Golf clubs

[elroy]

Lads, am looking for any guidance/advice, do's and dont's etc on buying a new set of irons.

Been playing golf with about two years, starting to get the hang of it somewhat, now by that I mean that my handicap (recently acquired) is in the high teens.

Need to get a new set of irons and have been looking online and in a few shops here in Dublin. Obviously dont want to spend too much as Im not exactly playing good enough golf to justify buying top of the range. But would be grateful if anyone has any thoughts on what to get and also if anyone has bought clubs in from the states. Cheers.

[nigel-harps1954]

Happened to see recently on TV an ad for a company in Ireland who are now making full sets of custom clubs to suit each individual player. If I had the money I'd be at least giving them a shout and see what exactly they can do and give it a test run.

http://www.foregolf.ie/

[passinginterest]

MD golf do very decent value, good clubs if you have budget concerns. I've got an MD Superstrong driver and fairway woods as well as an MD Norman Drew wedge. I'll probably get the irons eventually too. I love the woods and as far as reviews go it seems it's hard to get better value for money. I'm a mid-teens sort of handicap too (don't have a GUI but 11 with society prob 14-16 if I had a GUI). Halpenny stock them now, or you can get them online, they're based in Antrim too.

Try before you buy is what most people will recommend, you'll find a lot of decent 2nd hand sets on places like adverts and a lot of sellers will meet at a range and let you try them out first. It's something that I'm going to consider before upgrading my own irons. There's always a risk picking something off the shelf that it just won't suit. I got a Cleveland launcher hybrid 3 last year and hit it in the nets at American golf a few times, it felt OK and looked OK on the computer but I've never really got to grips with it on the golf course, and I don't think I'd have ended up with it if I had hit it off grass at a range a few times.

[elroy]

Reviving an old thread

Lads any tips on keeping your left hand straight in your swing. I'm right handed and find that my left hand is bending in my swing quite quickly. I can notice and others have pointed out that I am losing a lot of power as a result.

Also any tips on increasing power with the driver and curing a nasty slice.

Other than the above my game is fine. :-)

[nigel-harps1954]

Tis mostly about the stance and quickness of swing, I'd imagine. A problem a lot of people have is raising the club back too quickly, slow start, smooth finish, keep an eye on the ball. Have someone else watch where it goes, just make sure you make a good connection.
I find whenever I slice the ball, I'm always lifting my head too quick to see where it went so you're not following through properly on your swing.

It might not completely rectify your problem, but it'll help. Otherwise I recommend a day on the driving range trying out different things.

[passinginterest]

A tip I saw on Youtube that I found somewhat useful is to imagine the swing as if you were playing baseball, it's all about extending the arms and swinging in a wide arc, this is where the power is generated when added to the speed. Hold the club out in front of you and imagine swinging it like a bat, think about the arc of the swing, then drop it down and try and apply it when hitting the ball. It's a very simplified idea but it's easy to apply and makes sense. One of my friends has a similar issue to you with his left wrist and when I got him to try this he was hitting it straighter and futher almost immediately. If I can find the youtube later I'll put it up.

[osarusan]

He comes across as a patronising pr!ck, but they're the best videos on how to swing a club properly I've ever seen. Don't know if it'll help your particular problem though.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fev4wqC6U

[osarusan]

Part 2.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE_2-WSU6F4

[elroy]

"this is not a wand and im not harry potter"

he is some character. Useful tips though in fairness. Cheers lads.

[magicman]

"this is not a wand and im not harry potter"

he is some character. Useful tips though in fairness. Cheers lads.

Got a free lesson off a pro over here recently and he had some really simple advice. He recorded me hitting a couple of drives- they were nothing bad but when I finished he took away the club. Then he told me to visualize skimming stones on a lake. He had me do it a few times and recorded it. Played both my drive and the "skimming" side by side and the difference was unbelievable.

The motion of the skim was a perfect golf swing. Whereas with the driver I was putting a little too much weight on my back foot causing the ball to slice it.

His other point is it wasn't the left hand that is the problem, it's the right. Make sure your grip is correct. When you look down at your hands, you should be looking at the back of your thumb. You shouldn't be able to see any of the palm.

A lot of it is about comfort too though. I used to be able to drive the ball a mile and found a very nice swing to keep it straight but it make sh1t of my back. I've had to redo my whole drive, lost a good 20-30 yards and it was horrible for awhile. Constant slices no matter what I tried, but after those couple of tips I'm still 20-30 yards shot but it's straight every time as long as I swing correctly.

[nigel-harps1954]

Put an awful curse on me anyway, had a poor round with a lot of slices today! Cheers ;P

[elroy]

Thanks for all the tips lad, played last Thursday and was v hit and miss, but had a marked improvement over last few holes. Concentrated on keeping left arm straight, using a shorter swing, ie not giving it a full swing yet but the ball is flying and straight too.

If only I can sort my slice out the tee. Stood a bit further away from the ball the other night and it seemed to cure the slice. Am luckily enough to be playing the k club 2m so hoping the above 'improvements' continue. But knowing the game, it'll be all over the place again.

Definitely gonna get few lessons in soon.