21 replies to this topic

[cadillacfox]

I feel like my best shots come when I only swing about 60% with a 5, 6, or 7 iron. An example I can hit my  5 Iron 205 if I swing 100% but I dont know where its going. Im much more accurate if I pull out the 5 iron to hit a smooth 165-175. To improve my game and take it to my next level do I have to be able to hit all my irons 100%? Can I become scratch with these 60% swings with 5 iron and higher. I just dont want to temporarily make good swings I want to be good for the long run.

[MtlJeff]

I probably swing 80-85% on a stock shot

For a while in 2012 i got so comfortable hitting smooth shots that it's pretty much all i did. I would hit 5 irons from 150 and PW's from 80yds....i don't really think it helped my game. I forgot how to make a full swing with irons....it's great to have in the bag for windy days but i think you have to find the best combination of loft and a relaxed swing. Just because some greens you want to come in higher, or you need to carry something and land soft etc....

[Mulligan26]

With all irons I like to swing 80% if I can, my 4i stock shot is 210 with an 80% swing. I swing harder off the tee with the same club but I have more room to miss

[KYMAR]

As hard as i can. If i try babying something, i lose all confidence. Take one less club and hammer it.

[cadillacfox]

KYMAR, on 10 January 2013 - 09:23 PM, said:

As hard as i can. If i try babying something, i lose all confidence. Take one less club and hammer it.

Have you always been accurate with the hard as you can shot? Is that how you started or did you develop it and build up to a 100% swing?

[KYMAR]

Iif I try hitting a 6 iron at 50 or 60% i have a tendency to come out of the shot and hit it fat or a wipe across the ball and hit some weak fade. So when i say "as hard as i can" I don't mean i max out on every single swing i take but, I am WAY more accurate taking a full swing with a full turn (well, as full as my turn gets ) and going after the ball than I am trying to lay off of it.  I can hit knock downs and stuff with shorter irons and wedges and can hit 3/4 shots when the wind or elevation calls for it, but I really am most comfortable when I take an aggressive pass at the ball. For me, and it took me a long time to learn this, it's about tempo. And it's hard for me to change swing width/length and feel like I'm in tempo. But, I'm not that good either so take all of this with not a grain of salt, but one of those big a** salt licks they have for deer.

[tbowles411]

I swing everything the same.  There's less to think about.  I'm of the Nicklaus mindset:  Use the right club instead of trying to change the swing.  Nice and smooth, about 85-90%.  I find I get less tired too.

Edited by tbowles411, 10 January 2013 - 10:02 PM.

[borgore23]

I typically swing hard (90%+) on full shots. If I'm between clubs ill typically choke up an inch or so which will knock off 5-6 yards typically.

[KYMAR]

I realized, during this my most recent bought of insomnia, that i never really answered your question. The answer is yes, of course, there is no limit to how good you can get and how low you can score using half shots with mid irons. There is no reason not to play to your strengths. If that's 160 yard 5 irons because thats how you best play, then don't fight it.

[tembolo1284]

full is in the 80 range for me.

Only on drives or where I feel I really need to go after one because of a certain breeze or whatever condition do I smoke one...and that's maybe 90 at most.

I find under the gun I'd rather go after things full or even a bit more than trying to take something off.

[Eag1e]

Hard as I can without losing balance. Probably comes out to 85-90%. It rarely turns out well if I swing something easy so if I'm inbetween clubs I'm either gripping down or clubbing down and swinging hard. Usually I can do a decent job of getting rid of 5 or so yards from a mid iron by taking a full backswing and knocking it down - the later release gets rid of some clubhead speed. I can hit a ball with any length backswing as long as I hit it hard. And I can hit wedges pretty softly. But anything other than wedges = no soft swings.

[Petter Player]

I think it varies a lot day in day out. Sometimes you can alter everything, say hit an easy 5i to 175 or muscle it past 200.

If you've had a workout day before, you're likely a bit stiff, then it is not possible to hit delicate shots with mid-irons, not for me at least. But if you come straight out from Pilates lesson, your body is really awake and you can feel all your muscles working the way you want.

Earlier during my golfing years I was trying very hard to figure a way to hit acceptable shots with less effort, but it did not work out. The problem was, that my swing look-alike did have no margin for error. The rythm of sequence was very fragile and if I did something slower than normal, other body parts would rush ahead leading to severe flipping, which of course lead to surprises on every shot, slices and hooks and what ever you can imagine. Nowadays I've altered most of the sequensing and find it relatively easy to hit easy, slow and hard.

