OT: Golfers, does this seem right?

[AlSwearengen]

Maybe some of you remember awhile back, I was asking about a good set of clubs for a beginner. Well, I ended up getting a new set of Taylormade Burner 2.0 for what I think was a good price (they are a discontinued model i think). That isn't important though. Here is my question. I have been doing a little practicing when I can, mainly at the driving range with my irons. I have started seeing a little more consistency with my striking and yesterday I was hitting my nine iron right around 130 yards and my five iron about 185-190 yards pretty regularly when I made a good strike. I have gotten fairly consistent with my 3 wood off of the tee, although I don't know my yardage with that club.

Today, I was at Dicks and thought I would swing a driver and see what my swing speed is at the same time. H-O-L-Y ****, it was bad. I will say that I haven't done any youtube or google lessons on hitting the driver yet, but damn. I couldn't get the ball up in the air (the ball was hitting very low in the net). After thinking about it, maybe I had the ball too far forward in my setup. But, what I was alarmed about was that my average swing speed with about six swings was 82 m.p.h. Granted, I wasn't very loose or warmed up, but I thought I could have done better than that. I left thinking that I needed to buy a set of girl's clubs or something. I am holding out hope that the machine is 17ed or I was just too tight. Does my yardage with my irons sound like an 82 mph swing?

 

[Hammer Down]

Those yardages sound about right. Remember though, it is not how you hit your best shots, it is the play-ability of your bad ones, that will make your scores go down. But those good shots sure do make you keep coming back for more. I do not know anything about swing speed, I would guess that helps more with the distance clubs, since you get your power from compression with the direction clubs.

 

[missouridawg]

I hit my 9 iron 135 yards and my 5 iron 185 yards.

My driver swing speed, which is more than I swing with my irons, measures between 95-100mph. I would guess I take 10-15 mph off of that swing for my irons.... So you're pretty dang close to what I do, swing-wise, on the golf course.

To get the ball higher while hitting a driver, tee it up higher than normal and move it forward in your stance a little bit.

 

[mcdawg22]

I'm confused, did you swing a driver? If so, yes, that is slow for a driver. Your yardages are close to where an average mid handicap golfer is, actually 185 is pretty little long for a 5. Unless you swing drivers the same speed as your irons, which is unlikely, the machine was off.

 

[karlchilders.sixpack]

It'll never be done in time...

Quit now.

 

[Dogariffic]

I played long enough to develop a swing i can repeat and found clubs to match. I also hit a low driver and ended up with a 13.5 degree loft driver. It consistently puts me out there without a lot of worry.

 

[AlSwearengen]

I'm confused, did you swing a driver? If so, yes, that is slow for a driver. Your yardages are close to where an average mid handicap golfer is, actually 185 is pretty little long for a 5. Unless you swing drivers the same speed as your irons, which is unlikely, the machine was off.

Yes, a driver. I got my clubs about a month and a half ago and it didn't take long before I was feeling pretty comfortable swinging the irons. Swinging that driver felt extremely uncomfortable and maybe that is normal for the first time, but I felt slow because of the length of the club.

I am only 5'7" so maybe that causes me some trouble with the longer club?

 

[MrKotter]

Never trust a retailers launch monitor. Also, some people don't swing well indoors for whatever reason and lose their mechanics. A lot of people have different on course yardages vs on launch monitors too. Its a mental thing with some. Don't sweat your launch monitor readings until you get more consistency with your swing.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Do you know what loft the driver was? Lots of times they are 8.5 or 10.5 degree. I have always preferred a 10.5 myself.

Your yardages on your irons are almost exactly like mine are.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

Since its a golf thread, I'll say I just changed wedges to a 54 and 58, used to have a 52/56/60. The 58 is so much more useful than a 60 but I can also hit it where I used to use my 56, amd the 54 is a great wedge, amd mostly eliminates the need for a gap wedge. I played 36 on Sunday in shirtsleeves and 80 degrees, today there's a snow warning.... and yes, those yard ages are normal.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

yes but:

Maybe some of you remember awhile back, I was asking about a good set of clubs for a beginner. Well, I ended up getting a new set of Taylormade Burner 2.0 for what I think was a good price (they are a discontinued model i think). That isn't important though. Here is my question. I have been doing a little practicing when I can, mainly at the driving range with my irons. I have started seeing a little more consistency with my striking and yesterday I was hitting my nine iron right around 130 yards and my five iron about 185-190 yards pretty regularly when I made a good strike. I have gotten fairly consistent with my 3 wood off of the tee, although I don't know my yardage with that club.

