Change of grip - change of ball flight.

[ainley87simon]

So I have just spent lunch hour at the driving range - I have been working on my driving for while and a while back I decided to choke down on the grip and effectively shorten my club, the result was straight hits or a right to left shape which is the opposite to what I used to have I used hit my drives with a fade (sometimes a big one).

I decided that I would try choking down on all my clubs at the range today, the results were I was hitting draws with most of my clubs upto maybe my 8 iron, and I was consistently getting more carry (not monumental amounts, but enough to make me happy) than I ever remember getting.

Now this to me seems a little bit strange, I would have thought that choking down and making a club short would also reduce the amount of carry you would able to get. Also why would would shortening the club suddenly make me hit a draw and not usual stock fade? Is it a case that with a shorter club I am not hitting in to out?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

You ARE hitting in to out if you are now hitting a draw but you have obviously changed something in your swing to alter your shot shape so dramatically. As for the carry distance, you must be hitting the ball 'better' rather than 'harder'

 

[ainley87simon]

Ha - just read that back proves i can't type and eat lunch at the same time I get all confused. Certainly feels like I am getting a better contact on the ball, I won't change anything for now while I am getting distances and shapes I am happy with.

 

[Darlophil]

Shall give that a try on the course once I finish work.

 

[dufferman]

There is a chance your 'choking down' has changed the way you take the club back slightly, and therefor you are (subconsciously) moving the club and therefor the ball differently?

 

[SGC001]

The longer a club the more work it will require to keep stable, any swing flaws tend to get magnified as clubs get longer; this is something taken into account when fitting and why shorter than 'standard' drivers amongst other clubs can be recommended. In addition you will likely have changed your posture which can affect your angle of attack.

 

[ainley87simon]

The longer a club the more work it will require to keep stable, any swing flaws tend to get magnified as clubs get longer; this is something taken into account when fitting and why shorter than 'standard' drivers amongst other clubs can be recommended. In addition you will likely have changed your posture which can affect your angle of attack.

That what I thought - The shorter the club and therefore the swing the less room there is for something to go wrong or fall out of sync. Time will tell if I actually gain anything on the course, cant wait to find out tomorrow though