New Technique (feedback please)

[Highdraw34]

Recently I have had this problem with my irons and chips. I've been making contact with the ground about 3 inches behind the ball. Okay sometimes it is six inches but that is not the point. It is a shallow divot that I am taking so I still get the bottom half of the ball but at that point the club is delofted and decelerated. The point is that my Irons have been attrocious, no loft, no distance and just plain bad. I've been trying something new at the range that seems to be working. When I address the ball I don't lay my club beind the ball. I bend to the point of having the botton of the club slightly above the back of the ball. I then take my normal swing with emphasis on keeping my left arm straight and getting a good wrist hinge. It seems to me like my problem was lunging a little bit on the downswing. So far I have been killing the ball and making perfect contact. I don't know how this will transition to the course. I was wondering if anyone else does this and how it has worked out. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I'm confused, what does this have to do with chips? I can't say I take much of a full swing or a divot on chips.

 

[ezra76]

Hinge and hold for chips and short pitches. I use the hinge on my iron shots too. From what I've read you want your hands in front of the ball at impact and the shaft at about a 15* angle. This makes sense when I think about taking a divot. As my hands are over the spot where the divot will soon be I am making contact with the ball. So when I reach the lowest point in my downswing with the clubhead the ball is already gone.

 

[Ltildragon]

Wow how can you be a 15 handicap with a swing like that?

I had the same problem with hitting the ground before the ball because my swing was pretty flat. I made a few adjustments now I have a slightly steeper swing and faster wrist cock and it seemed to solve the problem. I like to hover all of my clubs so that nothing impedes the takeaway such as thick rough. If you are hitting 3 to 6 inches behind the ball on chips you should go see an instructor because I never heard of such a thing.

 

[mont86]

Thats an interesting setup let us know how it works on the course.

 

[Highdraw34]

Chips weren't so far behind, the point is that on all shots not played from a tee, I found myself hitting behind the ball. The whole point is that I am not grounding the club at all anymore prior to any shot off the turf. I just want to see if anyone else uses this technique. Thanks for the input.