Joe,
I wonder if u can help me with this problem. My shots are going much towards the left when I am using the 6,7 irons. If I become too conscious, keep my eyes on the ball etc, I end up slicing the ball much to the right. The phenomena is more pronounced during tee off. Interestingly it does not happen with 5 or 4 iron. Can u help me out. I am a starter with about 6 months into the game.Regards and a happy 2005.
Major Harpreet

Hello Major,
Also a happy 2005 to you. Are you a Major in the Army or Air Force? I'm still laughing because a Major is playing military golf (left-right-left-right). First of all it is not uncommon for anyone to have problems with one or more clubs behaving differently than the other clubs because there is no such thing as a perfectly matched set. This is why serious golfers are having the lie angles of their irons adjusted either more upright or more flat. More upright reduces a slice, more flat reduces a hook. In your case, I think you might be coming across the ball at impact from the outside in. If you do that while your clubface is square, you will tend to hit a pulled shot with no slice. If the clubface is slightly open, your shot will tend to start off as a pull and then slice. This is why you must try to swing from the inside out, because your body turn will bring the club back to square at impact.
Joe

Joe, what do you think of the one-ball rule?
Answer: Here is another case where golf becomes more a game of legalisms rather than a game of skill. Do you really think that someone can really benefit that much by switching balls between shots? Gee, I think I will use a distance ball for drives and switch to a high spin ball for approach shots, a floating ball for water holes, a wiffle ball for short flop shots over a bunker to a tight pin, and then for putting I will use a ball with a built-in gyroscope to reduce the breaks and a built-in magnet to attract it to the cup. Plllllllease!