Hand position

[louise_a]

I have been struggling with my longer irons this season so this week I have been trying different things out. I have found that if I have my hands a little forward of the ball I get a better strike, previously I have had them level.

I just wondered, is hands forward the normal thing with irons and have I been doing it wrong or have I just got lucky with something that seems to work for me?

 

[the_coach]

I have been struggling with my longer irons this season so this week I have been trying different things out. I have found that if I have my hands a little forward of the ball I get a better strike, previously I have had them level.

I just wondered, is hands forward the normal thing with irons and have I been doing it wrong or have I just got lucky with something that seems to work for me?

are you meaning at set-up address position ? with 4/5/6i's

 

[louise_a]

Yes, that is exactly what I mean.

 

[chrisd]

I have forward shaft lean with all my irons at set up unless I'm trying a high shot for a reason so I hope the answer is that you should!

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I think of the shaft being an extension of my left arm at address.

Which would mean hands ahead of the ball for more or less everything accept driver, which would be hands level with the ball.

 

[the_coach]

Yes, that is exactly what I mean.

good ways to get some routine into where the hands handle are at set-up is starting by lookin at the 8i

so set-up assuming good posture & arms hang so hands vertical under the chin with the tad narrower stance width with 8i & more center ball position middle of feet off (opposite) the sternum the hands/handle as you look down would be off of(opposite) the inside of the lead thigh - so with the center ball position there would be a shaft angle leaning towards target as you look down - so hands a little ways in from of ball

so given that as a starting point then with say a 5i the stance the width has increased a tad (bigger longer swing tad wider stance to give good stability) mostly the ball position would move up (forwards) in the stance so say a ball/ball-&- a-half width further forwards than the 8i ball position
but the hands/handle would still need to be in the same place relative to the lead thigh (so opposite/in front of the inside of the lead thigh) so with the 5i the hands would still be a tad in front of the ball (because stance width has widened some) and there would still be some forwards shaft lean to target - just not quite as much as with the 8i

so the best ways to look at hands/handle position relative to the set-up address is to always have them opposite (of in front of) the inside of the lead thigh

this is also true of hands/hande with the driver (or 3metal) but as the stance width is wider still & the ball position has moved tad more forwards to off of lead heel plus there's tad more secondary spine tilt away from target

then with the hands/handle still off of/opposite the inside of lead thigh the hands are now level with the ball or even level with the back of the ball - so no longer infront and the driver shaft(3metal shaft) has no forwards lean to it at all

the hands/handle & club head are more 'inline' with each other so appear to be level with the back half of the ball
so even the hands/handle looking a a tad behind if the set-up looked at from the face-on viewpoint

a good common denominator for hands/handle position is them always being off of (opposite) the inside of the lead thigh through the bag (putter excluded) for full 'normal' shots

by off of or opposite inside of the lead thigh - meaning the hands/handle are 'covering' being able to see the rear part of the top of lead thigh - if there was a line drawn down the middle of the lead thigh as you look down at address the hands/handle would be covering the part of the thigh to the right-side of that line

 

[louise_a]

Thanks some interesting comments

 

[chrisd]

Sounds like we've got it right!

 

[Yant]

Just inside the left thigh, slightly ahead of the ball. Encourages a downward strike, ball first.

 

[chrisd]

Just inside the left thigh, slightly ahead of the ball. Encourages a downward strike, ball first.

Thats what i found and have done it for years

 

[JohnnyDee]

Opportune thread for me as I'm going up to the range later with a mate because I'm hitting everything pretty well currently (except for 5 & 6 irons) so that's what I'm intending to work on. Will try some of Coach's tips and see how I get on :thup: