After a few disastrous rounds I went for a lesson with a pro I have known for a long time. After fixing a couple of basic issues with grip and alignment their was of course an immediate improvement. He also noted, your contact and divots say your clubs are too flat, but you hit a draw. Two fitters gave me opposite advice.
Upright a degree and get thicker grips
Flat one degree, 1\4 inch longer shafts, already 1\4 over,
Any other advice?
First, the club length and the lie angle should be fit dynamically. If I fit you for length and we know that is good, then we would adjust the lie, based on a dynamic lie fitting, to accommodate the correct length we just fit and your swing/action at that point in time. I would and will never adjust a lie angle or a length to try to fix a swing issue that causes a ball flight issue. Don’t confuse that statement with adjusting the length or lie to FIT your stature and your swing. When we do that we have eliminated the inconsistency in ball flight that can be created by poorly fit clubs. If you are hooking it too much, for example, you don’t fix that by adjusting the length or the lie on the club UNLESS the length and lie are not correct for your stature and your swing. Hopefully that makes sense.
On the two fitters recommendations, you can have clubs that are too flat and still hit a draw. Just as you can have clubs that are too upright and still hit a fade or slice. The draw or fade/slice is produced by swing path and face angle. As note here, upright lies(for a right handed player) can influence flight to the left and flat can influence shots to the right. However, and again, there is a correct lie for you. Fit the lie (and length) correctly, then see what swing or mechanical adjustments you may need to make to get the ball flying correctly when you hit shots. In some cases, clubs may be fit properly to a player that is still experiencing ball flight troubles. In that case you should seek out a swing coach/professional first. He should be able to diagnose the swing issues and get you on the right path. In some cases if a swing change is made, the specs of your clubs might have to be adjusted. So, after the swing is corrected, it’s always a good idea to have the lie checked dynamically. Rarely would a swing change require a length change, but a good fitter would evaluate that too.
Not all good fitters are good swing guys and not all good swing guys are good fitters. There are those that are good at both, but you may need to seek out a good fitter and a good swing coach separately.
Hope this helps.
Britt Lindsey
If the sole contact point is towards the toe, the club is too flat, NOT too upright. When determining lie angle, the only thing that matters is where is the sole striking the ground at impact. The only way to properly fit lie is to do a dynamic lie fitting. Hit shots off of a lie board and note where the mark is on the sole. We put our “How Golf Clubs Work” guide on our website and if you go to pages 15-23, lie angle is explained. The link is below:
https://store-k9nvqai7wz.mybigcommerce.com/content/PDFs/How_Golf_Clubs_Work.pdf
Britt Lindsey
I have to admit to being the class dope. I’ve been a Golfworks customer since the early 80’s and I never realized the lie angle refers to the head and not the shaft. That’s why I was so confused about how a toe down would be improved by an upright lie angle.
There are no class dopes, so take it easy on yourself. It can be confusing. Shafts do droop during the swing. That is why you must do a dynamic lie fitting and not just set the club down at address want sole perfectly centered. By doing a dynamic lie fitting, you account for the shaft droop and can get the proper lie angle you need for the best sole contact at impact.
Britt Lindsey
Hummmmmm—-I started fooling with this stuff back in the 60’s—-my suggestion is much the same as i give when people ask me about playing golf.
If you want to start playing golf, that is easy, by some used clubs and get balls and start playing. The danger is that you will become addicted–then you start asking questionslike this. I gave up a long time ago and, becuse GW keep feeding my addiction, I can now do anything I want to with there $$$$$Help. Buy a bending machine and do it yourownself–experment and rebind til you happy—–be aware you may break one if you do it enough–but that is a good excuse to by another set—–i tend to buy used.
A more basic question, if the toe is digging deeper or on synthetic surface the contact is toe oriented doesn’t that mean the club is too upright?