A flat lie angle (for a right-handed golfer) will result in angled shots and tailspin to the right of the course. Whereas, upright lie angles will send the balls spinning out to the left. Flat Lie Angles When we say a flat lie angle, what we mean is the angle between the shaft and the sole is too small.
What is an upright lie on a golf club?
An upright lie occurs when you sole the club and the toe of your iron is off the ground and up in air. A flat lie occurs when an iron tilts in the other direction so that the heel is off the turf.
What is a flat lie angle in golf?
When we say a flat lie angle, what we mean is the angle between the shaft and the sole is too small. Because the lie angle is too small, or flat, the ball is likely to be hit too low.
What does 2 degrees upright mean on golf clubs?
Most likely, it means that a club is 2 degrees more upright than the standard lie angle for that brand and model. For example, if a 5 iron has a standard lie angle of 62 degrees, but you either custom order it or have it adjusted to be a lie angle of 64 degrees, then it would be considered to be 2 degrees upright.
Are modern golf clubs too upright?
Andrew Rice Golf bemoans the tendency of modern club makers to design clubs with lies that are more upright than in the past, noting that all-time great players, such as Ben Hogan, used irons with much flatter lies. Upright lies help players with flawed swings avoid fading or slicing the ball as much, the most common mishit of high-handicappers.
Should my clubs be upright or flat?
If your club is too upright at impact, then your shots will travel to the left of your target. Conversely, if your club is too flat, then your shots will be heading right. For every degree that your lie angle is either too upright or flat, the ball will initially travel 4 yards off your intended target line.
Whats the difference between flat and upright in golf?
An upright backswing, for those who may be unfamiliar, is a golf swing where the arms tend to work more vertically up and down. A flatter backswing swing, by contrast, is when the arms work more around a golfer's body.
What does 1 degree upright mean in golf?
Lie Angle Defined If the lie angles of your clubs are 1 degree greater than the manufacturer's standard, your clubs are 1 degree flat. If your lie angles are lower by 1 degree, the clubs are 1 degree upright.
What does 2 degrees upright mean on a golf club?
Two degrees upright means that a golf club has a lie angle that is two degrees upright of standard. The standard lie angle is going to differ depending on the club you are talking about and the manufacturer.
Is a flatter golf swing better?
But that doesn't prohibit you from hitting the ball farther. On the contrary--a shorter, flatter swing is much easier to keep on-plane than a longer, more upright swing. You'll make fewer compensations on the downswing and hit the sweet spot on the clubface more often, producing greater ball speeds and bigger drives.
What happens if my irons are too upright?
But if your clubs are too upright, the toe would be off the ground, and you'd have a tendency to pull the ball (inset, top). Too flat, and the heel would be up, and you'd tend to hit pushes (inset, bottom). Starting with the face slightly off can produce exponential misses, so make sure your clubs fit.
Does flattening lie affect loft?
The first thing to know is that lie angle being incorrect is the most important on clubs with more loft. The more loft a club has, the more magnified an incorrect lie angle will be when it comes to the direction of your golf ball. A 3 iron will be much less offline than a PW with the same lie angle.
Do shorter golfers need flatter clubs?
Generally, shorter golfers will need a flatter lie angle, whereas taller players will need a more upright lie angle. If you hit a lot of shots toward the toe of your club and your ball tends to fade to the right, you probably have a lie angle that is too flat for you.
Should my wedges be upright?
“Wedges are typically too upright and fit for full swing,” Sieckmann said. “And you're not using it for full swing very often — you're using it from 10 yards, 20 yards or in the bunker. The fit, specifically with a lob wedge, should be for a 20-yard shot, not an 80- and 90-yard shot.”
What does 3 degree upright mean in golf?
An upright lie angle means that the angle between the shaft and the ground is larger than it should be, making the club shaft more upright compared to the ground. If a club is too upright for your swing this means that during the swing, the heel of the clubhead will be lower than the toe.
