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how far to choke down on golf club

by Estel O'Reilly Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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The amount that you choke down on the grip of the club is a matter of personal preference, but you will probably want to come down at least an inch or two from the top. However, be careful not to come down too far as the club will start to feel lighter as you keep moving down the grip.

In general, start by choking up one inch on the club and see how it affects your shot shape and distance. Then, try out another inch. The more you grip down on the club, the closer you will need to stand to make up for it but otherwise, no real adjustment is needed.

Full Answer

How do you hit a choke down Golf Club?

May 06, 2020 · When you choke down on your driver, you should notice the loss of around 20 yards but an increase in accuracy. Final Thoughts. As you can see, choking down on the golf club can have a major impact on your ball flight and can be a …

Does choking down on a golf club increase accuracy?

Feb 20, 2019 · If you need to take a few yards off the typical distance that you would get from a given club, you can choke down. For example, if you usually hit your 7-iron 150-yards, but you need to hit a 145-yard shot, you could choke down an inch or two and make a comfortable swing.

Should you choke up on your clubs when playing in the wind?

The amount that you choke down on the grip of the club is a matter of personal preference, but you will probably want to come down at least an inch or two from the top. However, be careful not to come down too far as the club will start to feel lighter as you keep moving down the grip. Feeling the weight of the club head is important during your chipping motion, so it would not be …

What does choking down on the club mean?

Mar 24, 2022 · How Choking Down Affects Your Swing. Helps Reduce Backspin. Gives You More Control. Allows You to Control the Distance. Helps You Hit Into the Wind. Helps You Get Out of Tight Spaces. Our Final Thoughts. As a golfing beginner, you are probably learning all the new terms to get yourself familiar with the game. Golf is usually a very boring game ...

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Is it good to choke up on golf club?

Choking up on iron shots can boost your greens-in-regulation percentage (GIR) – a great way to lower your scores. You'll make better contact, of course, and your misses won't sail as far off line. You may also achieve a lower ball flight, a big advantage in windy conditions.

How much yardage does choking down take off?

Not knowing how hard or fast you swing, it is difficult to say categorically that you will get less distance, but it is generally accepted that choking down an inch on the grip will reduce your distance by 10 to 15 yards. You can put this to good use when working out the yardage to a particular hole.

Will choking down on driver Help?

Choking down on your driver is also a good method when you need to play a tee shot into the wind. The speed of your swing will be reduced when you choke down, which means your spin rate should be reduced as well.May 10, 2017

Does choking down on golf club decrease distance?

Part of a video titled How Much Distance Does Choking Down in Your Golf Swing Cost?
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I think you need to go out and practice this yourself but rule of thumb is you know for every inchMoreI think you need to go out and practice this yourself but rule of thumb is you know for every inch maybe five to ten percent of what your actual swing is going to be or what your actual distance is

Should you choke down on long irons?

Part of a video titled When to Choke Down on the Golf Club - YouTube
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And the landing angle dropped about five degrees when i grip down the club. So with the pitchingMoreAnd the landing angle dropped about five degrees when i grip down the club. So with the pitching wedge. And the seven iron when i grip down on the club. Both flew a lot lower more piercing. Lower

Does choking down on golf club change swing weight?

Choking down lightens the club's swingweight and effectively makes the shaft stiffer. It also makes it difficult to hit the ball high enough for all situations.Mar 4, 2009

Should I choke down chipping?

As for your body, remember as you choke down: Don't hunch your upper body. Instead, choke down with your hands, and get your body lower by adding more flex in the knees, as opposed to hunching over.Mar 16, 2010

What does it mean when you choke down on a golf club?

Obviously, if you are going to choke down on your club – which means moving your hands down the grip at address – you need to have a good reason. If there wasn’t anything to gain by choking down, after all, you would just keep your standard grip and hit a normal shot. So, what can you gain by choking down?

When to use a choke down shot?

Choke down shots are also used often when the wind is blowing. A shot played with your hands down the grip will usually come out lower and fly lower as it heads toward the target. That’s a great thing when the wind is blowing and making it difficult to move the ball around the course accurately.

When you make a full swing while keeping your hands up at the top of the club, you are likely to produce

When you make a full swing while keeping your hands up at the top of the club, you are likely to produce a significant amount of backspin. That is particularly true if you are hitting a short iron from a fairway lie.

Is a golf club shorter than a normal swing?

Remember – the club is now effectively shorter than it would be for a normal swing. That means you don’t have as much club between your hands and the ground, so you will need to do a good job of staying down through impact if you are going to make clean contact.

Should you cut the finish of a golf swing?

