Raymond Hawkins – Pro Golfer and Head Coach at Precision Golf

Today we are going to talk about Angle of Attack, and how amateurs can improve their strike.

A common problem I see when people come in for lessons, is that most amateurs either catch it fat, catching ground before the ball  or catching it thin, with the leading edge of the club catching the ball. This is can be a common occurrence due to an incorrect angle of attack a lot of the time.

A really good drill to fix this, would be to get a tee, placing it an inch or two in front of the ball. What we are trying to feel is that the handle, or the hands, are a little more in front of the ball at impact, so it looks like more of an inverse shaft position. This is rather than what most amateurs do, where they add dynamic loft or they flip their hands up to the ball before they get to contact. That’s why they catch the ground before the ball or end up using the leading edge.

An easy way to do this, is to feel like when you are hitting, the club is working down to the ground more, an opposite feel to the driver where you want to be hitting more up on the ball.

Using the trackman, we are able to get a reading of our angle of attack. The tour average is around -4.3 degrees for a 7 iron, but we don’t have to be exact. We want to try and get that attack angle down to about 4,5,6 degrees down.

As you can see in the example, my low point distance is 12.2 cm after the ball, and an attack angle of 5.8 degrees down.

The most important thing is to make sure you’re feeling the club go down and in front of the ball. This will stop you adding dynamic loft and catching ground before the ball and it will help with a more precise strike.

I hope this really helps you, and if you need to book a lesson or a club fitting, visit us at precisiongolf.com.au.