The first way to figure out your angle of attack is to look at the type of divots you make with your irons. If they are deep divots that dig up large chucks of turf and jar your hands and wrists, that's one sign your angle of attack might be off. You can't discern angle of attack by watching your golf swing in a mirror or on video.
What is my attack angle on my golf clubs?
On the other hand, if you are hitting up – such as you might do with a driver – your attack angle will be upward through impact. Generally speaking, your steepest downward angle will be with your wedges, and your swings will gradually get shallower as the clubs get longer.
How do I Know my angle of attack?
The first way to figure out your angle of attack is to look at the type of divots you make with your irons. If they are deep divots that dig up large chucks of turf and jar your hands and wrists, that's one sign your angle of attack might be off.
How can I increase my attack angle with my driver?
One of the easiest ways to create a positive attack angle, increase launch trajectory and maximise distance with driver is to move the ball forward in your stance.
What is the angle of attack when you hit the ball?
Striking the ball while your club is still travelling downwards on its swing arc will create a negative angle of attack. In contrast, striking the ball while your club is moving upwards on its swing arc will create a positive angle of attack.
How do you find attack angle?
Attack Angle is defined as the vertical (up-down) angle at which the club head is moving at impact. Positive means hitting up on the ball while negative means hitting down on the ball. The amount that a golfer must hit down on the ball depends on how vertical the golfer's swing is.
What is the best angle of attack golf?
Take the best players in the world. The average LPGA Tour player hits two degrees up with their driver, and they know that's what they need to do to max out their delivery. The same is true in the men's game. Most, if not all, of the PGA Tour's longest hitters will have a positive angle of attack.
What should attack angle be for a 7-iron?
To illustrate the importance of attack angle, I took two swings with my 7-iron. As you can see from the data at right, an attack angle of -2.7 degrees resulted in 165.5 yards of carry and a total distance of 174.7. Not bad.
What angle of attack is too steep?
The attack angle, a measurement of how steep or shallow the clubhead is moving relative to the ground through impact, plays a vital role in how much distance you're able to generate off the tee. Most amateurs fall somewhere between a -4 and -6 degrees down with the driver, which is entirely too steep.
What should my angle of attack be for irons?
What is a good attack angle in golf? Ideally what you want is a very shallow angle of attack with your irons. On average the tour pros are only about four degrees down with every iron in the bag. Now obviously, you go to a wedge it goes up to about five, you go down to a three iron it goes down to about three.
What is a good attack angle for a driver?
According to Trackman, PGA Tour golfers have an average angle of attack (AoA) of -1.5° on a driver. For a -1.5° AoA and desired launch of 17°, the delivered loft at impact needs to be 20.25° in order to satisfy our 85% ball-flight laws.
Do you hit down on a 6 iron?
Descending Divot Yes, a divot is a good thing with a 6 iron gold club (just remember to replace the turf). Taking a divot on a 6 iron shot should generate the backspin. To divot correctly, you'll need a descending strike when you swing. To do this, your weight must move toward the target.
How fast should you swing a 7 iron?
An average golfer will swing a seven iron about 75 mph. This number can change based on the weight of the club and if it is steel or graphite. The faster you swing a seven iron, the further it will go. If you can swing at about 85 mph, you will see distances closer to 165 yards.
What is a good attack angle in golf?
Ideally what you want is a very shallow angle of attack with your irons. On average the tour pros are only about four degrees down with every iron...
What is a steep attack angle in golf?
Most amateurs are WAY too steep on their iron shots due to - you guessed it - too much right side dominance. Once you take the right side off the c...
How do you find your attack angle in golf?
You want the club to get closer to vertical, have some shaft lean, just enough to de-loft the golf club but as you're coming through the ball more...
What is the best angle to hit a golf ball?
The average angle of attack (AoA) for a tour pro is around 4 degrees down. That's a very shallow angle of attack and about 1/3 as steep as the typi...
What is angle of attack in golf?
Angle of attack is the amount a golf club is ascending or descending into the golf ball at impact. With irons, the angle should be negative (descending), with driver positive (ascending). An inefficient angle of attack can cause poor golf shots by affecting such things as launch angle, spin rate and energy transfer.
