8 iron is going in the water!!!!!

Hi all,

I don't know whats up with me as my 8 iron play is really starting to annoy me now. I can hit my driver straight, my resuce is perfect 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, go straight my 9, PW, SW and 58 deg wedge are working well but my 8 iron well thats another story. Every time I need to play it I end up duffing up shots, slicing them etc everything that can go wrong does.
I am losing faith in it now and more often take my 7 or 9 to play the shot which usally leaves me on the back of the green or with a chip in.
Do you reckon its a mental thing or could it be a swing issue?

Cheers
Mark

If you can hit a 3I and all the rest well then clearly you don't have much of a swing issue so it could be some kind of complex, however before you go into therapy why not get the club checked out for any damage?

Cheers for your advice BD, I never thought it could be the club as I have hardly used it but I did throw to the ground when I last used it so will get it checked out.

Cheers
Mark

get it regripped...

If it is a normal club, new grip, and you are still having problems, it probably is Arithmophobia. There are common issues with this. It could be the distance you have to hit the ball to, that makes you take the 8i out (150 for instance), and that is your phofia number...less likely because if you were 151 to the pin then you wouldn't have this problem. Most likely it could be the "8".

"Like all fears and phobias, numbers phobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking numbers and emotional trauma..."

So maybe in your past you had a real pressure shot in a match that you had to hit the 8i to and failed, failed so bad as to create this phobia. If this is the case, face your fear head on. Play an entire round with just the 8i and putter. I bet you can do pretty well and will be amazed at what your score could be...I always joke that just about every par 5 from the white tees are just three 8i's.

If you STILL are having problems, let's take drastic measures here. Buy a matching 7i. Cut the shaft to 8i length, and have the faceangle bent the same as the 8i. There you go. Just make sure you know which 7i you are pulling out (put a piece of tape on top of the grip to be sure)...

__________________
I'm a golfaholic, no question about that. Counseling wouldn't help me. They'd have to put me in prison, and then I'd talk the warden into building a hole or two and teach him how to play. ~Lee Trevino

have a friend hand you a club (9,8 or 7) but don't look at it and have him not tell you, and just hit that ball, that will show if it is mental or the club..... unless you have a mark on your 8i that you will recognize.

Mark before you baptise your 8, why not go out on the course and hit with it.

Play the course from the distance your 8 iron would come into effect. Don't worry about driving off the tee and so on. Just walk to the yardage of the 8 iron and rip it. Play a nice draw or fade into the green.

Thanks everyone for all your great advice I will go out later on today and try playing just with my 8 and see if I can restore my faith in it. Will let you know how I do.

Cheers
Mark

Could be that the lie angle on your 8 is out of whack and not so with the other clubs. Put a piece of black tape on the sole of your 8 and hit 5 balls on the range mat. Now flip the club over and look at where the tape is worn. if it is prdominately near the toe or the heel then the lie angle is not set up to your swing. You can get it tested and bent at a pro clubmakers.

If you have a cheep set of clubs the standards for putting these together aren't very tight. If it's a cheep set the shaft could have quite a bit different flex, or there could be some other flaw in the club.