As a scratch golfer this has been my biggest secret the last 20 years since I was very young. I choke down 1-2 inches on about every single shot. Always led the team in fairways, least penalty strokes, etc.
I think I've watched just about every one of your videos and I have learned a lot. I used this choke down method yesterday and I was amazed and very happy with every one of my iron shots. I'm usually in the low 90's and right off the bat yesterday I shot an 85. I pretty much ignore all of the other videos now. Thank you for all you do for us hackers out here
I am 74 years old and just restarted playing golf after a 40yr break. There was no utube when I used to play. Your guidance has helped me get back to striking the ball correctly. Today I watched your lesson on chipping and I have taken your advice to heart. I opened the face of my wedge and did not take the club higher than my waist and moved through the ball. Works like a charm. I’m a subscriber and will remain one. Thanks
Can you do a video at some point in the future showing the differences, if any, between normal shaft, hard stepped shaft and soft stepped shaft? I have always wondered if you can lower spin or ball flight using these methods. Some people say you can, others say it just alters feel of the club but not launch conditions. Maybe you can put it to the test for us. Just a thought. Love the channel!
Here is another truth for you. I was just fit for a new set of ping 425 irons, got blue dot, but it also called for -1/2 inch length from standard. I decided not to get them cut but rather stayed with standard length. I simply choke down 1/2 inch. I've found they preform wonderfully, plus that 1/2 on the end acts like a slight counterbalance and I'm swinging the club faster. Of course this won't work if you need a longer than standard club.
I've thought about this quite a bit and have a theory (and this video seems to support my theory...thanks!) I believe gripping down won't produce a shorter shot if the top of the shaft remains the same distance from your body. Imagine someone holding one end of a jump rope and spinning it around while people try to jump over the rope (yes, very elementary school). The further away you get from the holder, the faster the rope is moving. The correlation between shaft length and clubhead speed works like this--but maybe not like you think. The jump rope isn't being spun by the kid's hand. The kid is spinning around--and the center of this motion is somewhere in the kid's core. For the golfer, it's not the choking down...or the distance between the hands and the clubhead. It's the distance between the clubhead and the center of the swing plane (liver, kidney, belly button, whatever). Assuming my theory is correct, a shorter shaft--held the same distance from your body--will result in slower clubhead speed (thus slower ball speed and lesser distance).
The technical reason choking down/shorter shaft can potentially produce similar distance is because it is easier to control the club and make center contact with the ball on impact. Swing speed is a factor in good distance as well but not as important as making good contact. Longer shaft helps you swing faster but gets harder to control and get center contact on the club face, for most golfers at least. Think of choking down on a baseball bat and hitting a ball that is not in motion vs. holding the bat by the very end and swinging. The ball will be hit with more energy on impact using the latter method. But again, if you’re making better contact when choking up a bit, it may not be a big difference.
In an essence I always thought choking down controlled your club head path thus creating a more controlled shot. My distance is generally reduced because I don’t swing as hard and my follow through is shortened. Thank big man, good information.
When you bring an iron closer to your body, the toe is going more down (flatter), producing a shot that wants to go naturally more right. If your normal 7i is going 21 ft left... Maybe you need a flatter lie angle?
I've ended up doing this naturally all the time as I found I was too inconsistent holding my clubs at the end - it may be that my clubs are too long - but one thing that it has done (I'm a relative newbie by the way and high handicapper) is enabled me to make great contact with the ball, usually straight but if it's going anywhere it's going right. It's transformed my game and is gouging chunks off my handicap. So may get all my clubs cut down...
I brought this lesson to the range today and struck the ball better than I have in years. While the ball flighted a wee bit shorter and lower I was much more consistent finding the center of the clubface. Also compressing the golf ball ( for me ) was better also. Thank you so much for a great lesson.
It works like a hitter in baseball who chokes up with 2 strikes for better control of the bat head. The results indicated in this video begs the question, “why not choke down as a standard practice”? As I got older I lost some control with my driver and a couple of years ago started choking down about an inch and lost very little carry, hit the ball straighter and picked up some roll so there’s no noticeable difference.
