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Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a new series from GOLF.com in which we share improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you – including some of the speed bumps and challenges they encountered along the way.
I’m not very good at golf now.
It’s not always like this, but over the past couple of rides, I haven’t seen any consistency whatsoever. I chop and line my drives, hit close range shots, skull wedge shots, and my positioning was terrible.
While I was a Handicap 13 about seven months ago, I had never played this way after a brief hiatus from the game. Results have been around 90-94 instead of the mid to upper 80s I saw this time last year.
I thought the biggest culprit was my driver, hitting my heels and club-faced, which led to poor results—and a lot of time searching for my shots near my OB sticks.
But rather than just hypothetical, I wanted to try something fun and informative. After all, this is golf, where big data is at the fore these days.
So last week I went out to the apron Vanderbilt Legends Club, in Nashville, Tenn. With only 6 irons, a wedge and my paddle, I was determined to solve the problem exactly Where my game requires the most work.
My theory: If I hit a 6-iron between 175 and 182 yards, even at a 500-yard 5, I default You should hit more greens with a chance for birdies. You just needed to keep the ball straight, see for solid contact and avoid hazards like thick roughs, bunkers, or trees.
This kind of golf practice was new to me, but since the round would only be 9 holes anyway, I knew it was the right time to give it a try – and I’m glad I did, because it taught me a lot about my game.
Playing solo helped with this little experiment of mine because I wouldn’t feel pressured by other players. However, it is a bit scary to stand on a T-shirt box with only a 6-iron in hand and see a green about 500 yards away – which was an inner demon that I had to banish from my mind.
But I kept reminding myself why I did this: to identify subtle flaws in my game.
As you’ll read below, there were some good and bad and some really ugly (especially in the short game). But I thought sharing this lesson might be helpful for you to try out one ride this summer, too.
Use 6 irons in tee shots
Looking at all the golf I’ve played this year, I’m starting to feel better with each of my clubs. While I struggled with consistency with my 4 and 5 irons, my 6 iron was very gentle on me.
Even when I am shooting with the 6, it still seems to be going 165 yards. It doesn’t always go straight, but it’s better than some powerful slide you delivered with a driver or wood just off the tee.
I started my run missing the first two tracks – but not by much. So my second shots on each hole were sitting on the first notch with good lies. This allowed me to get under the ball, which allowed me to feel hit on the tee.
The third hole was a 156-yard par-3. I stuck my tee 12 feet from the pin, leaving myself with a tricky left-to-right kick that was the pace to move down the hill.
The fourth hole saw me completely hamstring my lead, and I fell into some bad habits by opening the front of the club. I ended up being an OB, which led to a lot of swear words (and an unfortunate drop).
But on holes 5-8, I hit every fairway, before my par 9 found the rough (but only about 2 feet).
Overall, the experience of using the 6 iron from a tee has been positive.
Hitting 55% of the lanes might not sound impressive, but it was an achievement (and an improvement) from what I’d do when using a driver off the tee.
Shots approaching
Even before I took my three weeks mental vacation from golf, I was already confident in my playing technique.
This round was obviously different because I was only using a 6-iron, but it forced me to use half and three-quarter swings to control my distance on every shot.
For example, I smashed my drive on an 8 (355 yard par 4), and put in about 80% swing on the second shot. The ball hit the front of the green and just rolled over – forcing me to crash over a bunker – so that was a little frustrating.
Overall, I was very pleased with the way my close-up shots turned out.
55- to 120 yards
Remember all that confidence I had in my close-up shots? Yes, it all evaporated once I got to within 55 to 120 yards.
Using a 6-iron of this range was challenging, because shots from this distance generally require loft irons. But every shot on the course doesn’t need a full swing, so improving my touch from this area of the course is a must for me to remove more strikes from my game.
Out of two par-3s, I’ve only hit one green in regulation. So yeah, not good.
But just because I hit a few and green put a couple more, doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything.
I now know what swingarm adjustments I need to make during my next visit to the driving range. It also allows me to experiment with different club options from this distance, trying to figure out exactly which ones help me hit more greens in regulation.
Chopping and slashing
Similar to shots from 55 to 120 yards, my short game was also difficult. Point blank: It hit my wedge like sheer garbage, and I couldn’t feel it.
Some of this may be attributed to a change in approach – I was using more jabs and runs instead of the flop shots I was used to with my 60-degree.
But I’m not one to make excuses, and the number of mistakes I have around the green won’t get it done.
Instead of just throwing the wedge in my bag to collect dust, I need to practice with it more often. Obviously, there will be times on other courses where I can’t just fall short using a 60-degree, and the wedge is the only option to give myself a chance at birdie or par.
It’s disappointing, but, that’s what this focused training round was all about – to get a better feel for different parts of my game.
situation
Through my nine holes, I pared 19 putts – so I averaged just over two putts on each hole. Not where we want to be sure, but the way I missed some hits was really frustrating.
As some of you may know, I have a personal goal of breaking 80 by the end of the summer. To achieve this, this means eliminating careless errors—especially on the throwing surface, where a player can make up for bad shots off the tee, on the approach or by chipping.
Unfortunately, 48 cards during this training experience doesn’t really represent how low I could have gone. *
* says every golfer after a round.
For example, in both par 3’s I’ve had a chance on long birdie pitches. Instead of honing my control of the distance, I ended up bouncing both of those holes—which, ironically, were the only holes I ever put three holes in.
ugly.
Equally frustrating was putting strokes on holes 1, 4, and 9, where I had a chance to go on par, bogey, and on par (respectively), and lose focus from three feet away—a place where the pros are almost automatically.
If I could get those 5-6 strikes back, boom, I’m looking at 42 instead of 48 cards. That’s where I expect to be – but I have to prove it.
Overall, using the Iron 6 on every shot outside of 50 yards was a positive experience. It has allowed me to achieve what I want and focus more on the things I need to work on more.
As the above summary of my run shows, it was time to head back to the lab and take a long shot from about 120 yards. I always thought this was a strong part of my game. But the proof is in the pudding, and now I can use that information to shave off the hits next time I’m there.
Want to share your first-hand experience for a chance to be featured in a future Shaving Strokes article? Share your details and progress by emailing me at nick.dimengo@golf.com. We’re all in this together, so let’s share our wins, learnings, and frustrations in order to help each other get better!
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