Slow learner

Apart from the fact that I am what is sometimes called a 'lifelong learner', someone who continues to engage with new ideas, I'm also something of a 'slow learner'.

For instance, it has only been in recent months that I've started to understand spin, not the political kind, but that of the golf ball. The old Scots understood this and roughed up their golf ball so that it would not spin wildly and go all over the place. I think golf was hard enough then anyway (play it as it lies, laddie).

Consequently, I've modified the way I drive the ball, with a more upward swing path and strike, reducing backspin and creating more run, which combined with greater carry because of the swing path, results in longer tee shots - up to thirty yards. Not everyone needs that distance of course. Many pros and good amateurs generate plenty of clubhead speed, carry and run with high spin rates because they want the control they retain by hitting slightly down on their tee ball. I have been challenged in keeping directional control with my new ball flight, so it is a work in progress.

But something else I should have known or at least remembered relates to iron play. It is a principle that probably applies to all clubs, but is particularly relevant to irons - don't try to hit the ball too hard.

By 'too hard' I mean with a force that takes you out of rhythm. Irons are about control, direction and distance, not maximum carry or length. This doesn't mean lack of commitment, it just means taking the appropriate club for a particular distance. If we are straining to hit a particular club a certain distance into a green, for example, the chances are high that we will mishit the shot, fat, thin or wide. Loss of control, stokes wasted, frustration is the result.

However, there is also a danger in taking the extra (stronger) club, possibly even a greater danger. Not committing to an iron shot brings in the dreaded 'deceleration', and this can be even more destructive than over-hitting. No good shot was ever hit when a player eased up on a shot - decelerated - whether consciously or unconsciously.

The challenge is to find a happy medium between overhitting and decelerating - a comfortable level of commitment, which is rhythmic and controlled. Of course, if it was easy we'd all hit perfect shots. But we don't, so we have to work on it.

That's the challenge for a slow learner like me - keep working on the basics of good tee shots and iron play. Some would say slow and steady wins the race. We'll see.

Driving it over the hill

In recent months I've been teeing the ball down, gripping down and basically trying to keep my drives in play. The trouble is I've lost quite a lot of distance, maybe 20 metres or more, enough anyway to make second shots to par 4s a very low percentage possibility.

Now keeping the ball in play is a sensible goal, but while two long shots then a pitch or chip plus two putts equate to a bogey at best (since I make few putts over a metre or so) this usually takes any wins or 3-pointers out of the equation. This is not really an option if one's goal is to play to a handicap of around 10. Maintaining a handicap of lower than 10 is not realistic for me.

So, I've recently been researching how to find those lost metres off the tee. And the solution is relatively simple, not including trying to hit harder.

Teeing the ball low means that the path of the driver will be downward or level at impact, at best. This means that the control gained comes at a cost, that cost being added spin. This added spin, backspin in fact, helps the ball go straighter, but it also means the ball will not run as far once it lands. The lower ball flight that comes from this lower teeing is also a distance robber.

The solution is to tee the ball higher and swing up a little at impact. This not only launches the ball higher, but also takes spin off the ball. The result is more carry and more run - for my swing that means a gain of around 20 metres (or two clubs less into par 4 greens).

This new method of teeing the ball comes at a cost, albeit one that can be addressed and compensated for. The cost is of course a loss of some control combined with the need to align and aim differently. I'm working on this at the moment. We shall see if I can consolidate the change or whether I am actually over the hill.