Hello to all here at ABS.
As I mentioned I’m a noob that been lurking a few weeks and I’ve tried to search for answers without much luck.
I would like to start moving back towards heavier clubs to see if I can improve my ball striking.
I currently play Titleist 755’s with Flighted PX 6.0 and they claim to be D2 swing weight. My 6 iron swing speed is 93mph. Driver 114mph. The Flighted PX’s were somewhat of an experiment that I’m not real happy with and I’m probably going back to DG S400’s which I understand are quite a bit heavier.
I’ll have to buy a new conforming set of irons before next season as my State association has been making noise that conforming irons will be required for all final stages of the State Am, Mid Am, 4 Ball, and Senior Am. And the 755’s don’t conform. (Thanks USGA)
Anyway, I figured I could use the 755’s as a test set for moving towards heavier clubs since they will be replaced next season.
So, for someone just getting their feet wet, what swing weight should I shoot for? I’ve read where some use a graduated set. Lighter in the long irons getting heavier in the short irons and wedges. Also, do most players add weight to their drivers? I have a Tity 910 D3 and went with a heavier shaft but it is still pretty light.
And when it comes to going flatter on lies, is that something you do to help a swing change to a flatter ABS type swing. Will it help you create a better swing. My 755’s are standard lie and I was fitted to them back in 2003 and they said standard was correct for me, but it seems like flatter lie angles are required for a true ABS type swing. I’m also sort of stuck in that where I live there aren’t any quality club fitters. There is a guy in a retail store that can bend clubs and stuff but I would never go to him for any sort of fitting. It would be a deal where I tell him what I want and he bends them.
Finally, I’d like to move back to reminder grips. I used them back when I played in college and I have no idea why I quit using them. No one here in town has any of the current models that are offered and I’ve heard that the new ones are very subtle. Back when I used them we just taped weed eater string to the shaft and slid the standard round grips over them. They had a nice feel and I was wondering if anyone uses the new reminder grips or if the old weed eater string is still the best way to do it?
Thanks in advance for any help and I look forward to better golf in 2012.
These are not necessarily easy questions to answer due to uncertainties regarding your golf swing, the direction you are going to take it or not. Most of the students here have moved into heavier gear and flatter lie angles, but they are also working hard on training their muscles correctly for a more pivot driven golf swing, flatter, and more embracing of a proper hitting action.
I firmly believe swinging heavier flatter gear void of any offset will help a player over time, but without a bit of guidance regarding how to match it all up could lead to confusion and frustration. It’s frustrating enough even knowing what to do.
In a general sense, the flatter lie angles should get you swinging the club more around your body than up an over your shoulder line. Heavier clubs should allow you to grip the club firmer, and will retard over acceleration tendencies. Removing offset should inhibit flipping the hands at the ball.
I would focus on dead weight more than swing weight if you are hitting… and progressively increasing dead weights beyond standard fair into the shorter irons would be beneficial. You do want to feel the clubhead particularly with the shorter irons and wedges.
Thanks for the reply. I appreciate that my questions are pretty hard to answer since you have no idea how I swing the club. I have moved towards a flatter swing that is more inline with what Bradley describes. I was just afraid that my standard equipment might be hindering my progress. Especially after watching Bradley’s videos where he is talking about how modern light equipment and more upright lies has hindered ball striking. It’s been a difficult change so far and i didn’t want to make it harder than it has to be.
I’ll probably put DG S400’s back in my 755’s for the added weight and flatten the lies a couple of degrees and see how the ball flight is affected. I’m more concerned with my next iron set since they will have to conform with the new groove rule. Hopefully by next February or March when I have to get a new set, I’ll have a better grasp of my swing and can match the set to my needs and abilities. Even though I’ve played competitive golf for many years, I’ve never spent much energy or time with my equipment. Part of it is due to not having anyone around that could guide me and part of it has been my reluctance to change equipment very often. As such, I tend to play my equipment until the grooves disappear or in this case, the USGA is forcing my hand. Hopefully, this change will turn out to be a positive thing and I can improve my ball striking and get properly fitted equipment.
Also, this may be a dumb question, but is this forum just for your students?
Thanks again
ABS is divided into both public access and private student areas. The reason being that we can keep a deeper focus without distraction in the private area, and keep the public area more general in topics and theory… and always welcome posts from public members.