Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
1) Any properly hit iron is done with a descending blow. The term "sweeping" in a myth. Even sweepers catch the ball at the bottom of a descending arc and clip the grass. "Sweeper" vs "digger" is just a matter of degrees. They do about the same thing, it's just that the digger does it to a greater extreme.
2) Yes, but that happens naturally as you're closer to the ball. Don't try to make a steeper swing as you progress through the bag from 3-iron to wedge.
3) Until you're REALLY good you should concentrate on one single swing and use it exclusively. Unless you're a low single digit handicapper trying to invent a swing for rare situations is a recipe for failure. Don't try any swing unless you have a reasonable expectation of success and that's not going to happen unless you practice it before getting out on the course. That being said, YES, good players will often change their swing plane to fit the shot. Sometimes you want a high fade, sometime a low draw, etc etc etc. That's something you should work on at the range, but only after you're very consistent with your normal swing. If the swing you make 99% of the time isn't very reliable the one you use rarely will always fail.
i've gotten pretty consistent with my primary swings.
my driver swing is much more of a sweeping swing than my iron swings, i think this is as it's supposed to be.
i'm pretty consistent with my lob shot, i can consistently put it high in the air, rarely blade that shot.
i'm pretty consistent with my sand shots.
my problems now have more to do with distance control. i guess that will come with more play.
i've also just started to learn how to draw the ball. i've been successful with about 60% of my swings that i try to draw with.
so, as to my orginal question, a steeper swing gives you more loft and more backspin and a more sweeping swing (basically, i take the head of the club back a bit lower than my normal swing, would give you a lower loft less of a back spin hit correct?
would a sweeping swing give you more distance?