Yeah, I learn this when I hit my 5 year old son’s iron 7, I realize that this club easier to control and still can hit the ball pretty far, go on to try on my club and it is true, my impact is more at centre, far better than holding at the end of the grip
Great vid!! Thank you for posting! I've found that same result and prefer it over holding at the end of the club. Especially on my driver. I actually cut an inch and a half off the end of my driver shaft and I hit the ball more straight now.
I noticed this with my wedges a few years ago when I really started focusing on my short game and 100 yd and in. It somewhat confused me. This confirms what I've been seeing. Thx.
Funny enough I was trying this out last week. And as you said distance was virtually the same, flight the same, maybe a tad lower. But my shots still went left as well as right. I don't think my proximity to the hole was better either, but I've got to say it was pretty windy that day . Maybe the strike was more consistent, but I'll talk to my coach this week and see what he thinks, might be good for approach shots with a little practise. I did find my chipping and pitching was better than average for me.
Very informative demonstration. The answer is in the club head speed. With only .1 mph difference, it is pure physics that shows that you swung the club much harder when you choked up; whether intentionally or not. Were you to swing normally, you would have seen a significant difference in results.
Mr Short game, great video….there was one line that I keyed on in this video where u said choking down makes u hit straighter. Today, I used this tip on the back 9 and viola! I shot 2 over par. Hitting straight shots was a treat. I now have a draw and straight shot. GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the tip
Matt you have the characteristics of a excellent coach which is the ability to understand the thought process that beginners have. I have played about 20 rounds this season and have came down from mid 90's consistent shooter to getting my lowest score twice at 83. My goal is to break 80 by the end of the season, keep up the hard work as you have created great value from this content for many people, thank you.
At 54 I got fitted with my current set of Callaway clubs. Now at 60 I’ve lost a 1/2 inch of height. About 8 months ago I started choking down a half inch on all clubs which resulted in better strikes on the ball. After watching this video I added another half inch to my choke down and I’m hitting them as well as when I first got fitted. Thanks for tip!
So then for research and analysis purposes why not cut down your 7 iron to effectively pitching wedge length. Would that still result in 7 iron yardage but pitching wedge control?
Thank you Matt. I am slowly but surely getting my game to where it was and where I want it to be. I have a question though, I have always struggled "compressing" the ball with my irons and I typically sweep at the ball and thin it on miss hits or trying to muscle it further. Can you show the difference in numbers on the simulator with sweeping beneath the ball vs compressing the ball? Like the difference in spin and flight path or something like that. If my question doesn't make sense, just please ignore it everyone 😂 still love this video!
Sweeping will result in higher spin and less ball speed from higher dynamic loft. Compressing will lower dynamic loft so say your 7 iron is 33 degrees the dynamic loft will be more like 27 or something if you compress the ball. That will lower spin and give you more ball speed
I think the above result happens to many golfers mainly because of two issues: 1. The golfer reacts to the lighter swing weight (from choking down) and swings at a quicker tempo resulting in similar clubhead speed; 2. The golfer is so hard-wired as to how fast the clubhead speed is for each club that he will react to reach that speed which he unconsciously feels that he must achieve. A way to cheat the above to get the shorter distance is to think you are swinging the club you have choked down to eg that P-wedge and swing with a P-wedge tempo, else the better way is to just ensure you don't change the tempo of your swing. Then you should get a shorter carry, lower ball flight and longer roll-out as expected.
I've (15 index) never had consistent results taking distance off by choking down. My results for reducing distance are better doing things like moving the ball up a little and/or opening the stance up a little and/or slowing the arms down a little on the downswing.
This is brilliant Matt. Too bad I didn't see this video in February when you posted it. It could have made a difference in my season this year. Thanks man.
Great video. I've been wanting more control over my longer irons and thought about choking down. I thought I would check out some videos first. Watched yours and got the answer I was hoping for. I'm out the door to try it. Thanks.
Could you do a video on the longer irons and woods with this as well, reason being if you get close to the same result and it’s easier to choke down on the clubs that might be better to do all the time
Great video, Matt! Very subtle changes in setup at address make huge differences in outcomes. Videos on subjects like this demonstrate this idea. Good stuff!
awesome video. has always happened to me, whenever i choke down i end up hitting the same distance or sometimes longer.... So here is the question, if there is no distance reduction, why do we not choke down for every shot, how is the full length of the club giving any advantage?
