"...putt for dough" (I wish)

I'm new to the game but doing fairly well so far. I've gone 3 times to the local 9-hole, had 1 lesson, then tried 18 at a vacation site in San Diego. Already I'm hooked. I got the Nicholas set from Costco for Christmas,($275 including bag), got some shoes, read "golf for dummies", the basic newbie stuff.
I have 2 metal plates in my left arm that limit my supination. Turns out this is a very good thing because I hit straight (fairly) on most of my shots, even though my distance is seriously lacking, but I assume that is less important than accuracy at this point.
I am getting "near" the green most of the time at one under par. But pitching, bump and run, and putting are still a mystery. Putting takes practice, but I can't get any loft out of my PW. I either overshoot, or knock it 5 feet.
My question is: Since you use a full swing for every other club (except for the putter) but have to control the strength of the PW, does the swing vary in any way, other than force, to get loft out of the PW? If I need to go 50 yards or 10, it seems that if I go too soft, I get NO air-time, and if I give it a full swing, I over-shoot.
Thanks,
Michael

most likely you are trying to pick the ball up or help the ball in the air, make sure you are hitting down on the ball, make sure the angle between your leftarm and hand stays the same(right hander), never try to scoop the ball up, this might be why your distance with your other clubs is suffering

My best advice (and what seems the simplest way to control distance) is to limit your backswing if you want to hit the ball shorter.

What you'll likely find is that you don't have to swing back as far as you do to get the same distance.

Find the book "Dave Pelz: My Short Game Bible". Read it and use it. (Disclaimer: He has a very mechanical approach - Dave is not a 'feel' teacher)

hi lowpost,
you are right when you say pelz is a teacher of mechanics rather than feel but my short game has got better since i bought the bible and now i know the mechanics im starting to get more feel and improvising

Regardless of the length of shot you always want the club accelerating at impact. Slowing down the club will cause problems. So if you have a short shot and do not want to hit the ball hard slow down the takeawy so that the club can still speed up at contact.

The other thing to help air time is to hit the ball first and not hit behind it and to strike down on it. Which should also help get spin to stop it sooner.

But to answer your question unless you have a lob wedge and open up the face and hit a lob you are not going to get a lot of air on a 10 yd shot. And that shot is not recomended unless you have a lot of time to practice and have the fundamentals down.

I would not worry about the air so much as your ability to have the ball go the proper distance and when facing those shots to error on the side of getting the ball on the green.

Bob

All of this is very helpful, so thank you.

At risk of sounding as new as I am, what does, "open face" mean?

One thing that is odd is that I get pretty much the same distance with all my irons. Length and face angle don't seem to make much difference at all. In fact, many times my 7 iron goes almost as far as my woods, but with more control. I feel like I can walk 9-holes with a 7 and a putter.
This will improve with time, yes?

Thanks
Michael

[quote=sprinterpd]All of this is very helpful, so thank you.

At risk of sounding as new as I am, what does, "open face" means?

Wish I was better at computers I would try and find a visuals, but on a normal shot the club is squarely behind the ball the leading edge or bottom of it is on the ground, "opening up the face of the club" is when the club is more aimed left and the back of club is on the ground basically flattening the face of the club. The trick then is to slide the club underneath the ball.

Now the term it can also be used to describe an impact on a shot. Then it is meant more that the person hit the ball poorley and did not square the club head at impact and the face was open causing a shank.