So I know this is limited information but maybe someone here has had the same issue. It comes and goes but lately its been hanging around longer than usual.
I’m hitting my irons left most of the time. My divot is pointed left also. I tend to think I’m over the top but it doesn’t really feel like I am.
Any suggestions of drills I could do would be greatly appreciated.
You could set up a gate with two tees. Set your club heel to toe in between the gate, your ball slightly in front. That would be square impact. Make your normal swing through the gate without hitting either tee. This should help, you might just be starting with a closed club face.
It is really, really hard to share any sort of answers without a lot more information. This is where working with an instructor (online or in person) to understand what is happening with your strike could be essential. Some important aspects are if you are talking about a straight pull left or a hook left (or a pull hook!)? This all comes down to the path your club is taking and the face angle at impact. There could also be something as simple as an alignment issue in your setup, so like I said, hard to present any sort of easy answer.
Without seeing the swing it’s hard to know. It could be alignment, or could be swing path. I’d recommend checking out @Adamyounggolf website/blog.
Also I heard about the hanger drill on a Mark Immelman podcast recently and found it to be a good drill to keep your hands and the club in the correct position on the downswing.
When you say hit them left, what does the ball flight look like? Straight flight is most likely alignment. If it’s hooking(assuming right handed) it’s going to be your path and club face at impact.
If you spend a couple rounds of golf worth of $ on a coach/instructor they should be able to tell you after a few swings what you should work on.
As others have said, lots of possibilities… I think learning how to figure out what’s going wrong is a great place to learn, so let’s talk some basic checks you can do.
Alignment. Just get two alignment sticks (or use golf clubs) point them parallel down a target line and make sure your club and feet are aiming at the same (intended) place. Alignment can get weird quickly, and counterintuitively… your mind can adjust your swing when your body isn’t aligned properly. This is always worth checking.
If you are worried you are over the top, the golf box drill is great… align a golf club cardboard box down your target line on the outside of the ball. Don’t hit the box. You can also do this with a rolled up towel.
If neither of those help, it could be face angle at impact, lie angle of the club or you aren’t clearing your hips through the swing.
I like the “swing toward first base” thought to force myself inside… and I’ll slow down and focus on face angle if that’s where I’m missing.
Definitely fixable, just need to address the why.
@craigers and @dpierson83 are on the money. More ball flight info needed to understand club face and path tendency.
I am a big fan of “impediments”. If your path is left (which divot would indicate), putting a club box or a head cover on the outside of the ball should help you come from the inside.
I like to tee the ball up when initially making path changes. Just gives you a bit more confidence and frees the brain up from thinking about getting the ball in the air
That’s a solid idea right there… never thought of that.
I agree it is hard to determine the exact cause. I have been doing the same thing with short irons and wedges lately and it seemed to be coming from my being all arms and not turning enough. Oddly the mid and long irons were fine. I went back to basics, hitting balls with my feet together and making just waist high swings L-L as they say and then working up to full swings. It has seemed to help me although frustrating to hit my 5 iron straighter than my PW.
I agree with what others have said but I would add that with respect to your comment that you don’t feel like you’re swinging over the top, you should ignore that feeling. Most over the top swingers do not know any other feeling.
Thank you guys! Sorry I wasn’t a little more detailed. So the ball starts out online with my target and then it starts to go left. My lob wedge I hit about 85 yards. The first 40 or so its straight and then after that its going left.
I was at the range earlier and if I kept my feet close together with about a 50% swing it went dead straight every time. Soon as I widened my stance and took a full swing it was back going left.
I was working hard on swinging down from the inside but it still was going left. I work with our club pro some so I think I will get him to diagnose me and see what he thinks.
This is a great website and forum.
Thanks again
Jeff
Best thing to do there. Based just on the info you just gave, I might check the ball position as well and make sure it’s not too far forward for the short irons/wedges, but your pro will know best.
What @CoryO said. Also sounds like you could be setting up slightly open. That’s an old school way to
Draw the ball.
I do tend to play it a little forward but when I move it to the middle I almost hit it too thin.
Put an alignment rod on the ground and between your belt loops in front of you. Should give you an idea how your hips are set at address. The fact that you hit them well with feet together sounds like it’s an alignment issue. Again, hard to assess without seeing it.
Late to the game here - apologies. Busy week.
The factors that control direction with an iron are
It’s very unlikely that lie angle has changed for you, so Im going with 1 or 3.
You said your divots are left - that’s not always an indication of the path (because the divot happens after ball contact, but can be a guide).
Without seeing you, I would first try to check your alignment. It doesnt have to be on target to play elite golf, but if you find you are aiming left and hitting left, this is low hanging fruit to change.
If you genuinely feel your path is left, the nail drill is great for fixing this - although be careful you don’t overdo it and end up hitting behind the ball (swinging more right tends to move the low point back). See pic for nail concept - just visualize hammering a nail through the ball angled more to the right
We must remember though - regardless of what the path direction is, the face will have a bigger influence on the end result. Simply experimenting with opening out the face at address THEN gripping and making the same swing - this can make a big difference to outcome (remember, 3-4 degrees in golf is massive, but you might have to FEEL like you change the face by 10-15 degrees to achieve that)
Hope it helps
