Hit ball on toe of 9i, chipping. Not good, or OK?

[jobin]

Did some chipping with the 9i, rather new clubs for me with graphite shafts. After 20 shots, i noticed the big grass buildup on the toe (see photo). It's been a while for my golf practice so probably not making a perfect strike.

But how serious is this when chipping and will this problem feed into my full swing?

 

What's the root cause of this pattern?

 

[jpt1101]

When I’m chipping I find I frequently hit the ball off of the toe of my club. I have the same question as this earlier post I found for a similar question. What is causing me to hit the toe on chips?  Is it my hands too far behind (shafting leaning away from the target) at impact?  Too much of an out to in path?  Club too far outside on my takeaway?  Thanks. 

[Railroading13]

That wear pattern is sometimes similar to mine, I’m not sure why that is

[bladehunter]

What happens with pw?   It’s either lie angle or length. Or both.  I have a standard length ping lob wedge that has a brown spot on the toe.  The answer there was length.  I can’t play standard length wedges.  I can’t reach the ball. 
 

you possibly could get along with the iron set except the short irons.  My pw and 9 iron is same length for this very reason.   

[dfeldss]

I favor the toe when chipping and pitching too. Never could figure out why. Can make it work usually, but when you do happen to actually catch the middle of the face it can problematic. 

[SNIPERBBB]

22 minutes ago, dfeldss said:

I favor the toe when chipping and pitching too. Never could figure out why. Can make it work usually, but when you do happen to actually catch the middle of the face it can problematic. 

ball comes off softer when it comes off the toe. Handy when chipping out of the rough where you want to guard against getting a jumper.

[bladehunter]

56 minutes ago, dfeldss said:

I favor the toe when chipping and pitching too. Never could figure out why. Can make it work usually, but when you do happen to actually catch the middle of the face it can problematic. 

Right. But I read his comment to mean it wasn’t on purpose.  Most get that on purpose with a chip because they choke down and play the shaft vertical , which puts the club toe down.  I assumed he wasn’t choking down .     A lot of players don’t choke down and toe down.    I guess he needs to clarify.  If he’s choking down with a vertical shaft , there’s no other place to hit it than the toe 

[dfeldss]

3 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Right. But I read his comment to mean it wasn’t on purpose.  Most get that on purpose with a chip because they choke down and play the shaft vertical , which puts the club toe down.  I assumed he wasn’t choking down .     A lot of players don’t choke down and toe down.    I guess he needs to clarify.  If he’s choking down with a vertical shaft , there’s no other place to hit it than the toe 

 

Oh i don't do it on purpose either, but just learned to go with it. Feel dumb but i've never really thought about shaft position and choking down as reasons. I'll have to play with that next time I'm on the chipping green

[bladehunter]

1 minute ago, dfeldss said:

 

Oh i don't do it on purpose either, but just learned to go with it. Feel dumb but i've never really thought about shaft position and choking down as reasons. I'll have to play with that next time I'm on the chipping green

Cool. I’m not trying to be “ right “. Just curious because this is a puzzle I had to solve as a beginner .  You can sort of test length suitability by adopting a temporary super wide stance . ( assuming you aren’t choking down )  That will get you closer to the ball and almost always move contact , probably toward the heel. If it does. You might do with a fitting for length and lie in the short irons.  

[dfeldss]

8 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

Cool. I’m not trying to be “ right “. Just curious because this is a puzzle I had to solve as a beginner .  You can sort of test length suitability by adopting a temporary super wide stance . ( assuming you aren’t choking down )  That will get you closer to the ball and almost always move contact , probably toward the heel. If it does. You might do with a fitting for length and lie in the short irons.  

 

Yeah i think a lie/length fitting would do me good. I got a new LW a few weeks ago and ordered it 2 flat just to see how I'd like it and i definitely like it better already. Never been fit before so couldn't hurt

[MattC555]

This is something I can fall into.  Generally my chipping motion gets a little out to in causing toe strikes.  I don't like it, as it reduces launch angle.  Chips come out low and spinny.  If you're using a bladed type wedge you'll be able to feel the difference between the toe strike and one off the middle.  I'll take middle or a bit heel side any day of the week.

 

Toe side does have its place though.  If I'm doing a little bump and run I'll put the toe slightly down and intentionally hit a bit toe side.  Gets it rolling faster and the club moves through the rough easier. 

[jpt1101]

Thanks everyone. I don’t choke down or put the toe down. I may  be swinging out to in on the downswing if I had to guess. I’m not hitting it toe side on purpose. 

[bulls9999]

When I have a delicate chip shot in the rough, I've always tipped the toe down (knowing I'm changing the direction the face is facing), but it comes out cleaner with just the toe going in after the ball.  It's just something I experimented with after flubbing some chips with deep grass.  I've used this method for years, posted about it and got ridiculed, and then all of a sudden, I see a Phil Mickelson tip a few months back that specifically pointed out that method of toe down (less likely to get snagged from using the entire face), even though Phil uses it on tight lies on grass that grabs the club face.  Vindicated!!!

 

 

[Gsea]

Pros will tell you that you make a living off the toe around the greens