Ok, I need some advice

[RedCell24]

I'm  a low-mid 90s 52 yr old with driver and iron issues. My question stems from alignment.  At address, my club face is square, my feet are seemingly parallel yet my iron shots are consistently offline 8-10 yds on either side of the green or target area. Any suggestions that I can try to correct or minimize the spread would be appreciated.

This might just help me break 90!!! Thanks in advance.

Edited August 14 by RedCell24
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[cnosil]

What you are describing is a 20 yard wide dispersion pattern with driver and irons.  PGA pros are roughly 35 yards each side with driver and 20 with irons.   What are your expectations for misses?   
 

if you want to work on narrowing dispersion you need to work on face angle and relationship f face and path to control curve.  Work on establishing a stock shot that you pretty much hit every time.  Pick a fade or a draw and start t on the appropriate side if the target line and move it back to the line.   

[RedCell24]

My Driver is all over the place. My approach irons are usually missing 8-10 either side but it's not consistent. So my thought process is from middle of the green I'm  8-10 off so twenty yds either side plus the green. 

Thanks for the reply.

[goaliedad30]

If your iron shots are missing greens by 25-30 feet consistently, that's not your problem with breaking 90. A good player with those leaves, and getting up and down 50-60% of the time, shoots not worse than 80-ish, and that's if EVERY green is missed. Even if you only got up & down 3 times in 18 holes, you still shoot 86-87.

There must be more things that are keeping you in the mid 90's. As noted above, +/- 30 feet dispersion isn't quite Tour level, but it's sure "good player" level.

[cnosil]

12 minutes ago, RedCell24 said:

My Driver is all over the place. My approach irons are usually missing 8-10 either side but it's not consistent. So my thought process is from middle of the green I'm  8-10 off so twenty yds either side plus the green. 

Ok, that didn’t seem to be what you described in the first post most people describe dispersion from the target spot and not the entire green.  
 

Suggestion still applies, work on face angle.  Also if you aren’t use alignment rods to ensure you are setting up correctly during practice.  

[RedCell24]

Thanks, I thought I typed green or target zone for practice  purposes but may not have.

[Shapotomous]

In addition to the alignment sticks to verify where you are aiming - video your swing with your phone.  See if what you are doing actually matches what it feels like you are doing.

If you can settle on one shot shape that would be great.  You can forget about misses on one side of the hole and scoring gets much easier 

Edited August 14 by Shapotomous

[RedCell24]

3 hours ago, goaliedad30 said:

If your iron shots are missing greens by 25-30 feet consistently, that's not your problem with breaking 90. A good player with those leaves, and getting up and down 50-60% of the time, shoots not worse than 80-ish, and that's if EVERY green is missed. Even if you only got up & down 3 times in 18 holes, you still shoot 86-87.

There must be more things that are keeping you in the mid 90's. As noted above, +/- 30 feet dispersion isn't quite Tour level, but it's sure "good player" level.

It's certainly not my only problem, it just seemed to me to be the easiest to fix first. Perhaps I'm looking at my game all wrong to begin with. Hmmm.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Like @cnosil mentioned get an alignment rod for golf or a driveway marker from a hardware store. 

Go to the range with a buddy. Pick your target. Set up for your shot. Then have your buddy put the rod down along your toe line. Then step back behind the rod and look down range where it is pointed. Most misses are due to alignment. 

[TJ Hall]

As many have mentioned, alignment sticks can help (I have also used a club in a pinch just to get an idea).

I stand behind the ball and determine a start line, and pick something on the ground close to the ball to help get your alignment straight.

[MNUte]

How comfortable are you with your putter? And have you tried using a putter stroke for bump and runs with your PW or an iron? 

If you're only missing greens by 8-10 yards, that's practically begging for a good putter and toe down chipping game. 

[goaliedad30]

So, first and foremost, practice with alignment sticks. Every session. You'll almost never see a good player working on something at the range without anywhere from 1-4 alignment sticks helping create a well-defined practice station.

On the breaking 90 goal, there's a pretty standard set of things you need to do:

• Get a ball reliably in play off the tee. Penalty strokes kill rounds.
• Advance your shot to somewhere near the green
• Develop a reliable shot or shots around the green that get a putter in your hand for the next shot
• Get down in two putts or less

If you do that on every hole, it's 90. Get up and down a couple of times, or hit a couple of greens, you're in the 80's. What kills rounds for most players in that scoring range:

• Penalty strokes off the tee (or effective penalties, like having to pitch out sideways from the trees)
• Non-productive shots: tops, skulls, chunks, etc. At least successfully advance the ball most of the way to the green.
• Short game shots that don't get on the green. Just make sure you get a putter in your hands.
• Three putts

It's pretty straight-forward to build a practice plan that will address all of these.

[Overspark07]

On 8/14/2024 at 12:35 PM, cnosil said:

Suggestion still applies, work on face angle.

Can you click into this a little? What’s an effective way of working on face angle? Should I start with something like 30yd pitches to develop square feels? Do you advocate for over exaggeration drills like alternating open and closed? 

[cnosil]

30 minutes ago, Overspark07 said:

Can you click into this a little? What’s an effective way of working on face angle? Should I start with something like 30yd pitches to develop square feels? Do you advocate for over exaggeration drills like alternating open and closed? 

Most of the drills I have seen have you put an alignment stick between you and a target.  You then setup square and work on starting the ball left, right, and over the stick.   

https://www.andrewricegolf.com/andrew-rice-golf/2013/11/controlling-the-clubface

While I have learned and personally attempt to hit a stock shot, this is why learning to work the ball is helpful.   Basically learn how to start the ball in different directions from a square setup since face controls the direction the ball launches.  This will build the feel you need to hit a stock ball flight.  

[RedCell24]

Ok, so after getting some sticks and trying to get some phone footage for how I actually swing vs how I think I swing; I have identified a few issues that I clearly need to work on that may have an effect on my game as a whole as well as the dispersion issue.

1. My lead shoulder tends to sway both right and left from the target line during my backswing. 

2. I do tend to have some weight shifting problems which causes me to fall away from shots also. 

I don't have access to a launch monitor regularly  but am planning on hitting the Sim this week during the rainy days and try to get some data to share.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Edited August 17 by RedCell24
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