If you are choking down as a way of hitting the ball lower, it’s a good idea to cut off the finish of the swing. Rather than swinging all the way up to a full finish with the club wrapped around your back, cut it off on the way through and finish with the club out in front of your body.

Is golf boring?

Golf would be a pretty boring game if you hit every single shot the exact same way. It’s the variety of the game that makes it interesting. The fact that you need to be able to produce many different shots in order to rise to the various challenges you’ll encounter on the course is what makes this game so addicting.

How to hit the ball higher?

As you would probably guess, hitting the ball higher can be accomplished by moving the ball up closer to your left foot while keeping the rest of your swing the same. Maintain light grip pressure. No matter where your hands are on the club, they should always be holding on with a light grip pressure.

How to use a golf club?

Because the hands are the only direct contact a player has with the club, it's imperative nothing is left to chance. 1 Place the club face behind the ball, keeping it square to your intended target. 2 Firstly, let the grip run through the base of the left hand (for right handed golfers). The grip should begin at the joint of the little finger and run through the hand until it goes through the middle of the index finger. 3 After the grip has been placed correctly, wrap the left hand over on top of the grip. 4 When looking down on the left hand, players should be able to see two and a half knuckles. The V shape made by the thumb and index of the left hand should point towards the right shoulder. 5 Depending on which method you prefer, the right hand joins the left hand on the grip with either a ten fingered (baseball), interlocking or overlap grip. 6 The right hand sits on the grip with the left thumb covered by the base of the right thumb. 7 The V shape made by the right thumb and forefinger should also point at the right shoulder.

What is a grip in golf?

However, the word 'grip' in the golf world can also refer to the actual piece of rubber that is on your club.

Which hand is the V shape?

The V shape made by the thumb and index of the left hand should point towards the right shoulder. Depending on which method you prefer, the right hand joins the left hand on the grip with either a ten fingered (baseball), interlocking or overlap grip. The right hand sits on the grip with the left thumb covered by the base of the right thumb.

What is a neutral grip?

Although each player has their own unique way of holding a club, it is widely acknowledged a neutral grip is the one most likely to give the most success to golfers across the board. Before changing or adopting any particular type of grip, ...

What happens when you choke down on a golf club?

When you choke down on the club by half-inch or an inch, your shot into the green has precision. You can also start with the tee shot by choking down to gain more time to develop a strategy.

Why do you choke down on a 9 iron?

As mentioned earlier, the primary purpose of choking down is to reduce the distance. It’s the same as using a 9-iron which is shorter than your 6-iron. They affect the distance but if you choke down on bigger iron, you will achieve the same results.

The Test

Based on the success I had going with a shorter driver, I was interested to see what kind of results I would get if I choked down a bit on my irons.

Sand Wedge

Hitting full shots with my sand wedge surprisingly did not alter my ball flight all too much. Here were some of my key findings:

Seven Iron

My dispersion was tighter in both directions. I had better distance control (8 yards between shortest/longest shot vs 13 yards). Looking at my dispersion left to right, I also had a tighter dispersion of about 10 yards.

Four Iron

With the longest iron in my bag I started to notice even more significant changes:

Driver

Just for fun, I did try to grip down on my driver. My shaft is already shortened down to 44”, which is about 1 ½” to 2” shorter than standard. It’s been one of the greatest changes I’ve made with my clubs. It has given me more accuracy off the tee without sacrificing too much distance.

How I Will Use This Information

After I had performed this test I had a bit more confidence over what I can expect when choking down on my irons. It’s not something I really ever did during rounds, but I tried it out several times on the course since then.

What Can You Learn From This

I want to reiterate that not all of you will see the same results as me. However, doing tests like these helps remove question marks in your golf game. If I can get reliable data on how making these small changes will affect my ball flight, I’ll have more confidence on the course.

How to shorten the length of a golf club?

By moving your hands up the grip toward the club head (or down the grip, depending on how you look at it), you can shorten the effective length of the club, making it easier to hit the ball solidly.

Why is practice important in golf?

Practice is important when learning how to choke up on the club just like it is important when learning any other skill on the course . Many players think that they can just move their hands down a couple of inches and swing away, but there is a little more to it than that.

Feedback

OK, I know one response will be regarding changing shaft stiffness and/or swing weight changes, but on my 4 hybrid and 5-/7-woods, I kill the ball repeatedly, consistently when I choke down to almost the bottom of the grips, which has me thinking, why not just cut down the shaft (yea, ~3 inches at least) and simply grip normally? I mean, the comparison of shot making with holding the grip normal vs choking down is night and day.

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