Lowering ball flight in short irons

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MrMichael

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How can I get a lower ball flight in my short irons? It seems most of my short irons go out and baloon up. I hit all of my shots high. This robs me of distance and accuracy. My 52, 56, 60 wedges are the worest... It seems that I hit all of them the same distance. My driver swing speed is around 110mph and I'm a 4.5 handicap. I have DG S300s in my 3 - PW and I just got a 52 with a Tour Concept S3... 56 and 60 are standard DG wedge flex.

Any ideas? Swing related or equipment related.

Thanks...
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
wedge shafts are too soft, those wedge flexes are like S200s. Also, you probably even have too soft of iron shafts too, 110 is a lot for a S300 unless you have a very smooth early release.

Change the wedge shafts to at least S300, S400 is very popular due to the extra weight. THEN look into hitting knockdown shots.
 
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MrMichael

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Jim... I just bought a ported 52 degree wedge with a S3 Tour Concept shaft. I hit it higher and shorter than my 56 with S400's. It looks like a 85 yard flop shot it goes so high. My 8, 9 and PW concern me the most. It seems like if I hit them harder they only go higher. I never get that penetrating ball flight with those clubs. It is more like a upside down V. I am thinking about trying x100's or Project X's. I hate to spend the $'s on Project X's if it doesn't give me the result I'm looking for. I'm thinking about just trying my 8, 9, and PW first.... any suggestions on shafts...
 
starretj

starretj

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MrMichael,
For me, when I am hitting my short irons too high I find that I am stalling my pivot. When I concentrate on making sure my pivot continues past the ball, I get a nice mid trajectory flight. At times I have to work extremely hard at this and usually find that I need to slow my pivot down and make sure that my swing is in sync. When I am hitting this shot correctly, it is fairly easy for me to bring the flight down even lower if I feel the need. For me when I talk about continuing the pivot, I have to concentrate on my shoulders continuing to turn through the shot. Don't know if this will help you or not, but I hope that it does. Those piercing short iron shots can really boost the confidence and lower scores.

Jim S.
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

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MrMichael..............are you sure you don't have.............leakage?

(gasp!)

(just kidding- with the gasp...:))
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
No it sounds like equiptment, he is essentially "slowing down enough" so he doesn't balloon the ball. I had this phenominon too; i kept my swing speed slow enough (108-110) and low 90s with a 5 iron because i was playing too soft of a shaft and if i ever "went after it" i ballooned the ball and it goes short.

Once i went to X-stiff shaft i actually PICKED UP swing speed (do a search i'm commented on this before). X100s are are cheap experiments and you could throw into your short irons to test out. Some people even keep S300s in the long irons for the softer tip and higher launch while keep X100s in the mid and short irons. Project X are nice but are completely different profile from dynamic gold, best to demo those before wasting money on them. See if a local clubmaker has any that you can demo.
 
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MrMichael

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I think that is what I'm going to do... is put DG X100's in my 8,9,PW and go from there... I'll search for your post on this also... thanks... I thought it was equipment but I couldn't make myself believe that I needed x100's when everyone says you're better off playing a softer shaft than one too strong... oh well... thanks again and I'll keep you posted...

and I love the forum... I read it daily... don't tell my boss... hope to get a lesson with Brian sometime soon...
 
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MrMichael

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So we ended up having to go 2-3* flat in my these irons because of the weaker shafts. He said that if i used a stronger shaft i'd be able to get away with 1* flat from the smaller amount of toe droop and we also confirmed this by using his irons (same as mine just stronger shafts).
Click to expand...


I found this quote from one of your posts Jim... and I hit off a lie board and it showed I needed 2 - 3 flatter also... I didn't do anything because the guy who was putting me through the paces didn't seem to know what he was doing... and I didn't trust him bending my clubs... and he couldn't answer anything on the monitor questions about what my rpms should a 6 iron be etc...
 
birdie_man

birdie_man

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Okok.....I think I am sniffing what you are into now Jim. I basically just pictured a flat-out HIGH ballflight. (i.e. due to loft) I used to be like this cause my face was too open and I had to flip it closed, adding loft.

Michael........if you are trying to really "lean into one" and hit it real low..........with a very descending blow and a massive divot..........does it start low and THEN balloon up??
 
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MrMichael

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Yes If I try to hit a hard low shot or it will fly a short distance low then look like it goes up a chimney as it climbs up... same thing when I hit other short irons... only time I seem to get the ball flight I want is from a flyer type lie...
 
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MrMichael

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Doesn't manner what ball I use..... ProV1... ProV1x....NXT Tour....Juice...Karma....Wilson Zips...Callaway HOT HX....Taylor Made... B300...B300s....rock hard Top Flites and Pinacles.....Range Balls....

I use to take a bigger divot in the past and the problem was worse... I started playing more and I just learned to deal with it.... but I want to try to take my game to the next level... I want to get down to scratch... I hit my share of greens... 10 to 12 per round... My long irons are high also but they seem to flatten out more... does anyone know what are good numbers for a 6I on a launch monitor for say a 92 - 95 mph swing with it.... I have some numbers some where but the guy running the monitor didn't know squat...
 
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MrMichael

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I am fairly sure I'm not flipping. I've spent a whole bucket of balls trying to hit punches before. They start out low then climb...all be it not as high as the normal shot but still not a good low punch... and I know I'm hitting with a bowed wrist then...
 
otto6457

otto6457

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Why don't you post a video of your swing? If your left wrist is bowed at impact, you should be de-lofting the club quite well and you should have a nice boring trajectory.

I can hit punch shots all day that balloon into the wind, but I am flipping when I do. It would be helpful to see how far forward your hands and shaft are at impact and to see if your pivot is moving through impact.
 
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