Toe Shots
by Jimbo
My clubs are properly fitted and I don't feel I am standing too far from the ball. Hitting pretty solidly. My swing speed with a 7 iron is about 87mph. Could it be that I am letting my right hand turn down at impact? I don't know else to try! Thanks, Jimbo. Louis Reply The major reason for toe hits is an outside to inside swing path. I can only suggest you check each of the following areas to find exactly where your problem lies. You need to go back to your basics firstly, Your Set up If you stand too far from the ball, the reaching of your arms will force them to swing inwards on the down swing, creating an outside in swing path and a toe hit. On the other hand standing too close to the ball can also force the arms to swing down from outside target line causing a toe hit. To get your hands the correct distance from your body at address check to see if the top of the grip is aligned with under you right arm pit. Another area to check is your balance. If your weight moves toward your toes or heels during the swing it will affect the plane of your arm swing and cause those toe hits. Aligning your body too far to the Right of Target This is another major cause of a toe hit. The arm swing is diverted on the down swing to swing to the intended target which is left of your body aim causing the arms to swing back to impact from outside to inside of your body alignment. Aiming too much to the right of your target can also cause the dreaded "reverse" weight shift action associated with falling back with the body to the right side on the down swing. The left side then turns out of the way too much (left), which pulls the club across the target line into impact and a toe hit can result. Most of these causes I have mentioned encourage an early release of the wrists and club in the down swing. You need to focus on how you can produce and inside to outside swing path and here is a good exercise for this. Hit some shots with a 7 iron and the ball teed up. Imagine the ball is your wrist watch. Focus your eyes on the area between the 3 and 6 of your watch. This will be the inside quadrant area of your ball. That is the part of the ball you want to strike at impact helping you to create the inside to out swing path. The feeling you will experience is the club will be swinging through impact to the right of your target line, the arms following and up to above a left shoulder finish. Practice with slow swings while maintaining good timing and rhythm and I am sure you will be back to striking it solid again. Here is another tip which might sound strange, but it works for encouraging an outside to inside swing path. Address the ball in the heel of the club head. Although this may assist you in taking the club away a little outside on the way back it will give you space to swing down to impact from an inside path. |
