be played from the same position
    in the stance with all clubs as there are those who adhere to moving it
    more forward in the stance for your long irons and back for your short
    irons... There was an article in GD last year about this with Seve and
    Greg. I forget which one used which school of thought...
    
    Yup, make the same swing with all clubs...

    
    re.6
    
     That may work for Jack but it sure dosn't work for me. If I play a 3
    iron in the center of my stance I will leave it out to the right but if
    I play up front in my stance it gives the club head more time to square
    itself and a better chance of a straight shot. Most golfers don't have
    a hook problem with the low irons they will usually have a slice
    problem and I guarentee you if you move the ball up with the low irons
    and swing slow your slice problems will be over. 
    
    Pete

    I was told by an old pro that your whole swing is very easy until you get to
    about your right hip (or just after you place your right elbow into your
    right side on your down swing) at this point your hand speed should increase
    right through the ball.  I've tried this and he does work very well.  The
    old pro said that's why the pros look like they are swinging so easy they
    save their power until they reach there hips and then they hit the ball 
    hard.  I can tell you by doing this I have been hitting with more distance
    and more control.  Example, before I hit my driver avg 240 now I avg 260.
    One more thing I have better feel to the pin and out of trouble shots.
    With this new swing speed I know I can start playing even or better golf.
    
    Inside the PGA had this tip on last week.  
    
    Peter Crocitto

    There once was a fellow on tour who went by the name of Ben Hogan, a
    man with a great respect for the game of golf...
    
    If you play by his school of thought:
    
    	- swing remains the same for every club you pull out of the bag
    		(save the putter)
    	- ball stays in the same place within the boundries of your feet
    		(off or about the left heel)
    
    	- right foot moves to the right or left depending on club selection
    		(shoulder width for a five iron)
    
    Now although I do follow this train of thought, I believe that the ball
    does move back in your stance slightly as you go to the shorter irons.
    
    great white north golf fanatic