Spin.. when you choke up the club is slower and puts less spin on the ball. If there is less spin the ball travels longer.. watch fleetwood not this guy talk about choking up
After watching a lot of your videos on what would help with my game my first time out this year my handicap dropped by 15 was hitting a 60 handicap now I’m at 40 not saying I’m great at golf but it’s easier to have fun golfing now instead of getting stressed on what am I doing wrong that is causing it
MSG great video! Love your evidence based approach to challenge our assumptions of long held golf beliefs. I still remember Anthony Kim, one of the best ball strikers on tour and gone way too soon from the game, choking down on his clubs as a matter of routine. He was often critiqued by announcers that this was costing him distance. Perhaps it wasn't. And it sure didn't seem to limit him at East Lake, Valhalla or his 11 birdie tear at the Masters.
I so enjoy your helpful instructional videos and the humor you add to them. You are awesome. Would this be the case choking down on the driver? Do you change the ball position in your stance when you choke down?
Great video....I thought there might be an impact as a result of the lie and swing plain ....this demonstrates it perfectly. I'm a little surprised that distance isn't affected, but the proof is right in this video...love your videos!!!
Would also be interested to see the difference between choking down on a longer shaft versus using a shorter shaft without choking down, both with the same iron head/loft and same measurement, e.g.. Choke down 1" vs a 1" shorter shaft with normal grip. So, any difference when one uses longer shafts and chokes down, or is it significantly better to shorten the shafts and use a normal grip.
@@28russ I tried the cobra one length set which is set at a 7i standard and it didn’t work for me as a high handicapper, I went back to my old set and played exponentially better … I did however keep the two “long” irons from cobra 4i and 5i in the bag as they are much easier to hit
I like the data Matt and thanks for doing this. In theory, you'd think the club head speed would be influenced a little more but I was surprised at only 0.1 difference. I'd be interested to see what a 7-iron would do with a 2 inch longer shaft. I think this is also a good lesson to just swing smooth and let the club do the job it's supposed to.
Nice video, always enjoy watching. However, if choking down didn't reduce swing speed slightly, therefore reducing distance(5-10 yards potentially) then your swing speed would be the same with your seven iron and pitching wedge as you demonstrated. In other words, we swing shorter clubs with less speed. So by making a club shorter, choking down, we will influence swing speed, which in turn will influence distance.
I adjust the grip on many golfers who tend to allow the butt of their top hand to actually hang over the end of the club resulting in a massive decrease in club control. IMO, always choke down at least a half inch or more for best control of the club head.
Thanks Matt, I have ways choked down. Probably about an inch to inch and a half or so. Not only does it produce more accuracy it also produces more consistency as it helps with the control of wrist hinge at the top of the swing. I never really thought that it would impact distance either. Regardless i will sacrifice a little distance for accuracy any shot in a round. Thank for doing this and keep up the great work.
The club head speed went from 87.1 to 87.0 when choking down on the club. I always thought that club head speed was related to the length of the club and that choking down would in fact reduce club head speed significantly and therefore would result in a noticeable reduction in distance. I'm confused now. Thanks Matt :)
To keep swing weights the same across a set of irons, shorter irons have heavier heads. Simply choking down on the 7 iron means that he is swinging a club head which is now requires less force to move than it did when he held it 2 inches further way from the head. If he applies the same amount of force, or possibly more force (because he is a human not a machine) he can swing the choked down club at the same speed as the nonchoked down club. If he swung his pitching wedge it probably would have a slower swing speed.
I saw a video from a tour pro who said that for him, choking down an inch takes off 3 yards. For us hacks, that’s nothing, and better contact might actually erase the difference.
Love the content. But with below 90MPH club speed, spin around 5k RPM and 180yards carried. It's just the traditional 5-iron that have number 7th stamped on it.
Good teaching. Nicklaus choked-down or knocked-down shots. But he kept his wrists firm at the top. Which you can't do, because the weight of the club breaks the wrist to a degree. But it's enough to make about a 10-yard distance difference, as a rule. And the shot is far more accurate, as Mr. Short Game showed. Woods has copied Jack, and that is why he's such a good medium to short iron player, ala Nicklaus.
