|
From JR, golfer: |
|
I am a 6 handicap. Let's say my swing
path is good, divots are good, but I tend to hit out toward the toe. What
would be the most likely spec changes need to be made to my clubs? |
|
PGA/LPGA
TEACHING
PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSES: |
Arizona
"Some club makers would suggest a
extension to the player's clubs to combat toe side contact. However, I
disagree in that if the player hits his 7 iron on the toe they probably
hit their 5 iron on the toe also and it is one inch longer according to
standard specs. My answer would be to check balance and suspect that the
player is not putting the ball in the way of his best swing which is
accomplished while maintaining balance throughout the motion. Being a 6
handicapper he probably has a great deal of hand & eye coordination
that serves to help him make somewhat solid contact. Add that ability to
a well balanced ball position (one that has the ball in the way of his
best balanced throughout the motion swing) and you have solid repeating
contact." - Marc
Silliman, Teaching Professional
|
California
"Check to see if your clubs are too flat. If you are a 6
handicap and are hitting the ball well, you are compensating for the lie
angle. Put electrical tape on the sole of your 6 iron and hit 3 shots
off a
mat. Notice where the wear spot is on the tape. If it is toward the toe,
the club is too flat. Lie boards work, too, if you have access to one."
- Kati
Biszantz, Teaching Professional |
California
"Check your lie angle to see if the clubs are too flat, and
also get in front of a mirror and check for 'high hands' in the set up.
The shaft angle should be about at the belt line, not at the middle of
the torso. Good Luck." - Mike
Davis, Teaching Professional |
Florida
"JR, make your clubs more
upright and slightly 1/4 " inch longer. I think you will be able to
handle (no pun intended) the adjustment because of your skill
level." - Sean
Gorgone, Teaching Professional |
Florida
"It is too obvious to say move closer to the ball, or get 1/2 inch
longer clubs, so I am going to assume that you've eliminated those as
cures. More than likely you are driving your legs and body slightly past
the ball at impact to cause these toe hits. But don't take my word for it.
Simple test. Hit some five irons where you NEVER get off your right foot
at anytime (including the finish). In other words, hit several shots flat
footed. If my suspicion is correct, first you will find this nearly
impossible to do, and second, after you train yourself to do this (hey,
you're a six handicap so you should be able to do it with a little
effort!) if you hit the ball in the center of the clubface with this drill
you need more rotation in your swing and less lateral movement - and save
your money buying new clubs!"
- Joe
Sciortino, Teaching Professional
|
|
|
Minnesota
"Have the lie angle checked
DYNAMICALLY, that is by taking swings on a lie board."
- Jim
Manthis, Teaching Professional
|
Missouri
"JR: If you are actually
hitting the ball on the toe, it could also be in your swing and not just
your sticks. You need to check the lie and bend your clubs upright. Make
sure that the toe of the club is barely off the ground when you set-up to
the ball. About enough to put a credit card under it. Hope this
helps!" - David
Mulso, Teaching Professional
|
Missouri
"Length would be the first fitting
variable to address. What you need to make sure of or your fitter needs
to make sure of, is that your distance from the ball does not change
when you try the longer club. Address a five iron, put a tee down in
front of each toe, take a five iron that is 1/2 inch longer than your
five iron, hit some shots, make sure you use impact face tape to see if
the impact is more toward the center than the toe." - Mark
Peterson, Teaching Professional
|
North Carolina
"Dear JR: This is a tough one so I
strongly encourage you to seek help from a PGA Professional. It could be
one of a few things. Let's go the easy route first. Balance at address.
There is an undeniable centrifugal force going on in the golf swing and
if you have bad balance at address, out toward your toes, as you
swing the club downward centrifugal force gets stronger and since I am
yet to see anyone fall down due to swinging the golf club, it only
stands to reason you'll pull back to maintain balance. Hence, an
off center hit. You could be reaching too far at address. Same
results as above. The worse scenario (and I am hedging toward this
one however) is you are probably coming over the top which when that
happens a good player as yourself will crawl up under the shot to keep
it from going left. Which means some where in the not too distant
past you were probably hitting it left and just figured out a way to
stop doing it. Usually left with the shorter irons and right with
the longer ones. If this is what was going on you don't want to try and
band aid it with altering the lies of your clubs. Have your Pro take you
out to the range and see it at impact the toe of the club is hitting
first. If that is the case I'll bet you a cheese sandwich you're coming
over the top. Get a lesson on dropping your arms down and slowing your
spinning hips from throwing your hands out over the ball. Now, go dig it
out of the dirt."