Today, I was at Dicks and thought I would swing a driver and see what my swing speed is at the same time. H-O-L-Y ****, it was bad. I will say that I haven't done any youtube or google lessons on hitting the driver yet, but damn. I couldn't get the ball up in the air (the ball was hitting very low in the net). After thinking about it, maybe I had the ball too far forward in my setup. But, what I was alarmed about was that my average swing speed with about six swings was 82 m.p.h. Granted, I wasn't very loose or warmed up, but I thought I could have done better than that. I left thinking that I needed to buy a set of girl's clubs or something. I am holding out hope that the machine is 17ed or I was just too tight. Does my yardage with my irons sound like an 82 mph swing?

Driver issues are not the problem. 82 is a bit low for a driver, and not getting airborn can be an issue but do not worry about it. Swing speeds will come and you can work out the driver trajectroy with proper instruction. You have plenty of power/speed as indicated from your iron distances.

I think the problem is you are asking a message board instead of your instructor. Find a reputable instructor now. Do this before you develop so many bad habits that you can't get rid of them. The worst mistake I made was that I didn't get one. I have so many issues with my swing that I would have to go back to zero to fix them. I can get around my issues if I practice enough but it makes my bad shots be really bad. If you spend any money going forward on golf, make it be on an instructor. That's just my opinion, cause I didn't do it and I regret it.

 

[Dawg1976]

I would say the monitor was off. At a demo day at my club a couple of years ago, my ss was 96 with a driver. I'm an old guy too. My iron yardages are a little less than yours.

You made a good choice with the 2.0's. The only thing, the shafts are a little longer than some and at your height I wonder if you have the proper lie angle? If not, that can make it difficult hitting shots consistently well.

 

[AlSwearengen]

Thanks. I received some golf lessons for my birthday and when I go I will ask the instructor about the lie angle.

 

[Shmuley]

You have to take the head cover off before you swing.

 

[Tomas Smid]

I'm just jumping in here but, . . . . . .

Thanks. I received some golf lessons for my birthday and when I go I will ask the instructor about the lie angle.

if you are talking about a driver, lie angle has nothing to do with it. As opposed to your irons, the lie angle on drivers are all pretty much standard. What you need to check on is the loft. The less loft, the more spin on the ball making it harder to hit fairways. Thus, a loft of 9 degrees on a driver will put more spin on the ball than a loft of 10.5 degrees. I've read articles where the writers recommend that amateurs who consistently slice look at drivers with a loft as high as 13 or 14 degrees. At any rate, most amateurs will do just fine with a driver loft of 10.5 degrees.

 

[graphicBYdesign]

The Reverse is Correct

if you are talking about a driver, lie angle has nothing to do with it. As opposed to your irons, the lie angle on drivers are all pretty much standard. What you need to check on is the loft. The less loft, the more spin on the ball making it harder to hit fairways. Thus, a loft of 9 degrees on a driver will put more spin on the ball than a loft of 10.5 degrees. I've read articles where the writers recommend that amateurs who consistently slice look at drivers with a loft as high as 13 or 14 degrees. At any rate, most amateurs will do just fine with a driver loft of 10.5 degrees.

The more loft that your driver has, the more spin it will create. Unless you change the angle of attack of your swing.

Lower lofted drivers create a lower launch angle, which creates less spin. Pros can use lower lofts and still create a high launch angle and low spin rates. Which will give you maximum carry and maximum roll.

Also, loft has nothing to do with a slice or hook, that is all due to the players swing plane, ie. swinging from the outside -- in will cause a slice.

http://www.golf.com/equipment/driver-loft-test-results-and-findings-clubtest-2013

http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/slice.htm

 

[Dawg1976]

I was taking about the irons, although I failed to specify.

 

[fishwater99]

Thanks. I received some golf lessons for my birthday and when I go I will ask the instructor about the lie angle.

You need to make sure you bought clubs that are the right ones for your height and swing..
The main components of fitting a golf club to a golfer are length,
shaft type, shaft flex, grip, grip size, and lie angle. Lie Angle
happens to be the most important of these factors.

http://video.golfdigest.com/watch/hank-haney-the-lie-angle-check

 

[Bulldogg31]

Try swinging "faster", not "harder". Lighten your grip and imagine you are swinging a whip more than a hammer.