Hands at address

[Ian Hancock]

I have a question that you may be able to help with:

Should the hands be ahead of the ball with the driver at address or impact??.

I have been looking at some books over the weekend and notice on the pro swings section they all look different at address, some behind, some level, some in front.

I am now questioning my position, and no I am not going to tell you what mine is, I will look at your answers and draw my own conclusions.


Thanks


Ian.

[gord962]

Re: Hands at address

Hi Ian,

I would have to say no. I tried to have my hands in front for my driver but I found this caused too many problems. Also, because the ball position on the driver is father forward, I found it uncomfortable and awkward to keep doing this.

[GregJWillis]

Re: Hands at address

Simply keep the left arm aligned with you left shoulder and shaft - all 1 line. Whereever you put your ball position will dictate if your hands are in front. Most of the time your hands will be in front if your ball position is anywhere near the middle or even a littel forward. It's when the ball position goes realy forward like on high shot setups or the driver where you will see the hands just about on top of the ball. All this is ok as long you are not letting the club beat the hands to the ball at impact. Proper rotation of the shoulder through and the hips in a good "belly-at-the-target" position before impact will take care of that.

[dlaville]

Re: Hands at address

I have a question that you may be able to help with:

Should the hands be ahead of the ball with the driver at address or impact??.

I have been looking at some books over the weekend and notice on the pro swings section they all look different at address, some behind, some level, some in front.

I am now questioning my position, and no I am not going to tell you what mine is, I will look at your answers and draw my own conclusions.

Where your hands are at address is up to you and the procedure you adopt. Hitters setup with their hands ahead of the ball so they can maintain the rigidity of the bent right wrist through out the swing. Swingers usually set up with their hands more centered and behind the ball and flow into a bent right wrist in the backswing. Swingers also have the option of setting up with their hands ahead of the ball like a hitter. This position is usually referred to as the forward press and its advantage is it gives the golfer the look and feel of what he's trying to achieve at impact.

What matters most is where your hands are at impact. Many people disagree with me on this but your hands should be slightly ahead of the ball with the driver. Here is a picture of Tiger moments before impact. Note his hands are even with the ball, not behind it like most people are led to believe they should be to hit up on the ball;



All his mechanical effort is driving the ball forward, the loft of the club is doing the lifting.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Hands at address

Ian,

I don't think there is a hard-and-fast rule. Every golfer has to execute aspects of the swing in their own way, provided the fundementals remain intact. Position of the hands when driving the ball is one of those "negotiable" things.

I like seeing players with slow swings have the hands a little bit behind the ball at address and impact. It helps them release the club knowing that the the club a bit ahead of the hands and arms anyway, much like an offset on a club. It also adds to the effective loft the driver that will add to launch angle - which is critial for slow swingers. They need a lanuch of angle of between 12 and 14 degrees.

For quick swingers, getting the club to catch up with the arms and hips isn't normally a problem. They also need a lower launch angle because of their higher ball speed, so they may need to de-loft their driver. Hands ahead at impact will help them keep control.

Tourning pros with clubhead speeds of 115mph + have about 6-degrees forward angle (hands ahead). Players with swing speeds of less than 80mph should have 6 degrees reverse angle (hands behind). Both measurements are with a 9-degree driver. Work out from there for higher or lower lofted drivers and more/less club head speed.

My advice: if you strike the ball well, you're happy with the distance and flight of the ball - why worry about it?