Hi Dennis. lets start off on the right foot. Distance is not as important as everyone one wants it to be. I just read the King Arnold Palmer just got his 20th hole in one. he used a 5 iron on a 160 yard par 3. for me that's a 9 iron. but i bring that thought back to your point of straight and consistent. Arnie is the king and i have yet to hit a single hole in one. This is because he knows his limits and plays a good fundamental swing and stays with in his swing.

So my suggestion is get some alignment sticks set the up with your target line for your feet for your ball. place one to keep your feet in same position every time at address. get used to seeing the ball in the same position every time. work on keeping the club on line. just work the fundamentals and the ball will start to go were you want them to far more often.  Practice Practice practice. Always have a goel and always have a target. Ben hogan once said if your hitting practice balls with out a target then your waisting your time.  OK he didn't say it exactly that way but that's the short of it.

You learn a lot about golf from playing with or caddying for seniors. Just how does some King Kong who has a 120 mph swing speed, uses a triple x flex shaft and hits a pitching wedge 150+ yards get his butt whooped by some old person that barely hits a 7 iron 140 yards? Answer: the old person's concern is getting in the hole in the fewest strokes possible vs how far the ball goes. Case in point 4 years ago (when I could still hit a 7 iron 160 yards): was playing with an elderly gentleman and he was using a 4H where a lot would be using a 6 iron (one was a 169 yard par 3). He was very consistent and down the middle of the fairway just about all the time. His score at the end of 9: 3 strokes over par. Case in point 1972 (my caddie days): the club champ could barely hit a 5 iron 150 yards but played scratch golf due to his accuracy. Paul Wilson of Revolution Golf explained in a video that the reason people slice is they hit the ball too hard. In regards to the goal.... There is a park around the corner from my house and it has a mound with a rather squarelike figure-8 sidewalk and two grassy areas about 6' radius (looks about like a green). 10 yards left of it is a long fence that borders a few backyards. There is a rather large oak tree about 100 yards from the mound on the right side, along with the playground immediately right of it. There are four sprinkler valve covers spaced 175, 160, 150, and 120 from the mound. It also has two picnic tables spaced 40 and 60 yards from the mound. It is also one of the few public parks that does not have "no golf practice" on the sign. I sometimes go there on the way to work when there is no one walking around and practice various shots (and that even includes hitting out of the playground sandbox that has rather soft sand). This has helped my iron play quite a bit, primarily with accuracy and distance control (the good thing about this is I can walk "downrange" and pace off distances). I practice my woods and long hybrids at the driving range, though.

thanks I w

I am dating myself since I was in 9th grade in 1972. Not ashamed to admit I use a lofted draw driver with a senior flex shaft (may be closer to regular because it is 45"). I'll take 220 yards down the middle of the fairway just about all the time and am still capable of 250+. I know that if I hit an 8 iron it will go between 130-135 dead straight and my distance variation on a full shot with a gap wedge is literally inches. In regards to working within limitations... I no longer carry an iron above a 6 (and sometimes I'll use a 34H as a backup to the 6 and 7 and on the par 3s between 130-150 yards because I can swing easy and go dead straight AND I know how to work the hybrid). I've also tossed out the 3 wood mainly because it isn't really value added, given the loft of my driver and because I have a 7 wood that I don't miss with. I have gone away from the BIG 90 DEGREE BACKSWING because it caused too many swing faults associated with proper weight shift to the front foot and I don't have the mobility I had 20 years ago. I have been using a compact backswing for 3 years now and my ball striking is solid and I seldom have mis-hits. One of the pros at www.allexperts.com gave a nice tip on front arm and hand motion, called the "palm down, palm up" drill. You raise your arm to shoulder level with the hand vertical. When you do your backswing, the entire hand-arm goes to "palm down" rotates back to vertical at impact and then "palm up" on the follow-through. The so-called "wrist hinge" is a natural part of the movement. Jim McClean and Martin Hall have a similar drill where you take a baseball swing (except Martin calls it "shut your face!").