As a right handed hitter, I started positioning my right thumb on the side of the grip instead of over the top, its felt good after changing it.... Is there a specific way you’re supposed to position your hands? I know I’ve heard yes and no - to do what’s most comfortable Thoughts?
I've done the same change recently and found I'm hitting the ball straighter. My shots tended to always push fade to the right. I kept my same swing and just changed to a slightly stronger grip with the thumb on the side of the club instead of on top and that has straightened out my push fades.
Unless I'm mistaken, choking down on the club, say 1" will keep the club in balance with itself verses cutting 1" off the end, which will affect the balance of the club. True or false?
I choke down on my 4 iron and it averages further carry distance, more consistent but only difference is catching it every once in a while not choking down it goes a little farther
I got up a club and choke down on every shot. So much more consistency, accuracy, and pureness in my shots. I just put ego aside and hit a choked down 7 iron for my 150 shots. While all my buddies, who think they're heroes, hit 8 irons. Guess who gets more FIRs?
I'm at the bottom of the grip on standard men's irons and I've hit some of my best shots ever. Definitely no loss of distance. When I look at many pros and teachers their clubs look like they're made for juniors or women. I guess I have long arms. Lol. I've never actually been fitted, I just choke up
Uhhhh...I have to fight hitting it left when I choke down...why the heck would that be? Maybe its because I have more control (i.e. better ability to turn the club over)?
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As a scratch golfer this has been my biggest secret the last 20 years since I was very young. I choke down 1-2 inches on about every single shot. Always led the team in fairways, least penalty strokes, etc.
I think I've watched just about every one of your videos and I have learned a lot. I used this choke down method yesterday and I was amazed and very happy with every one of my iron shots. I'm usually in the low 90's and right off the bat yesterday I shot an 85. I pretty much ignore all of the other videos now. Thank you for all you do for us hackers out here
This vid helps ... more that I can imagine... thanks alot you helps millions of weekend warriors. Greeting from Indonesia...
I am 74 years old and just restarted playing golf after a 40yr break. There was no utube when I used to play. Your guidance has helped me get back to striking the ball correctly. Today I watched your lesson on chipping and I have taken your advice to heart. I opened the face of my wedge and did not take the club higher than my waist and moved through the ball. Works like a charm. I’m a subscriber and will remain one. Thanks
Oh by the way this is Chris Linda’s husband
Can you do a video at some point in the future showing the differences, if any, between normal shaft, hard stepped shaft and soft stepped shaft? I have always wondered if you can lower spin or ball flight using these methods. Some people say you can, others say it just alters feel of the club but not launch conditions. Maybe you can put it to the test for us. Just a thought. Love the channel!
Here is another truth for you. I was just fit for a new set of ping 425 irons, got blue dot, but it also called for -1/2 inch length from standard. I decided not to get them cut but rather stayed with standard length. I simply choke down 1/2 inch. I've found they preform wonderfully, plus that 1/2 on the end acts like a slight counterbalance and I'm swinging the club faster. Of course this won't work if you need a longer than standard club.
I've thought about this quite a bit and have a theory (and this video seems to support my theory...thanks!) I believe gripping down won't produce a shorter shot if the top of the shaft remains the same distance from your body. Imagine someone holding one end of a jump rope and spinning it around while people try to jump over the rope (yes, very elementary school). The further away you get from the holder, the faster the rope is moving. The correlation between shaft length and clubhead speed works like this--but maybe not like you think. The jump rope isn't being spun by the kid's hand. The kid is spinning around--and the center of this motion is somewhere in the kid's core. For the golfer, it's not the choking down...or the distance between the hands and the clubhead. It's the distance between the clubhead and the center of the swing plane (liver, kidney, belly button, whatever).
Assuming my theory is correct, a shorter shaft--held the same distance from your body--will result in slower clubhead speed (thus slower ball speed and lesser distance).
The technical reason choking down/shorter shaft can potentially produce similar distance is because it is easier to control the club and make center contact with the ball on impact. Swing speed is a factor in good distance as well but not as important as making good contact.
Longer shaft helps you swing faster but gets harder to control and get center contact on the club face, for most golfers at least.
