Does Choking Up on the Golf Club Cause You to Lose Distance?
- Hitting the 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 ...
- Pressure Situations. Jack Nicklaus recommends literally choking up on the club to avoid choking -- figuratively speaking -- in a pressure situation.
- Wind at Your Back. ...
- Short Game. ...
- Anthony Kim. ...
Is choking up on a golf club a bad idea?
All else being equal, choking up on a golf club will cost you some distance. 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.
Is choking up on the driver a good idea?
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 few yards isn't a big deal. In fact, choking up can actually help non-pros gain distance. How?
What does choke down mean in golf?
Choking down increases the control of the golfer on the club and allows them to measure the swing. It also takes a few feet off the distance. For example, if you are at a yardage, which is too short for your 7-iron and too long for your 8-iron then you can choke down on the latter club.
Which pro golfers choke up the most on the driver?
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 few yards isn't a big deal.
What does choking up on golf club do?
When you shorten the club, the gains that you make in control will be lost in distance. Your overall swing speed will be lowered by choking up, meaning that you won't be able to hit the ball as far as you would making the same swing while gripping the club at the end.
Does choking down on driver change swing weight?
Choking down lightens the club's swing weight and effectively makes the shaft stiffer. It also makes it difficult to hit the ball high enough for all situations.
Does choking decrease power?
One of the common questions batters wonder about is if choking up decreases power. In general, choking up decreases batting power because most hitters use this method of hitting to simply get the ball in play. When held correctly, choking up increases batting power due to more bat speed through the strike zone.
Does choking down affect lie angle?
Normally the mindset is that you choke down to take distance off and I suppose that could creep into your mind unintentionally when you are attempting to hit a full shot. I know the general consensus is that choking down 1" has the same impact on swing weight, lie angle, etc.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Why does the wind blow at my back?
A stiff wind blowing at your back when you’re in the address position can be tricky because the wind will be partially blocked by your body, but will swirl around you and potentially affect the club during your swing.
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 ...
g-funk13
I had some success today choking up on the driver. I am 5'6" and thinking that perhaps my driver is too long. Does it make sense that choking up will improve keeping the ball in fairway. I have been pushing a lot of my drives.
InternalGolf
I am around the same height as you and I personally hate chocking down on my clubs. I only choke down on my irons and my putter. With my driver I just widen my stance and stand further back. I also keep my hands forward so that the driver is square with the ball and not slanted.
play4him
That's been a tip from a lot of pros when they want to make sure they hit it straight. They choke up a little.
VanillaEps
I am around the same height as you and I personally hate chocking down on my clubs. I only choke down on my irons and my putter. With my driver I just widen my stance and stand further back.
td67mustang
When I am having trouble in a round with the driver I grip down a bit. This usually helps me straighted out mid-round and then I gradually move back to the end of the club.
aquacooled
And Bob Rotella will tell you to "grip down" on the club, because you never want the word "choke" to enter your psyche.
Posts
Day 38: Surprise rain this evening so stuck indoors doing rehearsals and a bit of putting.
What does choking down on the golf club do?
So, now you know what choking down on the golf club does. The 3Ps will help you in rough situations and allow you to make perfect hits on the fairway. As a beginner, learning this trick will allow you to the enter the big leagues and impress other golfers with your swings.
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.
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, ...
What to do if you choke down on a golf club?
If you are choking down on the club to hit the ball lower than it can be a good idea to cut off the finish of your swing and finish with the club out in front of your body instead of swinging all the way up to the full finish and having the club wrapped around your back.
How much distance do you lose when you choke down on a 4 iron?
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 to reduce drive when hitting a short iron?
So, if you want to learn how to reduce your drive especially if you’re hitting a short iron from a fairway lie, choke down on the club an inch or two. If you’re faced with a shot that could be handled better using a lower spin rate, then choking down on your club is the best way you can accomplish that.
Why do you choke down on your iron?
Another reason a golfer will want to choke down on their iron is to take some spin off the ball. If you keep your hands up at the top of the club when you make a full swing, you’re likely to produce quite a bit of backspin. So, if you want to learn how to reduce your drive especially if you’re hitting a short iron from a fairway lie, choke down on the club an inch or two.
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?
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.
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 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.
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.
Joe Mama
A number of posters in other forums have claimed that they hit straighter and often farther when they choke down about 1.5 inches on the driver. For a total distance amounting to about 75 inches from shoulder to club face, it's hard to see why a two percent shortening of effective swing radius could make a significant difference in performance.
Joe Mama
It will make the shaft more of an extension of the left lower arm, which, no other things considered, should be a good thing, but I agree that it is an awkward way to grip the handle. It's not a reasonable explanation of why choking down works, for some.
Patch
Choking down makes the club shorter. Shorter might mean more control. I always thought that is why a lot of golfers can hit their 3-5 woods more accurately than their driver because they are shorter clubs. Also (I think) I read somewhere it changes the swing weight/ and/or balance of the club a little.
Posts
In the other topic, I asked about the stands I've seen for the Mevo+. From what I could see in looking around the rest of the evening, there are two out there. They're almost identical, and so I emailed the one and he replied. I've got two on the way: ...
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:
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.
