Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thomas 
If you're not consistent with a club at 180, I'd rec you play the approach as a two-shotter for the pitch/putt practice. 180 is just long enough to get you into all sorts of trouble as a beginner - and the last thing you want at this point is to get into the habit of blowing it into the weeds. Psychologically it can be crippling as a beginner.
FWIW, 180 for me was a 5-iron.
You're probably right on that strategy.
My pro put me into regular stiffness clubs. It's a lesson he's teaching my body, albeit probably an expensive one. One of my main problems is I want to, his quote, swing like I'm using an axe. I want to really muscle it. When I do that, I do not keep my head level (it goes up on the backswing and is clearly visible on the video he takes) and then I make inconsistent contact with the ball. He's really working on the "just swing the club and let the ball get in the way" type philosophy.
So the result is when I maintain form, my club head speed is slower than what I'm actually capable of generating. The idea is to get the correct mechanics ingrained and then, a few years down the road, I'll be able to unleash but keep proper form. So there's the expensive part: the eventual re-shafting to a stronger flex.
Speaking of which, had no idea the high tech now common in golfing. He has two video cameras on you for practice and some pretty cool software for playback, where he can get all John Madden on pointing things out. Then this iron with something wrapped around the shaft, and takes tempo, headspeed, toe down, kick angle, etc. Then the tape on the bottom of the club to see how you make contact. It's pretty interesting.