Does upright lie promote a draw?
The upright lie also promotes a left tilting spin axis, which leads to what's generally described as draw spin. An upright lie angle basically gives you a head start, but depending on the severity of the slice conditions the golfer generates, it certainly won't guarantee a draw.
Does 2 degrees flat mean?
A golf club can be bent two degrees flat when the lie angle is lowered and the heel of the club is raised to a position that is higher than the toe of the club. Golfers change the lie angle of a club to better their chances of hitting the center of the clubface.
What is the difference between a flat lie angle and an upright lie angle?
A flat lie angle (for a right-handed golfer) will result in angled shots and tailspin to the right of the course. Whereas, upright lie angles will send the balls spinning out to the left.
What is the lie angle of a golf club?
The lie angle is the angle between the center of the shaft and the sole. To put it into simpler terms, the lie angle is the angle between the center of your club and the line of the ground.
Why do you adjust your lie angle?
On average your shots will also be slower and less powerful. Finally, adjusting your lie angle can help set right other areas of imbalance in your game. Nearly all professional players have the lie angles on their clubs adjusted to suit their personal play style, and it could benefit you too.
When to get flat lie angle?
It is possible to get a flat lie angle when both teeing off, or when striking the ball straight from the turf. NOTE: Here is where you will notice dents and chips in your clubs most, although striking the grass before making contact with the ball can also affect the lie angle at this stage.
What happens if the lie angle is wrong?
If the lie angle is wrong, it doesn’t matter how squarely you strike the ball, you will still see an angled shot (when the trajectory of the ball is too far left, or too far right from the beginning) and tailspin (the trajectory of the shot begins incorrectly, and becomes more off-target the further it travels).
Who used flatter lies in golf clubs?
Andrew Rice Golf bemoans the tendency of modern club makers to design clubs with lies that are more upright than in the past, noting that all-time great players, such as Ben Hogan, used irons with much flatter lies.
What is an upright lie?
An upright lie occurs when you sole the club and the toe of your iron is off the ground and up in air. A flat lie occurs when an iron tilts in the other direction so that the heel is off the turf.
What is the lie of an iron?
As PGA professional Tim Graves on the Moe Norman Golf website states, the lie of your irons is defined as the angle made between the shaft and the ground. "The key is to have a club with a proper lie angle that ensures the sole of the club is parallel with the ground at impact ..." An upright lie occurs when you sole the club and the toe of your iron is off the ground and up in air. A flat lie occurs when an iron tilts in the other direction so that the heel is off the turf.
How to tell if irons are too upright?
The traditional test to determine if your irons are too upright or flat is to go to the range with a small piece of plastic or plywood, put a strip of masking tape on the sole of your irons and whack a few balls off the hard surface.
What happens when you hit the ball with an upright lie?
A flat lie causes you to strike the ground with the toe , leading to pushes and slices.
What is the most important clubhead specification affecting accuracy?
And that's not all. "One of the most important clubhead specifications affecting accuracy is the lie angle of irons at impact," explains Greenwich Golf. Fortunately, club fitters can ride to the rescue and tailor all of your equipment, including the lie of your irons, to your particular swing.
What happens if the lie angle of your golf clubs is ill-suited to you?
When the lie angle of your clubs is wrong for your swing or body type, you can put a great swing on the ball and still have problems with accuracy. Poorly fitting lie angles create pushes and pulls and other mishits.
What is the lie angle of a golf club?
The "lie angle" of any golf club is the angle formed between the center of the shaft and the sole, or ground line, of the club when the club is soled in its proper ...
What does it mean when your divots are deeper on the toe side than the heel side?
If your divots are deeper on the toe side than the heel side (toe down, heel up at impact) or deeper on the heel side than the toe side (toe up, heel down at impact), that's a sign your lie angles might be too flat or too upright.
Why is a proper lie angle important?
