I was talking with one of my golf buddies about how far I was hitting my 7 iron on the range. Carry was about 180, total 190. After insinuating that I was lying, because "the pros don't hit them that far," he then pointed out that length is not nearly as important as accuracy. I agree. But there is an argument to be made that length today can be accurate.
If you look at today's pros, both young and old, they are hitting the ball a lot further than they used to. Substantially further than they used to. A few weeks back a I watched Argentine pro Angel Cabrera hit a rescue club 260 on to the green. A rescue club! With what, a 13 degree loft? That is as far or farther than most average golfers hit their drivers in the Mile High City, never mind at sea level (which by the way accounts for my 7 iron going 180-190). So the advent of better equipment comes to mind. Conditioning is better too, but take a close look at Cabrera or Kenny Perry, they aren't winning any Mr. Universe Awards.
So equipment helps.
About four years ago I traded up into a set of Callaway X-18 Pro Irons dropping 4-5 strokes over the course of about 20 rounds. That's a lot of strokes just by changing gear. While I loved the feel from the start it took some time to learn what I could or couldn't (not much of that) do with the clubs. They were longer, and my shots were within a tighter circle including my mishits. My buddies were amazed, and I started saying that you could buy a game. A partially true statement, I still practiced every evening for an hour or so and every Friday for about 4 hours.
So practice helps.
Yes practice helps immensely. Without it no one improves. We see it all the time, the weekend duffer sees a commercial or reads an ad for the latest and greatest new improved irons, driver, putter or wedge, he runs out buys them after taking a couple of practice swings in the store aisle, goes to the course that Saturday and shoots the worst game of his life. Or maybe he shoots a great game but 3 rounds later it's worse. How much did he practice before taking them on the course? Probably about a 1/2 hour on the range before the round, if he got there early enough to even warm up. And then he got angry during the round because he wasn't making shots the pros couldn't make. Physical practice is important but so is mental. Understanding the game emotionally is crucial to improvement.
So Mental Understanding helps.
My younger brother doesn't hit the ball really far, is an average putter, and steady when he is in the fairway, but the last two years he has beaten me consistently (no big deal except to the ego) because he plays within his game. He finally learned what he was capable of and what he wasn't. He buckled down and got the mental side right. Of course I had all sorts of reasons for my decline, not his improvement, knee surgery, neck injury, back injury. All issues that when I really focused went away for 2 or 3 holes. But the reality was mentally I didn't adjust and he did. So when I felt great he still beat me.
Golf is tough, get fitted for better equipment, practice and mentally learn the game.
If you look at today's pros, both young and old, they are hitting the ball a lot further than they used to. Substantially further than they used to. A few weeks back a I watched Argentine pro Angel Cabrera hit a rescue club 260 on to the green. A rescue club! With what, a 13 degree loft? That is as far or farther than most average golfers hit their drivers in the Mile High City, never mind at sea level (which by the way accounts for my 7 iron going 180-190). So the advent of better equipment comes to mind. Conditioning is better too, but take a close look at Cabrera or Kenny Perry, they aren't winning any Mr. Universe Awards.
So equipment helps.
About four years ago I traded up into a set of Callaway X-18 Pro Irons dropping 4-5 strokes over the course of about 20 rounds. That's a lot of strokes just by changing gear. While I loved the feel from the start it took some time to learn what I could or couldn't (not much of that) do with the clubs. They were longer, and my shots were within a tighter circle including my mishits. My buddies were amazed, and I started saying that you could buy a game. A partially true statement, I still practiced every evening for an hour or so and every Friday for about 4 hours.
So practice helps.
Yes practice helps immensely. Without it no one improves. We see it all the time, the weekend duffer sees a commercial or reads an ad for the latest and greatest new improved irons, driver, putter or wedge, he runs out buys them after taking a couple of practice swings in the store aisle, goes to the course that Saturday and shoots the worst game of his life. Or maybe he shoots a great game but 3 rounds later it's worse. How much did he practice before taking them on the course? Probably about a 1/2 hour on the range before the round, if he got there early enough to even warm up. And then he got angry during the round because he wasn't making shots the pros couldn't make. Physical practice is important but so is mental. Understanding the game emotionally is crucial to improvement.
So Mental Understanding helps.
My younger brother doesn't hit the ball really far, is an average putter, and steady when he is in the fairway, but the last two years he has beaten me consistently (no big deal except to the ego) because he plays within his game. He finally learned what he was capable of and what he wasn't. He buckled down and got the mental side right. Of course I had all sorts of reasons for my decline, not his improvement, knee surgery, neck injury, back injury. All issues that when I really focused went away for 2 or 3 holes. But the reality was mentally I didn't adjust and he did. So when I felt great he still beat me.
Golf is tough, get fitted for better equipment, practice and mentally learn the game.
