[jc2bg]

Thanks again to both of you. Admittedly, while I am always willing to golf till I drop, I have not been so willing to focus on the details of setup. I'm beginning to see the light, however, because recently I am hitting the ball consistently enough to [finally] realize the results of carelessness at setup. For example, I've known for decades the value of getting a very good alignment "fix" before setting my feet, but only now realizing that I need to do this on every single shot. In the same vein, while I've always played some shots with more shaft lean and some with less, you're telling me that I need to be cognizant of this variable on every shot, and I believe it.

In an interesting side-note, last night I took my practice to the course and had occasion to hit 5 short-iron or wedge approach shots in 9 holes. On each of those shots, I concentrated on about as much right-wrist angle as I could comfortably manage--ditto for shaft lean--and "held off" the follow-through about head-high in order to maintain lag as long as possible. This was not purely an academic exercise, because as it so happened, on each occasion I was between clubs and into a significant (10-15 mph) wind. Choosing the higher-lofted club, mostly PW, I went for what felt like a Tiger stinger. Not only were the results very pleasing (both accuracy and distance were remarkably good), but afterward I realized that what I'd experienced was probably very close to a "hitter's" shotmaking. From the position at the top, just a slash downward to impact, almost like driving a tent-peg, and significantly more divot than I usually take. Trajectory was medium at most, very straight and on-line, and even with the lower-than-normal trajectory, carry distance was at least equal to my best with a typical, higher finish and flight. The weird thing for this "swinger" was putting on the brakes so abruptly. Felt like I was going to squeeze the fingers of my left hand in two.

Thanks again for your advice and analysis. -- JC