Too many thinned shots. Not so much the high lofted irons, although I have been known to blade a 60 degree wedge every now and then. An issue I am facing at the moment is thinning hybrids and my 3 wood. Maybe a tell tale sign is I have no issues hitting up on driver. I’ve heard some folks say they hit down on driver and because of that they lose distance. But I typically hit up 6-7 degrees with driver. It’s all about angle of attack.
So bottom line, I need to figure out a way to increase my angle of attack. We’ve heard or if you haven’t, amateurs tend to hit behind the ball while professionals may have a low point of a couple/few inches in front of the ball. So what causes amateurs to hit behind the ball while professionals hit (low point) in front of the ball? I really don’t think it is one specific reason but I think through one or two swing changes, amateurs can learn how to quickly figure out to strike the ball better.
I was recently told by a professional to not look at the ball but to look two inches past the ball and hit that point. Now he never said if that is how professionals play the game because I really wouldn’t think so. One thing I was told though, is to setup as if I was going to hit a ball and draw a line where the ball would be. Then draw a line two inches in front of the ball. The goal is to hit that line in front of where the ball would be on the downswing. It is actually a very good drill.
On a personal level, I found it did me no good whatsoever to put the golf ball back a couple of inches in my stance with the thought that I would more easily be able to hit down on the ball. With my 7 iron and hybrids and 3 wood, I feel the need to get some loft on the club/ball and if I put the ball too far back in my stance, I seem to lose that height in the ball flight.
So my concentration is this with irons, hybrids, and 3 wood. Keep forward shaft lean at impact with the ball. This combined with making sure I get my body (left hip) forward in the downswing. And an ongoing fault that I need to correct and that is to keep my back faced to the target while I drop my hands. So no turning the body and then dropping the hands. By doing so I’ve noticed an immediate increase in clubhead speed and improvement in angle of attack. Now this is a wild guess but in my bag I am looking (my goal) for the following angle of attack with my golf clubs.
Driver = + 4 to 7 degrees
3 Wood = -1 degrees
3 Hybrid = -1.5 to -2 degrees
4 Hybrid = -1.5 to -2 degrees
5 Hybrid = -1.5 to -2 degrees
7 Iron = -2 to -2.5 degrees
8 Iron = -2.5 to -3 degrees
9 Iron = -3 to -3.5 degrees
PW = -3.5 to -4 degrees
AW = -4 to -5 degrees
60 Degree = -4 to -5 degrees
I am able to measure the angle of attack thanks to Bushnell Launch Pro. Actually there is no measuring on my part, BLP does all the work and shows it on its display. It seems that I don’t have too much of an issue obtaining the angle of attack mentioned above with the higher lofted irons but the lower lofted 7 iron, hybrids, and 3 wood is giving me some issues. Work in progress…