Think of choking down on a baseball bat and hitting a ball that is not in motion vs. holding the bat by the very end and swinging. The ball will be hit with more energy on impact using the latter method. But again, if you’re making better contact when choking up a bit, it may not be a big difference.
In an essence I always thought choking down controlled your club head path thus creating a more controlled shot. My distance is generally reduced because I don’t swing as hard and my follow through is shortened. Thank big man, good information.
I don't think i can hit it any other way than choking it
This was a great - thanks Matt for the info! I have noticed that chocking down on the club helps me with my wrist hinging as well.
It helps a lot ,mostly when you have weak wrist. And you Can’t hold the club on the swing
When you bring an iron closer to your body, the toe is going more down (flatter), producing a shot that wants to go naturally more right. If your normal 7i is going 21 ft left... Maybe you need a flatter lie angle?
I've ended up doing this naturally all the time as I found I was too inconsistent holding my clubs at the end - it may be that my clubs are too long - but one thing that it has done (I'm a relative newbie by the way and high handicapper) is enabled me to make great contact with the ball, usually straight but if it's going anywhere it's going right. It's transformed my game and is gouging chunks off my handicap. So may get all my clubs cut down...
I brought this lesson to the range today and struck the ball better than I have in years. While the ball flighted a wee bit shorter and lower I was much more consistent finding the center of the clubface. Also compressing the golf ball ( for me ) was better also. Thank you so much for a great lesson.
So you learned that you'd play better with shorter clubs. May give up a "wee bit" of distance, but you don't put how far you hit it on the scorecard!
It works like a hitter in baseball who chokes up with 2 strikes for better control of the bat head. The results indicated in this video begs the question, “why not choke down as a standard practice”? As I got older I lost some control with my driver and a couple of years ago started choking down about an inch and lost very little carry, hit the ball straighter and picked up some roll so there’s no noticeable difference.
You see Justin Thomas do this a lot with driver and he still pounds it out there!
Yeah, I learn this when I hit my 5 year old son’s iron 7, I realize that this club easier to control and still can hit the ball pretty far, go on to try on my club and it is true, my impact is more at centre, far better than holding at the end of the grip
Great vid!! Thank you for posting! I've found that same result and prefer it over holding at the end of the club. Especially on my driver. I actually cut an inch and a half off the end of my driver shaft and I hit the ball more straight now.
I noticed this with my wedges a few years ago when I really started focusing on my short game and 100 yd and in. It somewhat confused me. This confirms what I've been seeing. Thx.
Funny enough I was trying this out last week. And as you said distance was virtually the same, flight the same, maybe a tad lower. But my shots still went left as well as right. I don't think my proximity to the hole was better either, but I've got to say it was pretty windy that day . Maybe the strike was more consistent, but I'll talk to my coach this week and see what he thinks, might be good for approach shots with a little practise. I did find my chipping and pitching was better than average for me.
Great video. One question--why wouldn't I choke down on all my shots? Isn't straight always better?
Very informative demonstration. The answer is in the club head speed. With only .1 mph difference, it is pure physics that shows that you swung the club much harder when you choked up; whether intentionally or not. Were you to swing normally, you would have seen a significant difference in results.
Mr Short game, great video….there was one line that I keyed on in this video where u said choking down makes u hit straighter. Today, I used this tip on the back 9 and viola! I shot 2 over par. Hitting straight shots was a treat. I now have a draw and straight shot. GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the tip
Adjust your stand you will see deference about the distance.
I played 56 degree from 65 yard to 100 yard and I love it.
Matt you have the characteristics of a excellent coach which is the ability to understand the thought process that beginners have. I have played about 20 rounds this season and have came down from mid 90's consistent shooter to getting my lowest score twice at 83. My goal is to break 80 by the end of the season, keep up the hard work as you have created great value from this content for many people, thank you.
At 54 I got fitted with my current set of Callaway clubs. Now at 60 I’ve lost a 1/2 inch of height. About 8 months ago I started choking down a half inch on all clubs which resulted in better strikes on the ball. After watching this video I added another half inch to my choke down and I’m hitting them as well as when I first got fitted. Thanks for tip!
