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After playing a couple holes after I went to the driving range I found that I am having a hard time to stick greens now. I just recently started carrying my Irons where I wanted them, 9(135)8(150)7(170). I been hitting alot more greens lately, but I cannot make anything stick. I guess I should start playing too front yardage? Or take more club with a 3/4 swing? Been told that will make a ball stick. Any tips of sticking more greens?

Really comes down to a few factors. #1: Are you playing really hard greens? Because if you are, nothing's going to stick. #2: Are you playing a ball with a hard cover, because it won't generate as much spin as a soft cover ball, hence, not much "sticking". #3 Depending on how you're striking the ball, this may be not giving you enough spin to hold greens. Typically hitting down and through the ball, with a divot pattern which is at and ahead of the ball will give you plenty of spin to stop the ball well.

Also doublecheck that you're actually hitting the center of the face. Many clubs can really dampen your feel and you can hit a relatively thin shot without realizing it, and that will skip. Were you using the same ball? And do you leave your balls in your car overnight? If it's very cold at night that can deaden your ball (it does to mine anyways). If you're hitting from the rough it can reduce backspin as well. For that matter, are your grooves clean? I would suggest that if you're right handed, this might be the point at which to learn the game as a lefty.

OK, I was with you up through this point.

But this really came out of left field, can you please explain to me what this has to do with any of the above? Thanks.

It was tongue-in-cheek, like suggesting a student with a severe cast might enjoy fishing more than golf.

I wanna hear this too.

Well, then, I hope you learned a valuable lesson on how poorly tone can be conveyed via the written word. [all that written in a jovial mood, not *****!] It really threw me for a loop -- that said. I have swung a friend's left handed club, and since I really concentrated on the fundamentals of a good swing, the results weren't all that bad at all. Certainly not great, and certainly not good enough to even consider switching, but not terrible either. On a even lesser related note, I'll do this in slowpitch softball once in a while, too, and the results there aren't that bad either. I think it is the same principle; I really concentrate on the fundamentals -- now if only I could do the same for my normal swings...

Another reason for the ball not stopping may be that the fairways are wet (dew or rain) but the most likely reason is hitting the ball very slightly fat. It doesn't take much to minimise the spin.

The biggest factor in getting the ball to spin is a pure, clean hit where you rely on the loft of the club to get the ball in the air. The next is the ball itself - all the "tour" balls will stop dead on receptive greens (on hard greens they tend only to stop on the 2nd bounce), some of the others don't stop as well but there are really very few that are really hot - Pinnacle comes to mind.

Be very careful of playing to drop short of the pin - generally this leads to slight deceleration through impact which reduces spin and hence stopping ability. Far better to take a slightly shorter swing with a crisp acceleration through the ball - that will accentuate spin.

Finally, beware of "quick fixes" such as " hit down " - you can end up getting far too steep and ruining your swing'

LOL

If you're playing hard & fast greens you're ball is not going to check... play the distance that accounts for the roll. Other than that I'll have to disagree with a couple of the above comments/advice. I never back anything up more than a foot or so regardless of what sort of ball I'm playing, nor does anything roll out on me on full shots, so at least on full shots I don't think that the ball characteristics make much of a difference. Around the greens a softer ball will give you a better touch and feel, though. Also, if you're otherwise satisfied with the way you hit your irons I don't think that you should fool around with your swing trying for a more descending blow. You're likely to do yourself much more harm than good.

I don't have distance but I do have some abilities to stick it to the green. One option on the approach shot is to shift the ball position towards the target by one ball's width (to the left if you are right handed).

This adds loft which lets it drop versus 'walking' (if at currently position) or running (if slightly to the right of your stance).

now 3/4 shots should not spin as much as the full swings...when the pros want to take spin off a ball...(see also...get it to release) they will take more club and less swing so that's the worst thing you can do to help you stick greens....

here this is guaranteed to stick the green even if its made of concrete with permafrost underneath.... go get you some cleveland cg10 wedges some mizuno mp-32 irons and some pro v1 golf balls....keep those grooves clean (wear gloves when cleaning the clevelands...those groves are made from razors I tell ya) and keep lots of pro v's handy....i caught one ball so crisp that it shaved 1/8 of the ball off....man those clevelands are money....

seriously though what the guys said above is probably spot on

Pretty much the opposite of what I do, which is to back the ball up in the stance for a lower trajectory and more spin so that the ball will bite on contact...

if you get more spin with the ball played further back you might be mishitting them when they are forward, because the more delofted the clubface the less spin you can impart...hence the reason knockdown shots release more than full shots...the lower boring trajectory comes from two factors...delofted face and less backspin, which would cause the ball to rise...right???