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The Smart Path To Better golf

Long Club Woes

BY GEOFF GREIG

Do you have more difficulty with the woods and long irons than with the short irons and mid irons? You are not alone. The vast majority of golfers experience greater inconsistencies as the clubs get longer.

Woods and long irons have less loft and longer shafts than the rest of the clubs in the bag. These structural characteristics can either help us or drive us crazy. Fewer degrees of loft means less backspin which translates into optimum distance trajectory. Greater shaft length means a larger swing arc and more clubhead speed. Unfortunately, less backspin can also turn into greater sidespin and extra clubhead speed will magnify the effects of the sidespin. The challenge is to maximize the positive effects of the longer clubs and minimize the negative.

The only way to get the most out of the longer clubs is to strive for solid ball/clubface contact. It is not necessary to swing harder to propel the ball further with the driver. The design of the club will take care of the extra distance, if the ball is struck with a square face on the correct path. When you swing harder with the longer clubs you are just making it more difficult to strike the ball solidly. With the longer clubs this is a recipe for disaster. Find a repeatable swing pace while practicing with your favorite iron and train yourself to use it for every club in the bag. If you want consistent ball flight start with a consistent swing pace.

Efficient practice can also help you to overcome long clubaphobia. If you are having trouble with a particular club during a practice session, put it down. Continued practice with negative results will establish a negative pattern. You will begin to believe you can not swing that particular club. When the trouble starts switch to your favorite club. If your swing begins to break down go back to your favorite club. The idea is to keep switching until the problem club begins to feel no different than your favorite club. This method of problem solving takes discipline but, it will yield tremendous benefits.

Till next time.