How much should you choke up on the club?
Gripping down on the golf club an inch or more from the butt of the shaft – called “choking up” or “gripping down” -- can greatly improve your accuracy. Several prominent pros, including Anthony Kim and Sergio Garcia, choke up on almost every shot, even with the driver. Of course, they generate tremendous clubhead speed, so losing a ...
How do you choke up a golf club?
May 06, 2020 · As an example, if you normally hit your 7-iron at a hundred fifty yards, but you want to hit it at 144 yards, you can choke down a couple of inches on your iron and take a more comfortable swing. Instead of trying to hit with your 8-iron as hard as you possibly can, you can choke down on a 7-iron instead.
Does choking down on a golf club increase accuracy?
May 23, 2012 · By gripping down on the golf club, what we’re actually talking about is choking up, so you grip down on the club by maybe an inch. You might feel you lose about 5 to 10 yards of your shot, but you should gain a bit more control.
How much should you choke up on your driver swings?
Pin Location - If the pin is located way up in the front of the green you will want to go down a club. If it's located in the back of the green that can mean going up a club. If possible, use a GPS or pin location sheet so that you can get an accurate measurement. Wind Direction - It goes without saying that if you have a 10 mph downwind you ...
Should I choke up on my long irons?
How many yards does choking down on golf club?
Should I choke down on my driver?
Does choking up on golf club help?
When should you choke up on golf club?
How far down should a golf club shaft be?
Does choking down on golf club change swing weight?
Why do golfers choke down on their clubs?
The most common reason a golfer will choke down on the club is to reduce the distance of a shot. If you want to take a few yards off your usual distance that you get from your club, then choke down on it. As an example, if you normally hit your 7-iron at a hundred fifty yards, but you want to hit it at 144 yards, ...
Why do you chok down on your golf club?
If you’re dealing with high wind conditions, then choking down on your shots can also help. When you hit a shot with the hands positioned low down on the grip, they tend to come out lower and will fly lower as they move toward the target. That’s the best thing about choking down on your club when the wind is blowing. Doing so, allows the ball to move around the course more accurately.
How much distance do you lose on a 4 iron?
When you use your 4-iron you’ll notice some significant changes. You’ll lose around 10 yards for most of your shots. Your ball flight will be about 12 feet lower. In both directions, dispersion should be slightly tighter. When you choke down on a 4-iron and it will reduce the backspin you can get on your ball, which is why you’ll gain so much distance.
How does choking down affect swing?
If you’re new to the game, you may not even know what choking down on the club means. When you have a good iron in your hands, you can choke down on a club by moving your hands down the grip at address, in order to reduce the distance of a shot. However, there are other possibilities ...
How far can you hit a 7 iron without choking down?
When you choke down on a 7-iron your ball flight will be lowered about 5 to 6 feet , however, you’ll have almost identical spin rates.
How many yards does it take to choke down a driver?
When you choke down on your driver, you should notice the loss of around 20 yards but an increase in accuracy.
What to ask before you choke down on your club?
Before you decide to choke down on your club ask yourself if you need to take some distance off your shot. Do you need to hit the ball lower?
Why do you choke up on the golf club?
If you’ve been struggling with your ball striking, or you are just having trouble breaking through to the next level of performance on the course, consider changing things up by choking up on the club a bit. As long as you are willing to put in some practice time at the range, this change could wind up being one of the best things you have done for your game.
What is the importance of choking up on a golf club?
What is essential, however, is the ability to control your shots. If choking up on the club means you will gain control but lose a little bit of distance, that’s a trade you should strongly consider making. Feel. There is a potential issue that you are likely to encounter with regard to the feel of the club.
How to hit golf ball when choked up?
Fight the wind. One of the best things about being able to hit quality shots while choked up on the club is having the ability to deal with windy conditions. The wind can make playing the game of golf quite complicated, and rather frustrating. By choking up, you should be able to hit the ball lower, meaning the wind won’t have as much of an impact on your game. It’s still going to be difficult to play as well in the wind as you can on a calm day but keeping the ball down by choking up is a big step in the right direction.
How to improve your golf swing while choked up?
So, as you start hitting some shots while choked up on the club, be sure to pay attention to how your swing has changed – and what changes you are seeing in your ball flight. Paying attention to detail is another one of those practice habits that can go a long way toward improving your performance. Is the ball flight the same height as it does when you use the entire club? Does the club feel different? Are your shots curving in an unexpected direction? You may be able to keep track of all of these things mentally, or you might prefer to use a notebook to track how your game is progressing. It is worth noting that some of the changes you see may be negative – and that’s okay. Don’t give up just because you notice one or two things that you don’t like. It’s worth giving this technique a fair shake before you decide whether or not it is going to benefit your game in the long run.
What hand is the left hand on a golf club?
For a full swing, the typical golfer will simply grab the end of the club and get to work. For a right-handed player, that means the left hand is going to be all the way up at the top of the grip.
How do you feel when you put your hands on a golf club?
When you have your hands at the top of the grip, you feel the entire weight of the club at address, and during the swing. As you start to move your hands down the grip, however, some of that feel goes away.
Do you have to choke up on the club in order to play good golf?
Do you have to choke up on the club in order to play good golf? Of course not. Plenty of players keep their hands at the top of the club most – or all – of the time and fare just fine. With that said, if you are interested in elevating your game to a new level, the time you spend on the range working on this skill is going to be well spent. We hope the information provided in this article will be helpful as you work toward expanding your variety of shots. Good luck!
How to decide if you should go with more or less clubs?