- Karl
Kimball, Teaching Professional
|
|
Ohio
"The most common spec you should have
checked by a fitting professional would be the length of your clubs. Toe
hit problems are the result of the club being to short for your
swing."
- Rick
Bailey, Teaching Professional
|
South Carolina
"If your contact is near the
toe and it feels good then you have found
the true sweet spot to be near the toe
not CENTERED. Change to the club is what
you asked - put weight in the hozel area
to move the sweet spot closer to center."
- Doug
Weaver, Teaching Professional
|
Texas
"JR, you may have a problem with
your elevation. Make sure in your backswing that your head and shoulders
don't lose their set-up elevation. If they drop any, then on the
downswing, you will be raising up and pulling away from maximum impact
causing a slight toe shot."
- Bobby
Wilson, Teaching Professional |
Texas
"Divots are toe deep, then
flatten lie angle. Hitting off the toe with good path, then check posture
and move closer to the ball accordingly." - Bob
Hasbrouck, Teaching Professional |
|
Virginia
|
Virginia
"JR: If you
need adjustments to your clubs, it would be to lengthen them. You need a
little more shaft length to get the club head out to the ball. But, before
you alter your clubs, get a pro to help you try this first. Get some
impact tape to let you see where your shots hit on the clubface. Take your
5 iron and ask the pro to get one that is a half inch longer than yours
and one that is an inch longer. If you mark all the different clubs on the
toe, it means that your set up is what has been giving you problems. Test
it by taking a tee and putting it in the ground in front of your right toe
(if you are right handed) after you set up with your five iron.
Then hit a shot with the half inch longer club, but with your toe in the
same place relative to the tee. If what you say about the fundamentals of
your swing is accurate, I'll bet the mark on the face will be a whole lot
closer to center. Best of luck to you."
- Paul
Sargent, Teaching Professional |
Virginia
"The initial solution that some
professionals might have for your problem would be to get longer clubs.
Your solution might be as simple as that. Since you're a 6 handicapper and
you say your divots are straight, you can play and you know something
about the swing. Having had the same problem with shots on the toe myself
though, I offer some other possible explanations and solutions: 1.
Could be that your left arm is getting a little slack, or collapsing
somewhat, through the impact area. This could cause your swing path to
track slightly inside the intended path, resulting in the clubface also
being inside the intended swing path, resulting in a shot hit off the toe.
Keep that left arm taught and extended through the impact area. 2. Are you
tending to lose your balance through or after the swing? Could also be
that you've got too much weight on one or both of your heels through
impact, causing you to rock back ever so slightly, and causing the club to
swing inside the intended swing path. Balance your weight on the heels and
the balls of the feet at address and through impact. Hit some shots and
experiment with those concepts a little. They should help."
- Bob
Benning, Teaching Professional |
Wisconsin
"JR: Before you make any changes to your equipment you may want
to consider a few key swing thoughts. First, if you are consistently
hitting the ball off of the toe you may be releasing the club too early.
This will cause the toe to close prior to impact resulting in a toe
shot. Commonly, this is the error of a good player who has the proper
swing path and divot pattern, so your not alone. One main reason for
releasing the club too early is too strong of a right hand grip. To
correct an overly strong right hand simply turn your right hand to the
left so you can see at least two knuckles of your right hand if you hold
the club up in front of you. If your right hand position is ok, then I
would look at your divot again too see if it is square shaped, like a
dollar bill or triangle shaped. If it is shaped like a dollar bill, your
impact position is ok and your equipment may be the culprit. But, if
your divot is more of a triangle shape you may need to firm up your
impact position to get a centered hit on the ball. The best exercises I
can recommend for you would be to use an Impact Bag or an old Tire and
practice hitting into these solid objects to get the proper impact
position (hands ahead, weight on the left, hips slightly open, and a
square clubface). You should notice that the club will remain square at
impact and your right hand will not close the toe of the club because a
45 degree angle is still formed between the back of your right hand and
wrist. Typically, your problem occurs when a player makes an effort to
release the golf club. In doing so, the right hand and wrist break down
resulting in a closed clubface. JR, I hope this is some help to
you." - Lucas
Hana, Teaching Professional
|
Wisconsin
"You'll need longer clubs." - Jason
Manke, Teaching Professional |
Wisconsin
"Try adding 1/2 inch to your clubs. This might cause it to play 1
degree more upright. You will have to try it on a lie board also."
- Dan
Drier, Teaching Professional
|
