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At Address - Ground Club or Hover?

JackB1

By JackB1,
in Instruction and Playing Tips

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JackB1 Established Member

JackB1

Was wondering what everyone does or what is the best accepted method. When you address the ball, do you rest the club on the ground before starting back or do you "hover" the club slightly off the ground and then start back?

I have always grounded the club, but wonder if that is causes my slight lift of the arms as I start my takeaway. My instructor suggesting hovering the club slightly above the ground just before takeaway to get rid of the "lifting" motion and it seems to work. Only thing is when you "hover" the club, you have to watch that you still have the correct "arm hang" and psoture at address.

Thoughts?
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traviswise Established Member

traviswise

I like to ground my club but I don't think I have a lift during my backswing. If it seems to work better then I say do it. I know plenty of people that do. For me, it just doesn't feel right.

What's in my Bagboy Revolver cart bag:

Polarity MTR Irons 2&3 (hybrid) thru PW
R7 Burner Draw Driver 460cc
R7 Burner 3 Wood 5614 Vokey Wedge Tour Chrome Studio Select 1.5 ProV1's

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cigarnut81 Well Established Member

cigarnut81

I ground the club as well because I have this funny forward press to start my swing and if I hover it I will move the ball with my swing trigger.

Whats in the bag?
Driver = Wishon Golf 949mc 9.75*/.5* Closed Face Angle
Fairway Wood = Wishon Golf 915 F/H 16* Square Face Angle
Wood Shafts = Wishon Golf Pro Flight EXP 85g Stiff Flex
Hybrids = Wishon Golf 331H 21* & 24*Hybrid Shafts = Wishon Golf GI335 Tour Weight 92g Stiff FlexIrons = Wishon...

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duffer888 Member

duffer888

Hover. You can't ground in a sand trap, so I hover all the time to stay as consistent as possible.

Also, grounding the club in a fluffy lie runs the risk of causing ball movement.

R9 SuperTri 10.5*
Exotics XCG-3 4W 16.5*
Idea Pro 18* and/or 20*
i15
X-Tour 54/60PM Trinidad TP Black LDPAll in a SCB and MicroCart

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Henry Established Member

Henry

i ground my club when hitting off the deck but i hover whenever I'm using a tee. I find that hovering with my driver hels me to have a shallow backswing and stops me hitting down on it like i would with an iron.

In my ozone bag:

905r 10.5 Graphite Design YS-6+ R
909 F2 15.5 Aldila VooDoo Fairway S
Benross VeloCT Resuce 21 Grafalloy ProLaunch Platinum R MX300s 4-PW KBS Tour S MP-T10 50/8 Chrome 54/11 and 60/7 Studio Select Newport II 35"

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davy4862 Newbie

davy4862

I find I have to hover when playing off a very tight lie as in this situation I tend to get a thin contact. I can catch the ball well with the shorter clubs when doing this but find the long irons tougher to get right. Otherwise I am happy to let the club lie. The suggestion about hovering with a driver seems very plausible and I will be trying this out.

I think like everything else it is a matter of experimenting to find out what suits you best.
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Fat Slice Great Member

Fat Slice

I will ground the club to get set, and then I hover ever so lightly before I begin to take the club back.

Me too. Grounding helps me get a geometric reference for my body, the ball, and the club. Hovering afterward makes for a cleaner takeaway.

Driver: Nike Ignite 10.5 w/ Fujikura Motore F1
2H: King Cobra
4H: Nickent 4DX
5H: Adams A3
6I 7I 8I 9I PW: Mizuno mp-57Wedges: Mizuno MP T-10 50, 54, 58 Ball: random

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Uber$winG Dedicated Member

Uber$winG

Me too. Grounding helps me get a geometric reference for my body, the ball, and the club. Hovering afterward makes for a cleaner takeaway.

Right on... I have to set my leading edge in line with the target or my swing is off. Of course this does not apply to hazard play or fluffy lies - in these instances I must hover.

"Every man is his own hell" - H.L. Mencken

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retozimmermann Member

retozimmermann

I will ground the club to get set, and then I hover ever so lightly before I begin to take the club back.

Same here. This is particularly pronounces with my drives. I think for those this was even a tip for a smooth swing-start in Golfer's Digest.

Driver: Mizuno MX-500
Hybrid: Cleveland HiBore 23°
Irons: Mizuno MX-25 4-P, MP-60 2-Iron
Wedges: Mizuno MX 51°, MX 56°
Putter: Mizuno Bettinardi BC1Putter: Mizuno Tour 940
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23Rounder Established Member

23Rounder

I rest mine on the ground. I attempt to lift it just before take away but find that I struggle for balance if I try to hover it

23Rounder

Tour Burner 9.5 / RE*AX 60g Stiff
Launcher 13 & 17 Fairway / Fujikura Gold Stiff
MT Pro-C 3-W / DG S300 MP 52.07 Vokey SM58.12 Tracy II, 34" Putter Z-URS or NXT Tour

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Shanks-a-lot Member

Shanks-a-lot

Just started to hover with my driver in an attempt to swing up at the ball and reduce some backspin. That has now moved over into everything I hit off a tee, but still ground my irons in the fairway.

In The Bag:


Driver: 909D3 9.5* Aldila VooDoo Stiff
3 Wood: 909F2 15.5* Aldila VooDoo StiffHybrid: 3DX 17* Aldila NV StiffIrons: MP-67 3-pwWedges: MP-T 56* & 60*Putter: Studio Select Newport 1.5 33"Ball: Gran-Z (in the bargain bin @ Golfsmith)

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rockin johny Member

rockin johny

I ground my irons to align my self, then slightly hover so as not to upset my take away with drag from the ground. I hover my driver all the time

In the Sasquatch Tour bag:


3 Wood: 906f2, 13*, 906f2, 15*,
Hybrid : 19*Hybrid : CFT 21*, 24*Irons: APEX Edge iron 5-E, Apex 4 ShaftWedges : SV Tour 56*Putter: EFT BladeBall: Pro V1

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misty_mountainhop Great Member

misty_mountainhop

Hover. Gives me a smoother, longer takeaway and interestingly, I seem to hit nicer divots with my irons this way.

Home Course: Wollaton Park GC, Nottingham, U.K.

Ping G400, 9°, Alta CB 55S | Ping G400, 14°, Alta CB 65S | Adams Pro Dhy 18°, 21°, 24°, KBS Hybrid S | Ping S55 5-PW, TT DGS300 | Vokey 252-08, DGS200 | Vokey 256-10 (bent to 58°), DGS200 | Ping Sigma G Anser, 34" | Vice Pro Plus

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PEZGolf Great Member

PEZGolf

Was wondering what everyone does or what is the best accepted method. When you address the ball, do you rest the club on the ground before starting back or do you "hover" the club slightly off the ground and then start back?

I used to ground the club, until I read carefully some of the instruction books written by Jack Nicklaus, where he advocates keeping the club off the ground. He is right. I used to either catch some grass or the ground during the "swing away" (I never refer to it as the "take away, or lift the club to avoid catching it on something. Now, I take a very short waggle with the club off the ground and then go right into my swing away. It has worked very well for me.

Mitch Pezdek------Dash Aficionado and Legend in My Own Mind

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VOX Dedicated Member

VOX

I could never get use to hovering my woods and irons but I always hover my putter on windy days or on steeply sloped greens. If the balls moves, there is no penalty because you have not "addressed" the ball.
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Note: This thread is 5637 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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