Major swing flaw diagnosed - Hitting from extreme toe. Help!

[Moleman]

I've been really dissatisfied with the quality of my ball striking for a long time now, my handicap has been coming down but that has been down to real improvement in my short game and putting and in spite of how poorly I've been striking the ball, hooks with the driver and inconsistent distance and ball flight, especially with the longer irons.

 

Had a lesson recently and apart from being slightly steep no major swing flaws, very frustrating.. Few days ago at the range I marked the clubface for the first time and was shocked with how extremely out on the toe I was striking the ball with every club in the bag! And when I say toe I mean just about catching the ball on the edge of the clubface level of extreme!

 

Back at the range today and exact same scenario. As a quick fix I started to address the ball from the hozel at setup and it made a huge difference, the ball came off the face with much softer feeling and the ball travelled longer and higher, felt great, amazing how much nicer it feels to hit the ball in the middle of the clubface! :)

 

When I checked with the spray I'm still hitting from the toe but at least all the ball marks were on the grooves this time! Any good fixes for this issue and also any problem with continuing to address the ball from the heel? I'm actually trying to hit the ball with the hozel and am still well towards to toe side of center.

 

 

 

[naj959]

If your pro couldn't diagnose your toe hits then you need a new pro. Doesn't sound like he's worth your money. I also hit it off the toe from time to time and its usually when the club is off plane which I try and compensate for.

[lv_2_hack]

Post a video.

[CaddiesFault]

Here's a drill for repeated toe strikes:

 

Put a tee all the way into the ground(you will set up to this tee like a ball is there). Put a 2nd tee all the way in the ground 3-4 inches father away from you(just past the toe of the club). Set up to the one closest to you, and swing at the outside one. Don't make any adjustments to your setup or swing to hit the outside tee, just try to fully extend to the 2nd tee. do this for a couple minutes, and then hit some balls. Repeat a couple times.

 

Good luck!

[Moleman]

I’ll give it a try, thanks!

[sigep1967]

Here's a drill for repeated toe strikes:

 

Put a tee all the way into the ground(you will set up to this tee like a ball is there). Put a 2nd tee all the way in the ground 3-4 inches father away from you(just past the toe of the club). Set up to the one closest to you, and swing at the outside one. Don't make any adjustments to your setup or swing to hit the outside tee, just try to fully extend to the 2nd tee. do this for a couple minutes, and then hit some balls. Repeat a couple times.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

This will definitely help I have always struck the ball toe side. Something along this line of a drill helped me but I used a ball. Just set up with the ball either on toe side of club or outside of club even and make yourself reach for it.

[pearsonified]

I have battled two bouts of "extreme toe misses" over the past 2 seasons.

 

The first time around, I used the tee drill suggested by CaddiesFault and also other props (towels, headcovers, etc) to keep me from leading with the toe.

 

None of these approaches spoke directly to a cure, though.

 

The second time around, I figured out that I simply needed to reorient the strike portion of my swing. Let me explain:

 

When I was missing shots on the toe side, I was also releasing the club well after impact. In other words, the low point of my swing was well out in front of the ball and above the ground.

 

At impact, the club face was open, the dynamic loft was too high, and the strike was too steep. In order to keep from driving the club straight into the ground, my left side would "pull" a bit through the impact zone, exposing the toe and significantly weakening the strike.

 

I also found it nearly impossible to "hit down" on the ball from this position (or perhaps more accurately, with this improper strike orientation).

 

The solution is to move the low point to the proper position; in turn, this reorients the release and thus the entire strike portion of the swing.

 

**********

 

Ironically, I'm currently going through strike reorientation training to get my release happening properly and at the right time.

 

After 4 solid months of weak toe strikes and an incorrect approach to impact, a proper release feels like I am shooting the club straight into the ground through my right shoulder.

 

I don't recall whether it was Malaska or someone else who said it in a video, but the bottom line is that the strike/release happens MUCH sooner in golf than it does in baseball.

 

My swing had gone in the baseball direction, but I needed to "hit" much earlier to strike the golf ball more effectively.

 

**********

 

In summary, I think you are probably due for some strike reorientation training of your own, and I'd bet you simply need to "hit" the ball much sooner than you currently are.

 

Try hitting down on the ball with an 8-iron and seeing [1] how crisply you can strike the ball and [2] how low you can launch it with a clean strike.

[Moleman]

Ok, I know I'll probably overcook this soon but I've never hit the ball better in my entire life..

 

Since I made this topic I've played two comps at my club, ive tried my best to shank the ball with every single swing and the outcome is flushed shots right out of the middle of the clubface, my two best ever scores and two subsequent cuts to my handicap!

 

 

As I'm now hitting the dead centre of the club rather than the toe the ball is travelling higher, straighter and about 10-15 yards longer! :)

 

 

It's going to be so depressing when it comes to an end and I actually start shanking the ball for real! :(

 

 

[naj959]

As soon as you say the s word they appear. Kind of like saying beetlejuice 3 times haha. I had a bout of the shanks not to long ago with my woods. I can attest that it is possible to shank a 460cc driver. Talk about embarrassing. Figured out that I can't pull the handle in transition or its shank city.

[mahonie]

I was at a clinic at my club a few years ago and the pro asked what my bad miss was. I said I hit out of the toe occasionally so he got me hitting a few shots. After I’d hit three he said stand half-inch closer to the ball and feel that you are pulling further to the left on your follow through. After a couple of scabby duck hooks, I got a feel for what he was saying and felt that sweet sensation of pouring a baby draw down the range. For the next few weeks I hit the ball as well as I’ve ever hit it...until the old habits crept back in. To get the feeling back, I practice with an old MacGregor 2-iron from the 1970s and I soon get it back.

[gsrjc]

Try standing closer to the ball.