How does a club head swing?
A club head can swing into the ball on an ascending path (the club head moving up into the ball) or a descending path ( moving down into the ball). How much the club is ascending or descending, expressed in degrees, is the angle of attack (also commonly called "attack angle").
How to find angle of attack?
The first way to figure out your angle of attack is to look at the type of divots you make with your irons. If they are deep divots that dig up large chucks of turf and jar your hands and wrists, that's one sign your angle of attack might be off.
Why should the angle of attack with the driver be ascending?
The angle of attack with the driver should be ascending, because driver-ball contact should happen with the driver on the upswing for maximum distance.
What happens when you hit an iron too steeply?
When you come into iron impact too steeply, you waste much of the energy of impact by diverting it into the ground rather than into the golf ball. Launch angle: With the driver, the goal is to hit up on the ball to create the ideal launch angle. That, in turn, means greater distance on one's drives. To create this type of flight, the angle of ...
Is an ascending blow a positive or negative angle?
An ascending blow has a positive angle, while a descending blow has a negative angle. If you are a recreational golfer who plays only a handful of times per year, angle of attack is not something to worry about. But serious golfers who want to get better and post better scores need to address any issues they might have with angle of attack.
Who is Brent Kelley?
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. In golf, the term angle of attack refers to the angle of the head of the golf club as it approaches the golf ball. A club head can swing into the ball on an ascending path (the club head moving up into the ball) ...
Why is it important to hit the golf ball slightly lower on the face?
This shallow approach to the ball allows the pro to hit the ball slightly lower on the face to create a more penetrating launch angle but still provide ample spin to hold the green. It also helps prevent grass getting between the clubface and the ball which makes it much easier to control distance and spin .
How deep should I attack my golf irons?
Ideally what you want is a very shallow angle of attack with your irons. On average the tour pros are only about four degrees down with every iron in the bag. Now obviously, you go to a wedge it goes up to about five, you go down to a three iron it goes down to about three. On average a four degree negative angle of attack is pretty ideal.
What is the most important piece of the equation?
One of the most important pieces of that equation is the angle of attack. What happens for most golfers, because everybody tends to be too right side dominant, what the right side does is it has angles in it, right. You've got an angle here, you've got an angle in your wrist, you've got an angle in your shoulder so this allows for a lot ...
Why does the golf ball spin off the face?
When you tend to hit the ball high on the face you tend to get a lot of flyers, you tend to get grass between the club face and the ball, the ball tends to take a little bit of spin off of it because you're using the vertical gear effect which is going to reduce back spin.
Should shoulder muscles be yanking down?
The shoulder shouldn't be yanking down, it's falling down as you're pulling it down with your weight shift and your hip rotation. The right arm, it tends to get a little overactive and tends to start doing this kind of motion and that's what creates an over the top move that also changes the angle of attack.
Can you turn an 8 iron into a 4 iron?
There's no point in a taking an eight iron and turning it into a four iron. You're not going to be able to release the club enough ... At this point the club still has another foot that it could release but you're taking all that speed out because you're not allowing the golf club to release.
How to get a shallower swing?
Specifically, start by altering your ball position. If you move the ball slightly forward in your stance, you might be able to work your way into a shallower swing through impact if you were too steep before. Likewise, you can move the ball back if you’d like to be a little steeper when you make the strike.
What is the angle of attack in golf?
What is Attack Angle? Your angle of attack in the golf swing – often referred to simply as the attack angle – is the upward or downward motion of the club as it approaches the ball. If you are hitting down through impact, as you often would with an iron, you’ll have a downward angle of attack.
How fast can you swing a golf club?
Depending on your skill level and strength, you may be able to swing the club into the back of the ball at more than 100 miles-per-hour. In turn, the ball may leave the club at more than 150 miles-per-hour, rocketing off into the distance. So, while the game as a whole may be peaceful, the portion of the swing that tears through ...
Is it important to hit a wedge in the short game?
This topic is just as important in the short game, both with the putter and with your wedges. However, because of the great variety in the types of shots you can hit in the short game, you will want to be more adaptable than in the long game. Sometimes, it will make sense to hit down aggressively on your wedges to spin a pitch or chip shot, ...