AH Lou don't worry about dating your self like you said in your earlier post don't you can learn from the seniors and caddies your full of alot of good ideas. I've read a lot of your post and your a good guy. I'm more of a do as i say not as i do kind of guy. I say this but its only about 10% true. I'm one of those 125+ club head speed guys i have about a 300yrd carry and 320 ish on a full back swing. the reason i preach smooth tempo is because my smooth tempo is 120+ but i get on the course with some younger 20 somethings and they think they have to drive as far as me or out drive me. they do the long and wrong way to much. and quite often i have to (give advice on the course) witch i do preach against. but i simply pull them aside and grab they're driver usually and off the shelf club. and i grab mine and i say look you have a great club. but its not built like mine and you shouldn't try to out swing it. I have a 910 D3 8.5 set at its lowest setting.  with a rombax 7Z08 X-stiff. for any of you that want to look that up on the chart thats the lowest lunch lowest spin set up you can order pretty much. and i explain to them that my club ($700 ish) was fitted for my swing and my swing speed. I then tell them that their standard driver is more of a 95-110 range. anything faster than that and the club will start working against you. and this is why they cant control there shots. they're trying to hard to do something that wont bennifit them. and I know plenty of guys that swing a D2 with the Rip 60 S in it that can get 300 yards out of it. but their not trying to get 300 their trying to get fairway and it just happens to get 300. Usually they realize with in a few holes that i was right and they are swing out of there shoes for no reason.  Lot of the time well come to a 380yrd ish par 4 and if they hit there drive fairway on a smoth swing they find them selfes about 130ish out and i say whats your 130 club and for alot of them its a 9 or 8 and i say look at your club choices. you have a club that gets you to the front and a club that gets you to the back. i point out that while i might be 5 yards off the green i have to guess at my distance. i have to work harder to get it closer becouse im not at an exact club yardage. so all this goes back to the point of hitting it straight is more important than distance. use course manage ment thats why you'll see tour pros take an iron off a par four or a 3wood off a par five. couse they play to a yardage not let me bomb it and see what i get.

John.... Thanx for the complement. Paul Wilson of Revolution Golf had a series about slicing and one of his statements was the reason people slice is they try to swing too hard (over the top) because the arms take over; falling on the keyster is a side effect. I occasionally tee off with my 7 wood on some par 4s and a par 5 every now and then, especially if I have to "thread the needle" on a narrow opening off the teebox. One time I just so happened to hit it 225 yards on a short par 4 (300) with a pitch shot to the green. Sometimes it is nice to have a "why should I bust my hiney" attitude when it comes to golf shots. For instance 80 yards to the pin..... full swing with a sand wedge; much less work to pitch a 9 iron (especially to a 2 tiered green).

Regarding not trying to crush a shot and let it happen..... today I hit my 7 wood on a 177 yard rather uphill par 3 (plays probably about 190-200 given the elevation) and put it up on the dance floor. Proof positive it blows away most 3-5 woods I've owned (and I had a 980F 3 an 5 and an R7 5W before). I normally hit a 7W about 180 on a flat surface.

John L

Hi Dennis. lets start off on the right foot. Distance is not as important as everyone one wants it to be. I just read the King Arnold Palmer just got his 20th hole in one. he used a 5 iron on a 160 yard par 3. for me that's a 9 iron. but i bring that thought back to your point of straight and consistent. Arnie is the king and i have yet to hit a single hole in one. This is because he knows his limits and plays a good fundamental swing and stays with in his swing.

So my suggestion is get some alignment sticks set the up with your target line for your feet for your ball. place one to keep your feet in same position every time at address. get used to seeing the ball in the same position every time. work on keeping the club on line. just work the fundamentals and the ball will start to go were you want them to far more often.  Practice Practice practice. Always have a goel and always have a target. Ben hogan once said if your hitting practice balls with out a target then your waisting your time.  OK he didn't say it exactly that way but that's the short of it.

160 yard 9 iron is LOOONNNNGGGGG!! are you sure your not exagerating? I don't think Rory McIlroy hits his 9 that far.

The math works. I'm about an 80 mph swing and get 110. A 120 mph swing on the same club would be 155, assuming we both have 50% smash factors.

I've got a couple of years more on Lou, but I only started 2 years ago trying to do more than an excuse to drink beer. Still need to fight the urge to go for the fences. Alas, that's about all I hit on a golf course when I use the baseball metaphor. ...Would be nice to have that consistent 250-275 driver/180 5 iron for those 400 yard par 4's. Father Time is not on my side... I can still par them by getting up and down from 30-50 yards out and a one putt. Can't ever have too much short game.