When using long irons (3, 4, 5) I tend to address the ball slightly toe side of middle. Is there a preferred position, toe, middle, heel?? Often wondered if it makes a difference.

I address 4 & 5 irons closer to the heel, my swing brings it to the center of the club.
If you're addressing towards the toe, you brain could be making the adjustment and
causing you to pull it left. I have taped my clubs to see where the ball strikes the club,
I think Don also suggested this one time. Hitting the toe "can" cause the ball to go right.

Don carry those irons, have hybrids. Do keep my 3I for punching out under trees. I have found I just hit the hybrids more solid and with less error...But when I did, I tended to setup more on the hell as I tend to miss on the toe side.

i set up center face. if i miss it is toeside due to not maintaining spine angle and reaching. Usually I hit clean and get good distance with those clubs.

Most instructors will say you should address the ball the same with all your irons and woods, exception being a driver. If you let your arms hang straight down at address with all your clubs, you shouldn't have a problem with hitting off the toe or heel with any of your clubs. Try the hangind free right hand drill and see if it helps with this issue for you.

For me, I think the biggest issue is when I have the low irons in my hands I subconsciously try to hit the ball harder and dont swing the same as I do with my 7I. When I do that I'm not likely to heel it. So I error on the side of caution and give myself a little room for error.

Hey guys, it's been a little while for me. Been frustrated the past couple of months, maybe more.

Anyway, I usually address at the center. I think sometimes I can tend to be a little more to the heel on shorter irons, but not intentionally.

With long irons, I have to tell myself to take a shorter backswing because with the longer irons I tend to take a longer backswing and over do it. If I cut the backswing off just a little, I hit the ball a lot better.

I saw an instructor this past weekend and he just told me to go to 9 o'clock or just a little past with my left arm and then explode through the ball. He said you don't hit the ball with the backswing. So I've started trying to shorten the backswing and hit through the ball. I really needed this lesson this weekend, it helped a ton.
Later,
JP

I'm most likely to mis-hit off the toe on the longer irons. Plus I can often take too much outside/in and slice a little. Happens more off tight lies, out of the fringe (fluffy lie) I swing better.

Nice to see you back JP. Lots of guys I know have shortened their backswings, and even my instructor tries to get me to do it, but it's not an easy habit to break.

You are right, it is hard to break, espcially on drivers. I'm getting there but even when I do tell myself to shorten it, I'm really not doing much to shorten. Maybe just a fraction but it helps.

I noticed that in the video lesson. There were a few swings where I told myself short backswing. Now it was a tad shorter on video but my back was still about 90° to the target. The instructor told me on the irons to bring the left arm to 9 o'clock or 9:30 and power through the swing. I think I need to think less about the backswing and just think about powering through the ball.

I've been trying to shorten my backswing as well, to help increase my accuracy. Unfortunately, shortening my backswing has now promoted a broken wrist at the end of my backswing. Several things that caused this habit was that I started to slow down on the backswing to ensure I'm going only 3/4 of the way. At the top of the swing, my wrist breaks laterally, causing my club to go more toward the target (right to left). My friend is trying to get me to stop that, and it's more of a mental thing than anything else. Keeping my wrist flat with no breaks, and a faster downswing, yields distances equal to my old full swings and keeping my ball on the fairways. But I need to keep my backswing tempo consistent. If I slow down, I end up with a very bad mishit.

My longest iron is a 6i. With the 6i, I have to place the ball 1 ball length forward, else I end up fading my shot. My 7i is about 1/2 ball length forward. 8i is center, 9i is 1/2 ball back (else I get a pull). So far this has worked for me. Now if only I can hit that dang ball...

DocT; what exactly do you mean by "wrist flat with no breaks"? Is the shaft at a 90* angle to your left forearm at the top of your backswing?

Hey, everyone, I'm sorry I've been so absent. Lots of reasons. I miss you.

About shortening the backswing, here's something that has really helped me. If I keep my arms touching my body, up near armpit level, my backswing will automatically shorten to just the right length. Also I get more power and better direction control because my arms aren't flopping around. The trick is to use just enough muscle contraction, in the right place, to keep the arms close, but otherwise relaxed and free. The towel under each armpit drill teaches this well. Anyone else use this idea?

Laney

Laney,
that is a very popular tip. Once I get more comfortable with my new soft grip pressure and relaxation at setup, I will get to using that tip. I'm thinking it may even help me in getting my swing path more in to out because my arms have to stay in on the body.

Early on I used a glove under my right armpit because my right elbow was poking out on the backswing. Keeping the arms and chest together is mandatory.

HI Laney, yes I also use this technique when I start getting sloppy,
I reduce the back swing, still gets up to 200+ yards.

I mean, my wrist is bending laterally. Looking at the back of the hand, and bending it left to right, past 90 degrees. This is what happens at the last moment at the top of my back swing. This causes me to contact the ball with an open face, ending up with a fade.

Try a little more grip pressure with just the pinky and ring finger of your left hand. All the other fingers should be very lightly on the club. This might stop your bending at the top. Let me know if this helps or not.

Ron happened to get into where to address the ball with the clubface Saturday. FWIW, he says Hogan's and Demaret's worn spots on their irons were more than halfway to the hosel from the center of the clubface. He told me I should always address the ball there, even driver. His reasons: The driver will make contact closer to the center than where you address it. If you have to stay in a tight fairway, then it's especially important. Because the closer to the shaft you make contact, the less rotation of face from impact. And, the subconscious mind knows that if you come over the top, you will hit the ball into your left foot, and it will want to come from the inside.

Sorry for the late reply. I just got back from vacation. No golf though.

Gripping with the pinky and ring finger has always been my goal and I've been forcing myself to make it a habit. Old habits are difficult to break.

I've been trying to do this for many months since Bill first suggested it.

Yesterday I went to the range to get back into the swing of things again, and boy, maybe a week off from work, golf, computers, etc pays off. I was hitting really well, and focused on using the two fingers to grip.