Most golfers know that general golf industry iron loft gaps are 90% of the time in 4 degree loft spacing which may or may not be correct for the distance gap between clubs for you specifically. Clubs are designed and built off the rack and industry wide to fit an average player but that does not take into account what you may need for correct fit and performance. As you can see below if you are a slower to slow-medium club head mid iron swing speed golfer you need different than 4 degree loft gaps in your set. You also maybe able to carry fewer clubs and get better performance with larger loft gap and corresponding distance gaps. All clubs should be fit and lofts adjusted for best performance. There are a few designs also like the Wishon 730CL with 6 degree loft gaps and specially designed high lofted driver, long and high fairway woods, hybrid in 6/7 and 8/9 plus wedges.
These are the mid iron club head speeds…..
mid iron speed over 72 mph – 4* increments (average player)
mid iron speed 60-72 – 5* increments (some seniors and some ladies)
mid iron speed under 60mph – 6* increments (seniors and ladies) Wishon 730CL work perfectly for these club head speeds with skill and ability.
You can make an argument to say that over 85mph you could go with 3* increments but you never do because that will leave you with a very odd set makeup. So over 72mph you stay with 4* and just live with the fact the distance gaps will increase to 15 yds or more as speed keeps going up from 85 with the mid iron.
Think about all these factors when you play golf and possibly why your distance gaps are off and you wonder why.
Positive Impact Golf – The Easiest Golf Swing for Seniors?
Have you tried Positive Impact Golf? What have been your experiences? What tips do you have for others trying it? Respond in the comments below the article. . . . Ross Reinhold, guest author.
Brian Spark’s videos and methods (that he calls Positive Impact Golf and maintains it is the Easiest Swing in Golf for Seniors) were first recommended to me by Scott Starks in 2016. I watched a few but put it aside as I was concentrating on other methods. But in the spring of 2017 I found that over the winter something had changed to affect my iron play. I couldn’t hit my mid-length irons much further than my nine iron. I was also spraying my iron shots left and right.
So I took another look at Brian’s videos. Studied a few of them, did some of his recommended practice exercise sessions – what he calls La Danse du Golf – in my living room. Then I went out to my home golf range with my 5 iron. I took a very relaxed swing and the ball traveled 150 yards straight out, at least 30 yards longer than I had been able to accomplish earlier when my effort to swing the club was much greater. Wow, I think I may have found the Holy Grail!! (article continues after the video)
So I bought Brian’s book, Positive Impact Golf, and studied a few more of his online videos and that of one of his associates, Julian Mellor (some are cited at the end of this article). Brian and Julien’s methods are definitely body-friendly; their golf swing is effortless and uncomplicated. The PIG method is based on a set of 6 principles that are as much mental as physical: turning, weight shifting, rhythm, balance, coordination, and souplesse (supple and relaxed).
Brian also identifies 3 “deadly don’ts”- commonly held golfing ideas which complicate the golf swing: keeping your head still and eye on the ball; keeping your left arm straight; and keeping your left foot firmly planted in the backswing.
Brian’s book probably ought to be sub-titled the Psychology of the Golf Swing. While I found Brian’s book interesting and somewhat helpful on the mental side of my game, I found it too short on details of how to engage his 6 principles in my game. Part of this fits Brian’s Easiest Swing in Golf method in that he feels people over-think their swing. His top ten swing thoughts are no swing thoughts! The book and his videos are also light on swing mechanics details. Brian explains his lack of “how to” details because he believes in customizing his teaching to the student. For example, the particulars of the best grip that Brian or Julien might advocate to one golfer may be different to another.
I also think Brian wants the emphasis on your body, not your mind. He wants your body to learn the 6 principles and naturally avoid the 3 deadly don’ts. Doing daily exercises such as La Danse du Golf and a few others he illustrates in his videos go in that direction. Ironically his book, though, focuses on the mind. Because he believes our minds most often interfere with a balanced, natural, rhythmic, and easy golf swing – basically the mind most often prevents application of his 6 principles. Tension and negative thoughts are the enemy.
Brian’s videos and his book hit home with me. I get what he is trying to do. I also recognize I am a particularly hard case to correct. As a senior golfer, it is difficult to break lifetime habits that in other spheres have been part of my success: analyzing and thinking; attending to details; learning through reading, watching, and listening; expending maximum physical and mental effort, never giving up; concentration and focus; and the list goes on. I am guilty of all the sins he lists as blocking a natural golf swing.
I am finding these lifetime habits very difficult to change. Sometimes I’ll make a relaxed, balanced golf swing that sends the golf ball far and straight and I think “I’ve got it” but then later I lose it. And then I start thinking “what happened” and begin making adjustments and I’m down the primrose path to a bad round. Maybe I am not doing the La Danse du Golf often enough or doing it correctly. Maybe there are habits in my swing I don’t realize. I need coaching but to date no one in the USA is teaching using Brian’s golf coaching methods.
Have you tried Positive Impact Golf? What have been your experiences? What tips do you have for others trying it? Respond in the comments below.
Golfers see this often in every foursome at least one or more members of the group are playing the incorrect tee box for their driver distance. The USGA and PGA came out with the “Tee It Forward” program in 2011.
There is a good chart on the link from USGA/PGA on what tee and distance of course you should use for your driver distance. Tee It Forward Guidelines
I am 85 mph driver club head speed and average 200 yards max. I should play 5400 yards not 6000. Not all courses have correct tee boxes for your driver distance. But these are proven good guidelines. They make the game faster and more enjoyable. To be able to drive the ball relatively accurately you need minimum 90 mph driver club head speed to play 3000 yard 9 hole 6000 yards 18 hole. Also one would need more center face impact to have good 1.3 – 1.4 smash factor which also means the majority of recreational players are playing to long of a driver playing length to make good center face impact. This all goes back to correct fitting of a driver. Golf is first a game of accuracy and then distance.