So then for research and analysis purposes why not cut down your 7 iron to effectively pitching wedge length. Would that still result in 7 iron yardage but pitching wedge control?
Tried it out myself today with all my clubs and it worked for me. Especially with driver and 3 wood.
Super video! I am anxious to try this method with the driver. Thank you for posting these videos Matt!
Thank you Matt. I am slowly but surely getting my game to where it was and where I want it to be. I have a question though, I have always struggled "compressing" the ball with my irons and I typically sweep at the ball and thin it on miss hits or trying to muscle it further. Can you show the difference in numbers on the simulator with sweeping beneath the ball vs compressing the ball? Like the difference in spin and flight path or something like that. If my question doesn't make sense, just please ignore it everyone 😂 still love this video!
Sweeping will result in higher spin and less ball speed from higher dynamic loft. Compressing will lower dynamic loft so say your 7 iron is 33 degrees the dynamic loft will be more like 27 or something if you compress the ball. That will lower spin and give you more ball speed
I think the above result happens to many golfers mainly because of two issues:
1. The golfer reacts to the lighter swing weight (from choking down) and swings at a quicker tempo resulting in similar clubhead speed;
2. The golfer is so hard-wired as to how fast the clubhead speed is for each club that he will react to reach that speed which he unconsciously feels that he must achieve.
A way to cheat the above to get the shorter distance is to think you are swinging the club you have choked down to eg that P-wedge and swing with a P-wedge tempo, else the better way is to just ensure you don't change the tempo of your swing. Then you should get a shorter carry, lower ball flight and longer roll-out as expected.
so glad you did this video with numbers. I have noticed the same thing you just demonstrated when i choke down on my 3-5 irons. Thanks!!!!
I've (15 index) never had consistent results taking distance off by choking down. My results for reducing distance are better doing things like moving the ball up a little and/or opening the stance up a little and/or slowing the arms down a little on the downswing.
This is brilliant Matt. Too bad I didn't see this video in February when you posted it. It could have made a difference in my season this year. Thanks man.
Thanks. Always wondered. Definitely thought it would shorten distance. But knowing actually just straightens shot out, works for me:)
Great video. I've been wanting more control over my longer irons and thought about choking down. I thought I would check out some videos first. Watched yours and got the answer I was hoping for. I'm out the door to try it. Thanks.
I always tend to either pure or chuck my 4 iron. Yesterday I choked down and stood closer to the ball and pured my 4iron dead straight 200yds
Excellent Instructional Video! I absolutely thought I'd lose distance choking down.
Great Video. I’ve noticed an increase in club head speed and distance choking up on my irons.
Could you do a video on the longer irons and woods with this as well, reason being if you get close to the same result and it’s easier to choke down on the clubs that might be better to do all the time
thank you so much for this video, i have a feeling that this will forever change my game
Great video, Matt! Very subtle changes in setup at address make huge differences in outcomes. Videos on subjects like this demonstrate this idea. Good stuff!
Such a good video. Figured this out on the sim last week and this totally confirms my findings too. Great content!
Love the way you explain stuff it is truly helpful
Great to see this Matt. Always thought choking down equaled shorter distance.
IM CONFUSED IF YOU DONT LOSE DISTANCE AND ONLY HIT THE BALL STRAIGHT WHY WOULD YOU NOT DO THIS ON EVERY SHOT?
My 7iron short anyways cause thats my getting on green club almost never fails me love it with confidence
awesome video. has always happened to me, whenever i choke down i end up hitting the same distance or sometimes longer.... So here is the question, if there is no distance reduction, why do we not choke down for every shot, how is the full length of the club giving any advantage?
Ding ding ding
Spin.. when you choke up the club is slower and puts less spin on the ball. If there is less spin the ball travels longer.. watch fleetwood not this guy talk about choking up
Also this guy comes over the top so don't take this analysis to seriously
Probably means we play with shafts that are too long to begin with 🤔
It's supposed to increase clubhead speed due to leverage. The longer the shaft is the faster the head will move with the same swing speed.
