Learning to Lag
Yesterday, after work, I hit a few balls at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. The day was cool and cloudy, threatening rain, with a breeze in my face.
I started out warming up with the 8-, 6- and 4-irons, with an occasional pitching wedge thrown in for good measure. My primary plan on this day was tempo, timing, and lag. I finally found a good drill for lag in Golf Magazine, and discovered that my instructor at Golden Bear Golf Center had me doing a very similar drill at my last lesson.
My initial aimpoint was the far left flag. At first, I was hitting the ball very high and short, even the 4-iron was struck very high. I had some difficulty striking the ball consistently, but when I managed good timing, tempo, and lag, the results were incredible: I nearly hit the 4-iron over the net! From where I was hitting, that would mean a carry of well over 220 yds with the 4-iron, which is about as long as I usually carry a driver! Maybe it’s time to put the Big Bertha 3-iron back in the bag…
Amazingly, I hit the long irons better than any other clubs on this day, hitting the 4-, 5- and 6-irons well, usually straight or with a slight draw. The mid-irons tended to push or fade, and the short irons, well, pretty much spraying them everywhere.
Next up, I got out the driver and pounded a very high, looping slice, nearly over the right net. Oops… need to release the club a little better. I hit some better shots down the middle, but high and short. The wind was responsible for some of the distance loss, but still shorter distance than usual. The 3i HALO I didn’t hit well at all today, tending to hit pull-slices.
I ran the pin-hunting drill again, hitting only 5 of 20 shots with a grade of 4 or 5. Lots of 3s though, so not as bad as the score indicated.
As it was about to rain, I decided to hit the last five balls with the short irons. The first ball was well-struck, a towering 9-iron. Next up, chunk! Next, chunk! WTF??? Last ball, the ultimate humiliation, a shank! 😳
A pretty good practice today, until the stinky ending. I wasn’t able to putt, since it looked like rain.