The Trials of a Beginner!

Trotter

Heads up.. heres a rant. :mad:

Ive been told that the best way to get into the game is to get a 6 iron, and start at a driving range. I did that and this morning, at last, I was hitting 125-130m and getting close or on the green that the little flag is marking at the 125 mark.

SO.. I decided it was time to graduate to a 4 iron. (Cant find my Dads 5 iron!).
And... I nearly killed a horse in the field beside the driving range.. My hand stings like crazy every time, and the ball sounds like Im swinging a brick at it (and moves accordingly).

SO.. I moved back to the 5 iron, and Im back hitting nice lofty 130m shots down the middle.

I think Im gonna be unique and just play with my 5 iron forever.

Encouragement welcome.. Criticism.. Be nice. Im a newbie golfer on the edge. :rolleyes:

swingking

All I can say is keep at it. Golf is a tough game and if you learn how to hit the ball cleanly then you can progress to the real game. just a few questions

1. Are you hitting from mats or from grass. Range mats are sometimes too forgiving and when you go to the golf course, you find yourself hitting the ball fat.

2. Do you play pitch-and-putt. It's a great way to start playing golf as a beginner and there isn't too much of a challenge.

okden

if your range uses yards not meters as most do, your gonna need loads more clubhead speed to get any benifit from a 3 iron, youd be beter off with 5 7 9 wood
w soft flex shafts
or you could do some clubhead speed drills, pretend the ball is on a 3 foot tee is one, stay in posture and go at it

if it uses meters youd still benifit with clubs with as much weight low and behind the ball in their design
see the hybrids here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=250885

damn, im starting to sound like im selling custom fitted hybrid sets :rolleyes:

TheDoc

That horrible pain in your hand and dirty sound is the typical bad connection of a 4 iron. You will find that with your 5,4,3 iron you will get that sound. Basically you are not catching the ball correctly. Possibly the clubs are blades, half blades or not good clubs, driving range balls are very hard.

Work on the short game, its what brings high handicappers down. Like I always say, you can drive a par 4 green in one, and walk away with par. You can take a soft drive, lay up, a close chip and a putt for par.

cibby

The 5 iron is perfect-- then go on to 7 iron--and stick with these two clubs for a long time--dont be any more greedy!-- Get a lesson--necessary for grip, stance, and to do it right from the very start--I made the mistake of practicing for a whole year with no lesson and got into bad habits-- and all had to be changed..Good Luck--great game! :

GreeBo

okden wrote:

if your range uses yards not meters as most do, your gonna need loads more clubhead speed to get any benifit from a 3 iron, youd be beter off with 5 7 9 wood
w soft flex shafts
or you could do some clubhead speed drills, pretend the ball is on a 3 foot tee is one, stay in posture and go at it

if it uses meters youd still benifit with clubs with as much weight low and behind the ball in their design
see the hybrids here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=250885

damn, im starting to sound like im selling custom fitted hybrid sets :rolleyes:

The distance the OP is hitting the ball is fine, no need to be working on swing speed or anything like that. Take about cart before the horse. There are a million other things to work on before swing speed, putting, chipping, pitching even bloody straight for crying out loud!
Get a lesson, then practice, its the only way. The other way around is just doing it the hard way.
You are a beginner so its ALL going to feel akward, might as well be the correct stuff than your own version.

okden

GreeBo wrote:

cart before the horse.

its possible the OP is hitting his 5 iron 130 yards, if so, the 4 iron which sounds like a blade, will only go a couple of yards further, and his 3 iron a couple yards further again.

this is the physics of ball flight not meer opinion
if your swing speed is bellow a certain level a blade 3 iron even hit perfectly with an iron byron goes similar distance to its matching 5 iron because the dimple effect never kicks in enough to raise the balls trajectory

i was just advising him to not worry/bother trying to straightin out the 4 iron blade if he doesnt plan on increasing his clubhead speed
he can cheat the dimple effect with a hybrid iron or a fairway wood which would go 140y and 150y, instead of 132y and 134y for the 4 and 3 iron

or he can swing faster and straighten out the blade

but if he gets a lesson a good pro will dump his long irons or increase his clubhead speed anyway, maybe both

GreeBo

okden wrote:

this is the physics of ball flight not meer opinion

Yeah, but you are trying to get a total novice to hit the ball harder rather than work on ANY other part of his game.
In fact every other part of his game is more important than distance as a novice. He will see much greater rewards/results by dropping 10 shots off his round than hitting that 4iron an extra 10 yards (probably into the trees)
I think what you are telling him is madness and will push him down a path of misery. You have no idea what his swing is like but yet want him to speed it up?
For all you know he could be casting, could have a 3/4 swing, outside/in swing, poor ball position, bad grip, anything! :eek:

okden

@ GreeBo

i think youve missread my posts, im no distance junkie, my advice was to get a 9 wood w sosft flex shafts

delboy159

I just want to back up the 9 wood idea.

I bought one by accident a year or so ago - I was (and am) very much a beginner. I decided to give golf a proper go about 3 months ago and the 9 wood has kept me going. I can hit from 7 to pitcher fairly well. But any par 3 over 150 yrds and I was hopeless. (I'm just playing par 3 - I'm looking to progress to golf when I can go around Tyrellstown par 3 in under 70 - consistently.)

Anyway - the 9 wood could get under the ball very easily and hit it 150 - 160+ yrds with no hassle. This makes a 200+ par 3 very manageable. Also, if (when) I fluffed a tea shot and was still 140+ away from the green. I could pick up the 9 wood, hit it easy and be sure to get it up and moving.

Also, I've found it a very forgiving club. If I half top a ball - it will still go the distance, just not half as high.

It's now the case that I'm able to use my 3 to 6 irons fairly well. But if I didn't have the 9 wood I wouldn't have stayed playing. When I do hit a proper golf course I can see it being used on a lot of fairways.

okden

thats brilliant delboy, i think most people forget what the game is about

getting the ball in the hole and enjoying it

to many people think its about hitting a 1 iron blade long and straight, and they never get the enjoyment they could out of the game if they got clubs that suited their game

as arnie said "if you aint haven fun, dont play"

glad your enjoying it