Does attack angle matter in golf?
Does Attack Angle Matter? Simply put – yes, this is a very important topic for golfers who want to improve their level of play. If your attack angle is way out of line for what you are trying to accomplish with your swing, it will be nearly impossible to reach your goals on the course.
Do putting strokes repeat?
There are a variety of types of putting strokes that can get the job done, but it tends to be the players who repeat their stroke the best that see the ball fall in time after time. Now that you understand attack angle and why it matters, we hope you are ready to get out and work on your own game sometime soon.
Is golf a peaceful game?
It’s easy to think of golf as a calm, gentle game. And, to a large degree, that would be a fair assessment. Most of the time, golf is quiet and peaceful, as players make their way around beautiful green courses on sunny summer afternoons.
How can I hit longer drives in golf?
This is a question we’ve all sought the answer to throughout our golfing journeys.
What is attack angle in golf and why does it matter?
Attack angle in golf measures whether you have struck the ball with an ascending or descending blow. Striking the ball while your club is still travelling downwards on its swing arc will create a negative angle of attack. In contrast, striking the ball while your club is moving upwards on its swing arc will create a positive angle of attack.
How to increase your attack angle for longer drives
There are three key factors that will help you strike the golf ball with a positive attack angle and hit longer drives – weight shift, ball position and shoulder alignment. Hitting the ball off your front foot while keeping your weight behind centre, with your shoulders slightly closed, will maximise your driving distance.
Other ways to hit longer drives
While improving your attack of angle is by far the easiest change you can make in order to hit longer drives, there are some other things you can do that may help squeeze a few extra yards out of your swing.
Final message
If you want to hit your driver farther without increasing clubhead speed, the easiest way you can do this is to create a positive angle of attack at impact.
What is the third ball in the swing arc?
The third ball, in the blue part of the swing arc, is being hit on the upswing – a positive AOA which benefits launch angle. So, in order to get the AOA more positive, we have to find a way of getting the lowest point of the swing circle further behind the golf ball.
What is the ball hit at low point?
The ball hit at low point is teed lower than the ball teed in the blue part of the swing arc. Most amateurs who have tried to hit more up on the ball have failed because they try to maintain the same tee height as before. The club then has no chance to catch the ball on the upswing, as the ground is in the way.
What is the middle tee in golf?
The middle tee has the ball on it, and there are another two tees without a ball – one in front and one behind. These ‘extra tees’ are placed a little lower into the ground – as shown. The aim of the task is to take the first two tees out of the ground, but leave the ‘target-side’ tee in the ground.
What does AOA mean in golf?
Angle of attack, or AOA refers to whether your club is traveling more up or down when it makes contact with the ball. Changing your AOA can affect strike quality (it’s vital with shots from the ground) and distance.
How do amateur golfers hit their driver?
The majority of amateurs hit their driver very much like their iron shots – on the downswing. Often it looks something like this. Their club is traveling downwards at point of contact with the ball. Usually, they hit the ball and then their club thumps into the ground after the shot.
What does swinging to the left do?
Swinging to the left puts the low point farther forwards. Many amateurs who struggle with a slice will start to swing left to compensate (or create a slice which at least lands on their target now). This can put the low point way ahead of the ball, dramatically steepening AOA.
Which foot is the ball in the latter part of the swing arc?
Placing the ball more forwards in your stance – opposite left foot – places the ball in the latter part of the swing arc. Having a wider stance exaggerates this effect. Having more spine tilt away from the target at impact.
Why do I hang back and lift the clubhead?
This causes you to hang back and lift the clubhead into the ball to increase launch angle. The lack of differentiation between the shoulders and hips is a big speed killer, as the clubhead is more or less dragged through impact, across your body.
Where should the clubhead be on a golf swing?
This way, the clubhead should be fairly level to the ground or slightly ascending through impact.
Who is Travis Fulton?
Travis Fulton is Director of Instruction for all TOURAcademy locations nationwide. To learn more about Travis--voted one of “America’s Best Young Teachers” by Golf Digest--and to book a lesson, click here.
