Lie Angle Adjustments

[Evil R1]

Should I bother?

I've been playing for almost a year now, and took lessons all summer last year. My swing is OK, it works, definately could use improvement, but I currently play in the mid to upper 90's for 18 holes.

I was looking at maybe trading in my BB04's for some X-18's. I went and got sized and found that my lie angle was about 2º flat. This doesn't make alot of sense to me, b/c I would think if I was missing flat, I would be pulling the ball more since I would be digging the heal of the club into the ground. When I miss, it seems to be a bit of a push.

Also, when I first started playing, I was digging the toe on most of my shots, and now a year later, my fitting would indicate I'm digging the heal in. So, my lie angle is something that I would assume will change as my swing gets better / evolves. Is that normally he case, or if I'm hitting the ball well at 2º flat now, chances are even after I refine my swing even more, it will still be 2º flat?

My concern is that I just don't want to puchase new clubs or modify my existing equipment to hide a flaw in my swing and never get better. I would rather address/resolve that swing flaw now.

[taylormadefan]

If your lie angles are too far upright, you are right, the normal miss is a pull left. However, golfers have an uncanny ability to alter their swings to mask flaws in equipment. Typically these end up being the opposite of what the normal miss should be. So it's not too far fetched that your miss is a push.

 

BTW, the reason your irons miss left isn't because the heel of the club digs into the ground. It's because an upright iron is aimed that way. The more loft a club has, the greater the effect of an improper lie angle will be. Take your PW and hold a pencil in the center of the face so it mimics the way a ball would come off. Sole it perfectly flat on the ground and notice how it aims dead straight. Now stick the toe way up (upright club), notice how the path points to the left? Then stick the heel way up (too flat a club) look how the club points right. Now try it with your 3 iron. Notice how the pencil points pretty straight even though the club may be upright or flat? The more lofted a club is, the more you need to get it fit for lie if you want to be accurate with it.

 

No matter what your handicap is, if you make good contact with the ball and turf, IMHO, I think you can benefit from a dynamic fitting, especially in the wedges and short irons. Depending on your swing changes you're planning to make, if you make drastic changes in posture and plane, you might want to wait until those are set.

 

Fitting your irons to your swing won't mask flaws, it will improve your accuracy and scoring. It's like purchasing a shoe, you wouldn't buy an shoe two sizes too large right? :)