Proper Lie Angle Is More Important in Irons Than in Woods. Don't misunderstand: Lie angle is an important factor in all golf clubs, even the putter. But having improperly fit lie angles causes more problems in irons than in the woods.
What is lie angle?
Lie angle is a factor that affects the accuracy of golf shots. Golfers who use clubs whose lie angles don't fit their body types and/or golf swings are costing themselves strokes. Matching the lie angle of clubs to the specific golfer is one of the goals of a clubfitting session.
What does it mean when your toe is up at impact?
A toe-up position at impact indicates that your lie angle might be too upright; a toe-down position (meaning the club's heel is higher than the toe) at impact indicates that your lie angle might be too flat.
Can irons be bent at the hosel?
If there's a problem with lie angles, most (but not all) irons can be bent at the hosel to increase or decrease the lie angle. And if you are serious about golf, want to maximize your scoring ability, and are shopping for new clubs, visit a clubfitter first.
What is the lie angle of a golf club?
It's always an acute angle, less than 90 degrees. The lie angle dictates, in part, where your hands will be positioned on the golf club, relative to the ground, at address.
What does it mean when your golf club is lying?
Well, you need to know how lie angle can affect ball flight. If your lie angle is too upright, typically meaning that it's closer to 90 degrees than 0 degrees, then that means you will typically hit the ground with your club with the heel side of the sole.
What does it mean when your golf club is on the toe side of the sole?
If your lie angle is too flat, typically meaning it' s closer to 0 degrees than 90 degrees, then that means you will typically hit the ground with your club with the toe side of the sole. Hitting the ground with the toe of the sole means you're hitting with an open face, leading to a fade or a slice, meaning the ball will sail well right ...
What does it mean when you hit the ground with the heel of your sole?
Hitting the ground with the heel of the sole means you're hitting with a closed face, leading to a pull or a hook, meaning the ball will sail well left of the intended target. From a visual standpoint, the toe of the golf club will be too much in the air at impact.
How to know if you stand at address?
It's also important to know how you stand at address (more upright or flat), your height (taller players tend to stand more upright, but not universally) and the distance from your hands at address to the ground with your clubs.
What is flat lie angle?
A flat lie angle is simply when the heel of the golf club is bent so it is higher than the toe. Club fitters are able to bend clubs to increase or decrease the lie angle using a loft, lie bending machine. (more on this down below)
Why do golfers change the lie angle of their clubs?
Golfers change the lie angle of a club to better their chances of hitting the center of the clubface. Changing the lie angle of a club can help golfers more consistently hit shots off of the center of the clubface. There are however a few key points that golfers need to know about changing the lie angle of their club so ...
How many degrees should a golf club be bent?
A club can either be bent to an upright position (toe higher than heel) or flat (toe lower than heel) usually in increments of 1 or 2 degrees . When looking for clubs that fit your game, a professional club fitter will look at these factors down below to determine what their lie angle should be: A golfers height. A golfers grip.
What is a standard lie?
Standard lie – Unaltered lie angle. Upright lie- The toe of the club is bent higher than the heel of the club (lie angle is higher than a standard lie) Flat lie – The toe of the club is bent lower than the heel of the club (lie angle is lower than a standard lie) A club can either be bent to an upright position (toe higher than heel) ...
What is the sole of a golf club?
The sole of the club is parallel to the ground at impact and the ball will start off at the target. Lie Angle is too high (upright): The toe of the club is high above the heel and cause shots that will start off left of the target (right-handed golfers)
Where does the golf ball start?
Your golf ball starts off towards the left of your target (right for lefties). You hit the golf ball off of the heel of the club often causing the golf ball to hook or pull.
Is golf good for old people?
Golf is a great sport for young and old alike. It’s a sport that you can try out as soon as you are old enough to walk and hold a club. It’s a sport that you can play well into old-age if your health permits. It’s no contact and low-impact, so there is little risk ]