I'm everywhere on the club face... how to be more consistent?

[he46570]

Hey everyone.

 

Just as some background, I first took up golf about 10 years ago, and only recently started up again in the last 12 months. I play about every 2 weeks, and score around 90. One issue is that about 25% of my shots using my driver / fairway woods / 5 iron are terribly inconsistent, and I'm obviously hitting off either the heel or toe. I can control it far better with the shorter irons, though it's thoroughly magnified as the clubs lengthen such that I'm all over the face using the driver.

 

I've used impact tape, and it confirms that I'm all over the face - high, low, heel, toe - I'm everywhere. There doesn't seem to be any consistent pattern. My cavity backs I think are making me lose far fewer shots than I otherwise would.

 

I took a few lessons, and my instructor gave me a few pointers but essentially said that I would build consistency the more I practice. The trouble is, I can head to the range, hit 100 balls and I'm still everywhere on the face. I'd know what to do if I tend to hit it thin / fat / heel / toe, but there doesn't seem to be a pattern.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? Perhaps I need a better instructor...

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Robert

[joesgonegolfing]

Well he's right in that you need to practice, but some of the inconsistent strikes come from setup and that you can practice at home without hitting balls.

 

If your set-up is solid, then even if your swing path is off, you can gain consistency by not varying your set-up also. Basically, you are working with what you have but making sure its set-up the same way each time.

 

Practice the pre-shot routine and set-up at home in the mirror and make sure you do it on each shot you hit thereafter, whether its on the range or in live play...DO IT EVERY TIME.

 

Joe

[Diesel]

setup is a great place to start... make sure everything is the same each time, and then you can determine if it's a swing path issue...

 

hitting the dead center of the driver everytime is going to take time... i'm still consitently inconsitent with impact area on the driver, and i practice and play often... ;)

[MKGolfer]

I would recommend hitting 3/4 shots, preferably off the mats to get your swing back. Once you get used to the tempo, it should be easier to catch it flush.

[ezra76]

I hit a ton of 1/2 to 3/4 sandwedges to keep myself connected with good tempo. It helps a ton with the ironstriking. Driver is tougher for me and is also the reason I use a more forgiving model and not a "tour" one. I also hit off grass, I don't like mats much because they forgive a fat shot.

[Milo]

Difficult to say without seeing you swing but keeping your head completely still is a good start. Try it with three quarter swings to begin with as it may demand improved flexibility/rotation and move from there.

See if that improves impact position.

[Diesel]

the suggestion of hitting off the mat is lousy, IMO... mats should be avoided at ALL COSTS...

[MKGolfer]

I don't like hitting off the mats either, and it probably hurts my game. However, I'm not having issues with consistency. It sounds like he would benefit from diagnosing his swing, whether it's trying different ball positions, correcting posture, tempo, etc., and hitting a few off the mats would provide a more consistent feedback IMO.

 

The other thing would be to try a better coach.

[Shaitan]

Hit off a lie mat occasionally, too, cos there is absolutely no forgiveness there if you catch it fat - quick way to learn to swing easy, hit the ground first and groove a good swing.

[he46570]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions, guys.

 

I agree hitting off the mat provides very little forgiveness, but I don't think I'm there yet. Basically, I have little trouble with my short irons, and I can hit it flush around 9/10 times. However, it seems the problem is magnified as the shaft lengthens, such that I can 'brush' the ground around 7/10 times with my 5 iron, and probably 5/10 times with my driver. Plus when I actually hit the ball, I'm betting I'm doing something different to make things even more inconsistent...

 

Just a question about the driver that you raised. If you hit it off a tee, then say you connect in the top 1/4 of the face. If you have a truly shallow swing, and the ball was on the mat instead, you would have bounced that off the mat and completely flobbed the shot, correct? Therefore I'm not sure what hitting of the mat will do for the driver... hitting it flush would imply you are hitting it below the middle of the club face, especially with the super-large 460cc drivers nowadays.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

RObert

[ezra76]

With the driver you actually want to contact slightly above the center of the face, unless it's the Hibore. lol.

 

I'm a little confused about the "range mat" talk going on as well. Mats forgive a fat shot because the club will bounce into the ball rather than dig. So you can sit there all day thinking you are striking it nice and really you are flipping into the ball. Go onto the course and those will be chunk city all day. Problem with a mat for me is that a thin and a fat shot feel exactly the same. I also take a decent divot, no divots off a mat. They reek havoc on my wrists if I start hitting short irons. Another thing is I start swinging too hard and steep to compress the ball off the mat. It's just totally unnecessary off a real lie. Off the grass a nice fluid inside-inside strike, letting the clubhead do it's job, produces the optimal flight and yardage.

[JoeF]

For me with my driver I did not get consistency until I got "properly" fitted for a shaft. And yes I had it SST pured. It made a world of difference in the dispersion showing up on impact tape.