When trying to decide if you should go with more or less club make sure to factor in the pin location, wind direction and elevation change. Then, based on your personality, what you feel more comfortable doing and what you have rehearsed on the practice range, make the best decision you can and stick with it. Whether you are going with more club and swinging easy or going with less and swinging hard, make sure to make a committed golf swing with a complete finish to avoid decelerating.
Where is the pin on a golf club?
Pin Location - If the pin is located way up in the front of the green you will want to go down a club. If it's located in the back of the green that can mean going up a club. If possible, use a GPS or pin location sheet so that you can get an accurate measurement.
Can you clubbing up on the green?
The option of clubbing up may work though, if you can stay committed and the longer club with lower loft is going to stay on the green. When you are in between clubs there are other factors that may help you make a more clear decision.
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.
Why do you chok down when you are facing a shot?
If you are facing a shot that will be better handled with a lower spin rate, choking down is a way to accomplish just that. You’ll have a bit less speed through the ball, so your spin rate should be lower as the ball leaves the club.
Why is the course game so addicting?
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.
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.
Why do golfers choke up?
Newell says golfers should choke up 2 inches on the club for all their short game shots, including pitches and bunker shots, because choking up provides better control of the club. He offers the analogy of writing with a pen.
Why does Anthony Kim choke up on his golf clubs?
Anthony Kim. PGA Tour player Anthony Kim began choking up on his clubs at a young age because it suited his physique, which featured long arms and a short torso. He continues to choke up about 2 inches on all of his clubs. He acknowledges that choking up costs him close to 10 yards of distance.
Why does Jack Nicklaus say to choke up on the club?
Jack Nicklaus recommends literally choking up on the club to avoid choking -- figuratively speaking -- in a pressure situation. Nicklaus says that in a key moment in a match golfers typically grip the club tighter, swing faster and raise up off the ball a bit, creating a longer but not necessarily accurate shot.
Why do you choke up on your driver?
Choking up on your driver may not cost you much, if any, distance, simply because having better control of the club can help you to hit the ball on the club’s sweet spot. Golf writer Steve Newell recommends golfers try choking up 1¼ to 1½ inches on their drivers, then taking their normal swings.
What happens if you hold the pen at the top?
If you hold the pen at the top you won’t write as neatly as when you hold it more toward the middle. Tiger Woods sometimes plays chip shots with a 3-wood, if his ball is on the green’s fringe, or in light rough. He chokes up severely, holding the club at the bottom of the grip.
Is it bad to choke up on a golf club?
By choking up you’re effectively shortening the club’s length, which lessens your swing arc, reduces your maximum clubhead speed and limits your potential power. Nevertheless, choking up on the club isn’t always a bad idea. Choking up is recommended on a variety of short ...
Why do golfers choke down?
A golfer who chokes down — or on who chokes up, because golfers tend to use the terms interchangeably — on the golf club move his hands down the grip, farther away from the butt end of the grip. This might be done for one of several reasons: Doing so increases the golfer's control of the club during the swing, and it also takes some distance ...
What does "choke" mean in golf?
Brent Kelley. Updated January 06, 2020. In golf, "choke" usually refers to a bad shot caused by a golfer's inability to handle the pressure of the moment. But when "choke" is combined with "up" or "down" — choke up or choke down — it refers to the position of a golfer's hands on the handle of a golf club.
What does it mean to choke up on a baseball bat?
In baseball, "choke up" means sliding one's hands farther away from the grip-end of the bat; "choke down" means moving one's hands closer to the end of the bat. Choking up on a baseball bat gives the batter more control but less power; choking down on a baseball bat gives the batter less control but more power.
Why does Brooke Henderson choke?
LPGA golfer Brooke Henderson, known for her aggressive driver swing, usually chokes up on her driver for this reason. Or it might be necessary to choke down due to the golfer's stance if the ball is above his feet. One golfer might say to another on the tee, "If you choke down on the driver a little bit, you'll increase your odds ...
What does it mean when you choke down on the driver?
One golfer might say to another on the tee, "If you choke down on the driver a little bit, you'll increase your odds of hitting the fairway. ". However, the term "choke" when used by itself in golf typically carries the first meaning mentioned above: to misplay a stroke due to nerves brought on by the pressure of the moment; or, more generally, ...
Where did the term "choke up" come from?
The terms "choke up" and "choke down" were borrowed by golfers from the American sport of baseball, in which the terms refer to the position of a batter's hands on the handle of the baseball bat.
Why do golfers have two terms?
So why, in golf, have to two terms become synonymous? Possibly because most golfers already place their hands on the golf grip with very little of the grip showing above the hands. We already grip our golf clubs very close to the top edge of the grip, so repositioning our hands almost always means moving them slightly downward.
How far does choking down 1" on an iron take off?
There was a track man article saying choking down 1" on an iron will lower flight and take off about 10 yards. It definitely worked for me.
Does distance change the lie angle of a golf club?
If you maintain distance from ball and hand position , it will change the effective lie angle (not the lie angle of the club itself). This will change the ball flight, for better or worse, depending upon how well your club length/lie was fit to start.
Does choking up your golf club reduce your distance?
Choking up can have various effects. As stated, it can reduce club head speed, which can reduce distance. If you maintain distance from ball and hand position, it will change the effective lie angle (not the lie angle of the club itself).
Does shorter golf clubs improve contact?
It may improve contact (as shorter clubs tend to be easier to hit), thereby increasing or providing better consistancy with distance.
Can you carry 2 irons in a higher cap?
Don't beat yourself up, most higher caps shouldn't carry 2 irons anyway. I would look at replacing your 2,3,4 irons with hybrids. Quit worrying about hand speed too, unless you are in the privacy of your own shower of course.