After watching a lot of your videos on what would help with my game my first time out this year my handicap dropped by 15 was hitting a 60 handicap now I’m at 40 not saying I’m great at golf but it’s easier to have fun golfing now instead of getting stressed on what am I doing wrong that is causing it
MSG great video! Love your evidence based approach to challenge our assumptions of long held golf beliefs. I still remember Anthony Kim, one of the best ball strikers on tour and gone way too soon from the game, choking down on his clubs as a matter of routine. He was often critiqued by announcers that this was costing him distance. Perhaps it wasn't. And it sure didn't seem to limit him at East Lake, Valhalla or his 11 birdie tear at the Masters.
My bad miss is left, so this could be VERY useful!!!! Thanks Mr SG!
Man your the greatest golf content creator I’ve ever watched!! Keep them
Coming!!
Wow that is actually mind blowing! I struggle going left so I’m definitely trying this out
I so enjoy your helpful instructional videos and the humor you add to them. You are awesome.
Would this be the case choking down on the driver? Do you change the ball position in your stance when you choke down?
Great information! Going to implement into my game. Thank you
Going to try this indoors and see the data. Thanks again man!
Great video....I thought there might be an impact as a result of the lie and swing plain ....this demonstrates it perfectly. I'm a little surprised that distance isn't affected, but the proof is right in this video...love your videos!!!
Would also be interested to see the difference between choking down on a longer shaft versus using a shorter shaft without choking down, both with the same iron head/loft and same measurement, e.g.. Choke down 1" vs a 1" shorter shaft with normal grip. So, any difference when one uses longer shafts and chokes down, or is it significantly better to shorten the shafts and use a normal grip.
Yeah, I'm wondering how a 1 length set with PW or 9 iron shafts would go.
@@28russ I tried the cobra one length set which is set at a 7i standard and it didn’t work for me as a high handicapper, I went back to my old set and played exponentially better … I did however keep the two “long” irons from cobra 4i and 5i in the bag as they are much easier to hit
Wow! Never knew that, great video, such a great idea esp when the hook comes into play! Thanks
Great video Matt, will be taking this to the fairways in sunny Spain in the morning. Hoping it can help with my left miss from inside 140yds
very interesting! thanks i will try it
Great video I’m going too try this. My bad shots are always left
What a great video ,,,, well done and thanks from England ...Keep up the great work
You're the best Matt. Great vid. Very clear and concise.
I've been choking down on all my clubs since I started playing 26 years ago, and I've always liked the control factor of it myself also.
I like the data Matt and thanks for doing this. In theory, you'd think the club head speed would be influenced a little more but I was surprised at only 0.1 difference. I'd be interested to see what a 7-iron would do with a 2 inch longer shaft. I think this is also a good lesson to just swing smooth and let the club do the job it's supposed to.
Wow that’s such a common misconception I took that as factual when other members from the club told me that. That helps a lot
Nice video, always enjoy watching. However, if choking down didn't reduce swing speed slightly, therefore reducing distance(5-10 yards potentially) then your swing speed would be the same with your seven iron and pitching wedge as you demonstrated. In other words, we swing shorter clubs with less speed. So by making a club shorter, choking down, we will influence swing speed, which in turn will influence distance.
This was an underrated video from Mr. Short Game!
I adjust the grip on many golfers who tend to allow the butt of their top hand to actually hang over the end of the club resulting in a massive decrease in club control. IMO, always choke down at least a half inch or more for best control of the club head.
It would be nice if they made clubs for us short guys that were just shorter to begin with and had lie angles more suited to our height!
mind blown! lol... I always choked down to influence distance. Never to late to learn something new!
Nice suggestion...will try a bunch of shots next time I'm on the range.
Thanks Matt, I have ways choked down. Probably about an inch to inch and a half or so. Not only does it produce more accuracy it also produces more consistency as it helps with the control of wrist hinge at the top of the swing. I never really thought that it would impact distance either. Regardless i will sacrifice a little distance for accuracy any shot in a round. Thank for doing this and keep up the great work.
wow.. i will be trying this in a few days .. thanks man
Thanks for that very interesting I do pull my mid irons a bit into greens at times 🤔
Would love to see a difference between low hands follow through vs high.. does it really produce different ball flight
You could test this at your local range ....
does this make a case for same length clubs?
That's great, I need to try this with my hybrid next time
Love your videos MSG! Totally unrelated to golf, but what are those shoes you are wearing? Love the look of them. Thanks!
