The Golf Swing

Golf Season Coming to an End

Well, looks like the 2007 Golf Season is coming to an end. It’s in the 50s here today, overcast with sporadic showers. Before I know it, it will be in the 30s on a regular basis, and the joy of crushing drives on 90 degree summer days will be long..long gone.

The 2007 Golf Season was pretty good to me. My initial goal for the year was to break 80. I did that several times in the middle of the summer, going as low as 74 at one point in late July. I ended the 2006 season by picking up a set of Mizuno MP-33 irons and practiced with them throughout the winter. It turned out to be a great idea. Practicing with blades is a wonderful way to get instant feedback on your swing. The moment you strike the ball, you know if you’ve hit the ball well. There is no guess work involved. That instant feedback translates into quicker learning, I believe.

After practicing and playing with the MP-33s for about 6 months, I switched over to playing with a set of Adams Idea A1 Pro irons. Very similar offset and topline to the MP-33s, pretty decent feel to them, but definitely more ‘playable’ on the course. Mishits were more online and the direction was more predictable. I played with these for the rest of the summer. Scoring some rounds in the 70s and the aforementioned 74.

However, playing with the Adams Idea irons, and then reviewing a lot of clubs, my swing really started to deteriorate down the stretch. I started trying to mess with some swing thoughts. Spent some time trying to learn how to hit a back of the stance, stinger type shot with the long irons. Basically I got away from just trying to groove my normal, every day swing with the Mizunos. My scores quickly followed suit. A few rounds in the 90s. My short game/putting generally saving me.

At one point, I really felt like my long iron play was a strength in my game. I would often play 3 iron off the tee, belt them out around 250, little draw, middle-left of the fairway. Would have no qualms about playing a 4 iron from the fairway or rough. Heck, I can distinctly remember playing my second shot on a par 5, a 220 yard 4 iron from the rough on #18 at Green Knoll to about 20 feet from the hole. Right now I absolutely dread the long irons. I get one of those clubs in my hands and the stupid monster takes over. I whip the club back, take a violent swing back at the ball…it’s very odd. I want to get back to early summer Sean. I want that incredible feeling of watching a perfectly struck 3 iron soaring high in the air.

I do feel as if I made some great strides with my short game this year. My putting was on fire for a while there. I carded a bunch of rounds with total putt counts in the mid 20s. I can go rounds without three putting. Inside 100 yards, I feel very confident with a wedge in my hand as well. One weak part would probably still be the hard packed sand bunkers. I just haven’t practiced out of it enough. I am pretty comfortable with the feel of the short game though. If I could get myself into the 60-70% driving accuracy range…and have the misses be playable…and get my iron game back to where it was…I think I’ll be doing alright.

Now my goal this winter is to settle on a bag for the 2008 season, and get back to working on my plain old normal full swing. That means back to basics and time at the range with the MP33s.

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