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I'm going with all irons.....

Oddly enough, I think it was the understanding that my 4-iron was only going to go "X" yards no matter what, that made me swing easier and smoother. I always get fixated on distance with a wood in my hand, and consequently swing like someone being tased.
 
Hamfist said:
Oddly enough, I think it was the understanding that my 4-iron was only going to go "X" yards no matter what, that made me swing easier and smoother. I always get fixated on distance with a wood in my hand, and consequently swing like someone being tased.
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Exactly! I have that same thing with the woods. Even with the 2 iron off the tee, although not as bad as with the woods. I just want to bust em. I’m much better now. Trying to maintain the same tempo. I’m playing pretty good at the moment.
 
Yeah I owe a debt of gratitude to this thread and to the iron only philosophy. When I stopped using my driver and moved up one set of tees the game finally became what it should be; a progression of shots that move the ball toward the hole. I did have a few magical moments when I was confident enough to hit the driver and the ball actually flew straight and true. I’m sure that if I hadn’t walked away from the woods for a while I would have had a harder time building a reasonable repeatable swing.
 
LOL. Thanks, guys, now I'm second-guessing bagging my driver and hybrid again.
 
No need to second guess
 
My summarized version of my all irons experiment. If the woods are killing your score, just remove all your woods/hybrids, play from the next tee forward, and enjoy a few good scoring rounds. I think it will reveal what your true scoring potential really is. It will prove to you that the short game is where this game is really played. If your short game is suspect, you have no chance to begin with. You don't have to go whole hog like I did with the 1 and 2 irons. However I was trying to play from my normal tee's and in tournaments. A golfer just needs a 220yd tee shot that will not create penalty strokes. You can break 80 like that if you can putt and chip. It will teach you a lot about course management, controlling tajectory, etc. Nothing like hitting a 2 iron into a stiff wind 220 yds 5ft off the ground with most of that being roll out. Can't do that with modern hybrids/woods. It will illuminate how your swing tempo changes when playing clubs like Driver and 3wd that don't have a "set" distance. You become more aware of your tempo and how it wrecks the swing. Plus it really is fun. Best part is beating your buddies with just your irons. LOL! In fact I kind of miss my all iron bag. It's been since Sept since I played all irons and it will be windy this weekend. I think I will throw the 1 iron in the bag give it a go this weekend just bc I enjoy it so much.
 
Fun read for sure. My take is two fold:
1. If you enjoyed the process more than you would have enjoyed skipping the process then it was a success!! Tip of the hat
2. My only caveat would be that the process does prevent you from having the opportunity to make that satisfying 300 yard walk before hitting your second once in a while.

The only thing close to this I have successfully done is win 2 rounds against a friend with only a 7 iron and putter in the bag. It was tough with no wedges but I rarely beat him with a full bag giving him 14 strokes. Having only two clubs was advantageous vs 14 strokes and I just worked on trying to leave 150 to 165 to the green. It was a good time but twice was enough. It just didn't seem like golf playing out of the fairway all day :)
 
rxk9fan said:
Fun read for sure. My take is two fold:
1. If you enjoyed the process more than you would have enjoyed skipping the process then it was a success!! Tip of the hat
2. My only caveat would be that the process does prevent you from having the opportunity to make that satisfying 300 yard walk before hitting your second once in a while.

The only thing close to this I have successfully done is win 2 rounds against a friend with only a 7 iron and putter in the bag. It was tough with no wedges but I rarely beat him with a full bag giving him 14 strokes. Having only two clubs was advantageous vs 14 strokes and I just worked on trying to leave 150 to 165 to the green. It was a good time but twice was enough. It just didn't seem like golf playing out of the fairway all day :)
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Glad you enjoyed reading it. When I was younger, (still do on occasion, ie firm conditions) I hit over 300 every time I played, so that doesn’t bother me the least. That was with a steel shafted Titleist 975D too! My Longest ever was in 2002, a bomb of 365yds, 20mph downwind, landed on a down slope took huge forward bounce on a baked out fairway. I have witnesses. That was a cool moment.

I played several rounds this summer with 3 clubs and a putter. Shot same scores. It was a blast. I would do it more, but nobody wants to do it with me.
 
Thanks for the post man-very interesting. I know I often take clubs out of the bag when I feel they are not working for me.

One thing I did not read about was the disposition of the clubs taken out of the bag. I feel much better when I put the offending club in a location where I can see it daily, giving me the ability to give it a stern scolding, giving it alternatives if it doesn't shape up, like the second hand bin at a retail store, far from its brothers and sisters.

Doesn't change my game at all but makes me feel much better.
 
I went in iron only mode knowing it would be temporary, now that my swing is a little more consistent and the game doesn’t beat me up quite as bad I’d say mission accomplished. Over the remaining winter I’m going back to the driver but now I’ll be much more discerning when I use it.
 
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uitar99 said:
Thanks for the post man-very interesting. I know I often take clubs out of the bag when I feel they are not working for me.

One thing I did not read about was the disposition of the clubs taken out of the bag. I feel much better when I put the offending club in a location where I can see it daily, giving me the ability to give it a stern scolding, giving it alternatives if it doesn't shape up, like the second hand bin at a retail store, far from its brothers and sisters.

Doesn't change my game at all but makes me feel much better.
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Sometimes silent, bulging-eyed rage works as well.
 
I put them in a closet out of my sight. Don’t even want to think about them. Lil bastards they are.....
 
Was recently fitted for the first time. Just for shafts. Lucky enough to have a Golf Digest Top 100 guy locally. Eye opening to say the least. My 7 iron swing speed was 98 avg after 150 balls. Was fitted for x100 shafts tipped 1/2”, approx 7.1 fcm. Also X flex in my woods. All these years I’ve been swinging way too soft a shaft. S300 is at 5.8 fcm. Also, my arms are pretty short for my height, so I’m +1” on the length. Grips also way too small. No damn wonder I struggled with consistency. I feel like a dumbazz. Don’t have my wood shafts yet, so for the time being I’m back to all irons. Due to weather, only been to range once since, hit it really well. Much stiffer shafts feel really good and I don’t have to hold back at all. Anxious to get after it now.

So if you haven’t been fit by a REAL fitter (outdoor setup) and you are struggling, go see one. Best money I’ve spent. Don’t do what I did and waste your prime playing ill fitted equipment.
 
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