Distance From Ball

Ive Been Hitting Alot Off Toe Hooks Most Of The Time They Dont Even Get Off The Ground I Have Questions About The Distance You Set Up From The Ball If Your To Close What Kind Of Shot Will It Produce And If Your To Far Away What Kind Of Shot Will It Produce Is It Possible Im Standinf To Far Away From The Ball Causing Me To Hit Toe Hooks

You've pretty much got it.

If you're too close (crowding the ball), your arms will naturally move away from your body, making for either a) heel shots, or a big out to in move to compensate (resulting in a pull or pull slice).

If you're too far away (reaching for the ball), your arms move in to your body, making for a toe mishit - and all sorts of things can go wrong. You can lose a ball almost like a shank, you can sometimes get away with a weak push, sometimes the gear effect actually has the ball hook on you, and sometimes you get a straight shot - it all depends on how the clubhead moved during impact.

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For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Thanks For Explaining So It Sounds Like Im To Far Away And Pulling The Club Into My Body With The It Already Released Wich Would Be A Toe Hit With A Closed
Clubface Right? So Do You Think This Is Mainly A Set Up Problem
Or Is There Other Areas To Look Into

I would say the toe hits are mainly a setup problem, yes.

I struggle from time to time with reaching.

The only way I get around it is to conciously relax my shoulders. My hands feel too close to my body, but my ball striking tells me otherwise.

Thanks For The Help
I Ll Spend Some Time Setting Up Before I Make The Swing Instead Of Just Walking Up And Hitting It

I struggle with this as well. It creeps up on me. One thing I try to do is examine the club face after each shot (except off the tee, of course), to see where the grass mark is. That tells me if I'm hitting close to the toe, even if I managed a decent shot.

If I'm reaching, I'm also bending too far forward. So I try to adjust my posture so that I'm as upright as possible, but keeping (a) spine straight, and (b) arms hanging and shoulders relaxed. I find that the "butler's bow" helps a lot--a way of bowing toward the ball as if I were a butler. The spine stays straight and the bow isn't deep.

I also find that when I get it right my hands feel just a little closer than they "should", but that's the distance that works.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

When You Guys Fall Into This Bad Habbit Do You Roll Them And Hit Low Toe Hooks

Thankfully, my balls don't skip on the gound anymore. I have noticed though, that (on my short irons especially) I do sometimes catch the ball towards the heel, about half a ball mark inwards.

I think its because, in my mind, I want to come steep on the short irons.

When I'm reaching I hit a lot of toe shanks.

sounds more like a posture and weight problem. keep your back straight so you can rotate without moving up and down. concentrate on keeping your weight on the balls of your feet. with good posture and weight balance ball position is a given.

Here is a tip I find quite useful. Take usual address position,lower left hand until butt end of club rests against left knee ,if it touches just above kneecap you are correct distance from ball.