The problem, when you take power off is that you start caring for the normal rythm being off sync. It is darn hard to hit easy, when your "neutral" is hitting it hard.

[sonofagunn]

For best consistency, I swing pretty fast (not hard). I wouldn't call it 100% but I'm not really holding back. I just have to make sure to not overdo the backswing and not rush the transition.

But again, not really a great golfer, so you can get another salt lick to go along with my advice.

[Lefty Light HItter]

KYMAR, on 10 January 2013 - 09:23 PM, said:

As hard as i can. If i try babying something, i lose all confidence. Take one less club and hammer it.

F'in A Cotton!

Maybe I am just a dumb baseball player, but I've always been a beliver to throw a baseball at a target and just gun it and let your body take over.  People throw a baseball and a football better and more accurately with this mentality.  Also, I believer, like Nick Price, that you have to find a rhythm in your swing that fits your personality.  I don't like sitting around and I am on the move constantly.  A faster tempo and swinging harder for me syncs my body up on a more consistent basis than making deliberate backswings and downswings.  I too get WAY out ahead of the ball and hit weak block slices or smothered worm burning hooks trying to swing at "50%".  I have seen guys who look like they are swinging at 50% and play well, but I'd have to ask them if that is what is going through their mind or not.

[joeshmo]

I've always been curious about this. Would 100% be the absolute fastest you can swing and still maintain
your balance? Or is 100% the fastest you can swing and still make good contact with the ball? I honestly can't
remember playing with anyone that swings 90% of their max potential and I been at this game for 32 years.
If I swing with everything I have and then equate it to my normal swing I probably go 60% on average.

[golftejas]

I usually like to concentrate on a full turn rather than on a specific %swing speed.  That said, I have a tendency to lose consistency when my tempo gets too fast - - I start swinging too hard, jumping at the ball, flipping the hands etc. - - when that occurs, I like to think of backing off to about 75% power - - who knows what %speed I'm actually swinging at

[Jamboy72]

Most of the really good players I've had a chance to play with focus on hitting shots, not how hard they swing....that being said, I think the answer is too swing in a manner which allows you to consistently control and shape, distance and trajectory of the shot...some people can do that at 85%, some less...some more...

[naplesgolfer1]

I swing pretty much 100% without losing balance or going past parallel on the backswing.
Pretty much swing hard every time!

I can't baby anything without thinking too much and coming out of my shot, hitting it thin mostly - sometimes fat as well! lol

[EricZ116]

Doesn't matter, as long as it's something you do with consistency.

[Petter Player]

One thing, I remember heard Ernie Els say, when a reporter asked him about, how he can hit driver so far, yet he swings so easy. "It may seem and look easy, but I hit as hard as I can", he responded.

That said, I made a recording the other day and hit indoors three kind of shots with different clubs. What I felt doing was, slow motion, full swing easy and all out maximum attack.

It was phenomenal, how calm the all out swing also looked compared to the second "full force, full swing". There was however significant difference on the feel and also the sound of impact was more crisp on the all out max effort. There are no launch monitors, so I'm not sure, which of the full efforts would have gone further or what kind of smash factors I got, but the contact felt considerably alike.

[flopper]

cadillacfox, on 10 January 2013 - 09:01 PM, said:

I feel like my best shots come when I only swing about 60% with a 5, 6, or 7 iron. An example I can hit my  5 Iron 205 if I swing 100% but I dont know where its going. Im much more accurate if I pull out the 5 iron to hit a smooth 165-175. To improve my game and take it to my next level do I have to be able to hit all my irons 100%? Can I become scratch with these 60% swings with 5 iron and higher. I just dont want to temporarily make good swings I want to be good for the long run.

Yes no problem becoming scratch.
Pro´s hit it a lot shorter with irons to increase marginal for error.
your also likely to hit it around 90% of max distance with a proper tempo swing.
The real question is consistency to be within a yard with the same club swing every time.

[mizunostaffer]

I kinda believe in hogans theory about hitting hard, so that the muscles are fully stretched and therefore consistantly stretched

I hit it probably 90 percent, ive got another 5 yards if I really need it, but I hit it pretty firm

I have to be carefull though, hitting 50 six irons in a row  at full speed can really mess up your timing, take breaks between shots and go through your routines, to prevent you loosing control