How should the sole of the club lie to the ground?

I ask this as someone who has never been fitted for clubs.

My sole lifts away from the ground the nearer it gets to the toe-end. Should the sole be flush to the ground along the length of the head? There is no way I could make the sole flush on my current irons. It would make the club too long for me.

I have an idea this is the aim of club-fitting. Yay or nay?

I remember being told as a junior that that you should be able to place a "matchstick" like object underneath the toe-end of the head.

What ever works for you. Doubt there is any correct answer.

Merc As someone who was fitted again on Saturday afternoon, I can say that 2 of my irons were adjusted because at address they were toe-up. being toe-up doesn't matter as long as your stroke rectifies it, or sweeps the ball evenly. In my case with these 2 irons, he noticed a problem and fixed a bit of paper tape to the club sole. Told me to hit away, and then looked at the sole, which showed I had connected nearer the heel and not the centre, which can cause shanks. he just tweaked the clubs and the difference was brilliant.

Thats me though, so if you're toe-up but get alligned properley at strike, it doesn't matter

You want the dynamic lie to be right i.e. you want the sole of the club flush on the ground along it's entire length at impact. For a lot of people, that'll be much the same as at address....but not always. That's supposed to be an area where a proper fitter can earn his corn.

The club should sit slightly toe up due to the bowing of the shaft during the swing. It's hard to describe in words but the shaft flexes in two directions during the swing, one is the lag behind the hands which then accelerates through the ball adding power, the second is an arcing of the shaft. In simple terms, if you imagine the address position as you swing back to the ball, the shaft will be such that the centre of the shaft has bowed so it is slightly further away from your knees than it was at address but the head will be in the same position, effectively forcing the toe of the club towards the ground.

Hope I have managed to get my thoughts across into words

drive4show wrote:Hope I have managed to get my thoughts across into words

No.

JPX wrote:

drive4show wrote:Hope I have managed to get my thoughts across into words

No.

JPX, I think you meant:

No

JPX wrote:

drive4show wrote:Hope I have managed to get my thoughts across into words

No.

Well I don't really care cos I know what it is that I'm failing miserably to get across....and you have given me a perfect opportunity to use my fave emoticon again

one step ahead of you there drive

[I'm also part of your exclusive raspberry fan club]

You might want to consider where you think you are with your swing.

If you think your set up will need to change in order to improve it my be of little consequence how the club sits at the moment as the chances are it will change as you move towards the correct set up.

I think club fitting is against the spirit of the game, the same way that DMD's are!

drive4show wrote:

JPX wrote:

drive4show wrote:Hope I have managed to get my thoughts across into words

No.

Well I don't really care cos I know what it is that I'm failing miserably to get across....and you have given me a perfect opportunity to use my fave emoticon again

I just happened to have a club to hand so I followed your instructions and the sole of my club ended up parallel to the wall.

Drive4show is correct. The tow is closer to the ground when the ball is hit than at address. The shaft bows a little and most people have their hands higher at impact.

To check, hit shots on soft ground and take a divot. The divot should be the same width at start and end. If the heel or toe hits the ground first there will be a taper effect at the beginning of the divot.

Go onto YouTube and watch some slow motion view from behind the line and you will see for yourself.

Talking about divots there are a couple of other things to check. Where the divot is aiming will tell you if you are coming across the ball or in-to-out at impact. Also, ideally the divot should be shallow especially with middle and long irons (a deep divot can be acceptable with short irons for some). The most important point in the swing is the impact and the divot can be used to give the golfer the most important information about the swing.

ScottieD18 wrote:Drive4show is correct. The tow is closer to the ground when the ball is hit than at address. The shaft bows a little and most people have their hands higher at impact.

To check, hit shots on soft ground and take a divot. The divot should be the same width at start and end. If the heel or toe hits the ground first there will be a taper effect at the beginning of the divot.

Go onto YouTube and watch some slow motion view from behind the line and you will see for yourself.

Talking about divots there are a couple of other things to check. Where the divot is aiming will tell you if you are coming across the ball or in-to-out at impact. Also, ideally the divot should be shallow especially with middle and long irons (a deep divot can be acceptable with short irons for some). The most important point in the swing is the impact and the divot can be used to give the golfer the most important information about the swing.

Oh, this has become very interesting. My beavers are usually delta-shaped being wider at the end than the start. Does this mean I'm a prime candidate for fitting?

Mercurio wrote:

ScottieD18 wrote:Drive4show is correct. The tow is closer to the ground when the ball is hit than at address. The shaft bows a little and most people have their hands higher at impact.

To check, hit shots on soft ground and take a divot. The divot should be the same width at start and end. If the heel or toe hits the ground first there will be a taper effect at the beginning of the divot.

Go onto YouTube and watch some slow motion view from behind the line and you will see for yourself.

Talking about divots there are a couple of other things to check. Where the divot is aiming will tell you if you are coming across the ball or in-to-out at impact. Also, ideally the divot should be shallow especially with middle and long irons (a deep divot can be acceptable with short irons for some). The most important point in the swing is the impact and the divot can be used to give the golfer the most important information about the swing.

Oh, this has become very interesting. My beavers are usually delta-shaped being wider at the end than the start. Does this mean I'm a prime candidate for fitting?

Beavers, Merc, seriously, got something on your mind?

You should be careful about that, the RSPCA may have something to say about that. Attacking defenceless creatures with a golf club, cue faux outrage pouring out of these message boards allowing for gratuitous use of