Day 8: Iron-man

Today was a day for the irons.

When I look back on the previous 7 days, I realized that I have not hit a bucket of balls with my irons yet.

Anytime I hit a bucket of balls, I warm up by stretching for about 4-5 minutes.

After stretching, I like to swing by holding 2 clubs (3 iron and 4 iron) together and take nice, easy swings - maybe 20 or 30 of them - just to get everything moving - hips, shoulders, back, arms, legs - everything.

When I feel that I am pretty loose, I put my 4 iron away, grab my 8 irons and proceed to lay my 3 iron on the mat pointed at a target 150 yards out - this allows me to line up my feet properly. I have had a real problem in the past by having an open stance which made me come over the top of  the ball a lot giving me that 'lovely' slice. By keeping my feet aligned, it helps me to make sure that my feet are perfectly lined up with my target line. Another problem with classic slicers such as myself is having my shoulders open at address which points me very left of my target line. I have been making a conscious effort to square up my left shoulder to my target. Both of these things were tough to do in the beginning - as you felt like you are going to hit the ball so far right, but after a while you get used to the timing and confidence of pointing 'right' - when in actuality you are pointed straight at your target - the way you should be.

I  take pretty slow and deliberate swings for the first 3 balls - just to get loose and get the feel of what I am trying to do - kind of like waking up my golf muscles a bit - and to make sure that I am hitting the ball squarely. After that, I start firing away.

Today, I felt good from the get go. I started hitting balls with a nice 5-yard draw. Because I am taking my hands, arms and club - all together - away on a plane, it is making me come back to the ball from the inside - the result is a ball, when well struck, having a nice draw to it. I did notice that when I am not fully warmed up, that I tend to try and hit the ball harder. After 20 balls, I grabbed my PW and try to hit the 100 yard marker. This gets me more into the rhythm of the swing. After hitting a couple 100 yard PW, I try to hit a 130 yard marker (my full PW) somewhere out there. I then go back to my 8 iron with that same 100 yard PW swing and really start hitting the ball well - I don't over swing.

Then I took my 5 iron, widen my stance a little (more like shoulder width or a little more apart) and made a conscious effort to take that nice easy swing and the result was a well hit ball traveling about 180 yards. As soon as I tried to hit the ball harder, I was all over the place. So I got back to that 'happy swing' - firm, not hard - and everything fell back into place.

I played around with my PW, SW and 60-degree. Something that helps me with my aim a lot is zeroing in on a specific spot that I am trying to hit - not a general area, but a specific spot. It helps me with my concentration and execution.

Something I paid no attention to - which was very bad of me - was seeing if my chin was hitting my shoulder.

I felt like I was aware of the fact that I was turning my shoulders more which was putting my back more at the target, but I was not aware if my chin was hitting my left shoulder at the top of my back swing. Next time I hit my irons, I have to be aware of that.

It was a good day hitting balls. I look forward to the next time.