The club head speed went from 87.1 to 87.0 when choking down on the club.
I always thought that club head speed was related to the length of the club and that choking down would in fact reduce club head speed significantly and therefore would result in a noticeable reduction in distance.
I'm confused now.
Thanks Matt :)
To keep swing weights the same across a set of irons, shorter irons have heavier heads. Simply choking down on the 7 iron means that he is swinging a club head which is now requires less force to move than it did when he held it 2 inches further way from the head. If he applies the same amount of force, or possibly more force (because he is a human not a machine) he can swing the choked down club at the same speed as the nonchoked down club. If he swung his pitching wedge it probably would have a slower swing speed.
There is a point at which the speed would get slower but 1-2 inches doesn't really do much.
Then why the hubbub surrounding driver length?
Would you recommend chocking down or cutting down the shaft. For me it would be about 1/2” cut? Trying to decide what’s the smart move
I saw a video from a tour pro who said that for him, choking down an inch takes off 3 yards. For us hacks, that’s nothing, and better contact might actually erase the difference.
Did an experimenting with this a while back. Worked pretty well but I forget about it.
I tend to over draw or hook. Should I choke down on all my clubs to hit more on target. Great video. Thanks
I just like the feel choking down on the club a bit. Helps me keep a more neutral grip as well
I had no idea! Thanks for the great lesson!
Always with tremendous details! Great lesson!
Thank you for a very useful tutorial!
Love the content.
But with below 90MPH club speed, spin around 5k RPM and 180yards carried.
It's just the traditional 5-iron that have number 7th stamped on it.
I like this as a video concept. Would like to see the average of multiple shots plus the data if you choke way up (hand slightly off the end).
Great video Matt…you may have just made a case for single length clubs.
Great tip always enjoy your video s thank you 🙏
Good teaching. Nicklaus choked-down or knocked-down shots. But he kept his wrists firm at the top. Which you can't do, because the weight of the club breaks the wrist to a degree. But it's enough to make about a 10-yard distance difference, as a rule. And the shot is far more accurate, as Mr. Short Game showed. Woods has copied Jack, and that is why he's such a good medium to short iron player, ala Nicklaus.
As a right handed hitter, I started positioning my right thumb on the side of the grip instead of over the top, its felt good after changing it....
Is there a specific way you’re supposed to position your hands? I know I’ve heard yes and no - to do what’s most comfortable
Thoughts?
I've done the same change recently and found I'm hitting the ball straighter. My shots tended to always push fade to the right. I kept my same swing and just changed to a slightly stronger grip with the thumb on the side of the club instead of on top and that has straightened out my push fades.
This was now very interesting! I love your videos and you have a great personality, you always make me laugh!🤗⛳️🏌🏻♀️🇿🇦
Also. Matt where did you get your automatic retractable screen. I like that system. Thanks for all the tips !!!
Great insight 👍
Unless I'm mistaken, choking down on the club, say 1" will keep the club in balance with itself verses cutting 1" off the end, which will affect the balance of the club. True or false?
I choke down on my 4 iron and it averages further carry distance, more consistent but only difference is catching it every once in a while not choking down it goes a little farther
So it basically changes the lie angle. Answers a lot of questions, thank you.
If this is the case, why shouldn't I always choke down?
I was thinking the exact same thing.
It changes the dynamic lie angle
sometimes you want to draw it (or you want the miss to go left versus right)
I got up a club and choke down on every shot. So much more consistency, accuracy, and pureness in my shots. I just put ego aside and hit a choked down 7 iron for my 150 shots. While all my buddies, who think they're heroes, hit 8 irons. Guess who gets more FIRs?
I'm at the bottom of the grip on standard men's irons and I've hit some of my best shots ever. Definitely no loss of distance. When I look at many pros and teachers their clubs look like they're made for juniors or women. I guess I have long arms. Lol. I've never actually been fitted, I just choke up
So why wouldn’t I always choke down on my irons? That makes sense to me or am I wrong about that! Love your videos Matt!
Uhhhh...I have to fight hitting it left when I choke down...why the heck would that be? Maybe its because I have more control (i.e. better ability to turn the club over)?