Irons on the Toe

[Bigdog308]

I play to a 9, but continue to struggle with missing my iron shots on the toe. It is driving me mad. I have read articals that say (Hank Hainey in Golf Digest) that it is from swinging to upright and not staying connected, but I have a fairly flat swing at 6'2" 245 pounds. I have also read it is caused by a closed club face at impact which may be possible as I do seem to be fighting a closed club face at times (I think from compensating for the toe hits to keep them from going right). The thing I find most troubling is when I take a practice swing whith my irons it seems my path at its bottom is always closer to my feet then at set up no matter what I do.
Please help me!!!!

[gord962]

Re: Irons on the Toe

My first thought when reading this is that you are swinging on an outside-in path. Check this first.

Second, are you standing the correct distance from the ball? You arms should be hanging loosely - do not reach! As your clubs get shorter the ball should get closer to your feet. Don't use one distance for all clubs.

[Ian Hancock]

Re: Irons on the Toe

Bigdog,

This is a difficult question, most people suffer from the opposite"hitting out of the heel",

The two possible things it sounds like to me are.......

one being tention, if you are set up the correct distance from the ball (playing to 9, I won't insult you by telling you how to do this) then when you swing the path is nearer to you then this could well be tention in the arms or tight grip, tight muscles are shorter muscles hence swinging inside you set up line.

The other being.......if you have a flat swing and you are tall then you are definatley not on plane this will in longer grass hit the turf heel first and flip the face over, this can also happen at the range. My advise would be to spend the winter working on a more on plane upright swing.

hope this helps.

Ian.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Irons on the Toe

Hey Bigdog.

Hitting irons off the toe is a killer! Unfortunately, there is a long list of things that could be causing it.

Tell me:
1. Does it only happen with long irons? What about woods?
2. Are you nicely balanced or do you have to dance around to stay balanced when it happens?
3. When you impact the ball and turf, where is your divot pointing to (straight, left or right)? Is the divot shallow or deep?
4. With your long-irons where do you normally position the ball?
5. Assuming you hit a nice long-iron describe the ball flight to me. (Like: it starts right and turns gently left or it starts left and goes further left...)

Let me have your info and I'll try my best to help you.

[Mizunoman]

Re: Irons on the Toe

Bigdog, it sounds to me as if you suffer from the same affliction as I. Namely the big cast from the outside. When I do it the ball comes off nearer the toe and I pull it big style. I assume you either do the same or you hit weak cuts. They both stem from the same problem.

1. Have someone check where your hands are at the top of your backswing. They should be roughly at the same height as your shoulder. If not try and get the swing a little flatter.

2. Place the ball slightly further back in your stance, but be prepared for the ball coming out a little lower and with a bit more bite than before.

3. Most importantly, attack the ball from the inside. Imagine the ball is a cube (regular listeners to our show will have heard this one before) and try and strike the corner closest to your right foot. This will incourage an in to out swing path and hopefully banish the hit off the toe.

4. Remember the importance of the follow through. Feel as if you are throwing the club away from your body rather than trying to get it around your body too soon. Always have a nice full follow through because the intent to do so will influence the rest of the swing and help tempo and quality of strike.

Best of luck.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Irons on the Toe

Problem with 'toe' shots is that they can be caused by a number of things but to start, you need to know if the club is inside or outside the line at impact.

Ball flight rules 101 - check the swing path. From that an experienced golf instructor can trace the problem back 'up' the swing to the source. Most problems in mid and high handicappers are around the transition or at address.

Reading your first post gain, I see your path to impact is closer to your feet than the backswing. That's an inside-outside swing path.

Now, if that swing path is too far to the inside you will toe it. It only takes a fraction of an inch tarvel to the inside and you'll impact at the toe. I like to use visual aids to explain golf mechanics. You address the ball in the middle of the club head at address, right? Now, take it back a 3 or 4 inches and stop. Pull the club towards you an inch ... now push it back to the ball - see how impact has moved to the toe?

That's why you're hitting it off the toe - you're approaching impact too far on the inside.

I don't like band-aid cures, but address the club slightly to the hosel or at the hosel and you should centre-hit it everytime until you've grooved the correct swing path.
To cure your problem long-term, you should now understand why you're toeing it (see above). To sort the problem out, you need to be aware of the correct swing path, both on the backswing and downswing. Your ideal swing path is inside-square-inside, that will result in a straight shot.

To visualise the correct swing path, get 2 clubs to use a guide, your 7-iron and a golf ball. Put the golf ball down on the ground. Place 1 golf club on the ground a foot behind the ball with the grip-end facing the ball. Put the other guide club a foot in front of the ball also with the grip-end facing the ball. Both guide clubs should be in line with the target. They should make a straight line to the target with the golf ball in the middle.

Now address the golf ball with your 7-iron. On the backswing the club needs to move to the club behind, pass over the end of the grip and then up on the backswing. On the downswing, it needs to travel back to the club, pass over the end of the grip and back to the ball. After impact, the club should move to the forward club, pass over the end of the grip and up to the finish.

Practice this often, using slow swings to groove the feeling.

On the course follow the correct swing path by making a note of a mark or something in the grass a foot behind and a foot in front.

A final bit of advice: the shorter the club, the more it needs to pass over the grip. For instance a PW should pass over most the grip because the swing path is much straighter and swing plane far more upright.

Ok?