Club Fitting: Lie Angle

Video Transcript

Hi, I am Stan Sayers, Director of Instruction at McGetrick Golf Academy and today I am going to talk to you about club fitting and specifically lie angle and how it effects direction and how it effects what you do with your golf clubs. Here we have an interesting little tool that was invented at Henry Griffiths. Here I have a sand wedge and below I have a 2-iron, they are set on top of each other to help you see direction. Notice that as this club sits flat on the ground you can see how this shaft comes right out of the head and that would give you a straight ball flight. We are talking about lie angle at impact not at address. Usually address is going to be a little bit toe up, not always, but most of the time. Notice also that as this club sits, we have the 2-iron down here, both clubs are going the same direction. As I get the club too upright, that means it would land on its heel, look at the direction of the ball and which one is most effected. The sand wedge is most effected. For every degree of loft too upright you will be eight feet left of the target. So if I am three degrees too upright in my sand wedge I am 20 four feet left of the target on a perfect shot. You can imagine how much manipulation you will go through to hit your shots. What will happen is I am like this in order to hit it straight I am going to open the face. I just got done hitting my sand wedge on the last hole and now I have a driver to hit on the next hole. Can you see what you might really be doing? Can you understand why you might really push a lot of shots if your clubs are too upright? Vice versa, if they are too flat and they land down this way a ball on a perfect shot 20 four feet right of the hole I have to turn it to get it straight. Now I get a low hook because I am really shutting the face of the driver on the next hole trying to compensate for the last swing that I just had. The way you do this is you get your club fitter, he will put tape on the bottom and then you will land and hit that club on a board. As it lands at impact he will be able to read the mark and then he can give you a dissection of exactly what your clubs are doing. It will be like reading your own personal history. That will really help you enhance your game.