Iron Bending to fix terrible ball flight

So I purchased a set of AP2s when they first came out and absolutely loved them...until I moved to SC from upstate NY. I'm having real issues with the playing surfaces down here. Long story short, I know I have a relatively steep angle of attack on the ball. This was never a problem up north because the ground was very forgiving in terms of my club slicing through to take a divot. Down here, I'm hitting all of my iron shots left...drawing and really hooking in many cases.

I went to a club fitter to see if bending the clubs would help. Essentially, my irons are making contact on the heal portion of the sole. My question is will having them bent solve my issue? I've also tried choking down a bit and that helped, but I really don;t want to get into the habit of doing that if I don;t have to. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Did you have your Ap2's initially fitted for you? If not, your lie angle could be off. If the lie angle is right for you, then I suggest you go on the playing tips form and get your swing corrected. You should be able to hit the ball solid and straight no matter which State you are in.

I thought of that after I had posted. I did indeed have the clubs fit to me. I hit the ball perfectly and ended up standard standard. I'm not sure what's going on. When in NY I played at least five days a week and always shot good scores...for me (37-42 through nine holes). Now I'm putting up scores of 90-96. This is killing me

Welcome to Aiken.


What courses are you playing?


Tough luck with the irons....that is wild how the turf conditions have messed you up.

I moved down here 11 years ago....still trying to get used to the sidehill lies and etc. Courses back home are flat.....very flat. None of the mounding and elevation changes.

Are you still playing alot. I really don't see how the turf can effect your iron play unless it is so hard you are afraid to take a divot. I would guess something changed in your swing. It happened to me. I used to drive the ball very straight now I have days where I can't control it. I think you are looking at the wrong part of the game.

I've only played two courses here thus far...Aiken and Midland Valley. I like the Aiken course alot. It's a nice layout, albeit short, but the greens are in great shape and the course is pretty well maintained.

As far as the turf is concerned, yes, it's definitely a struggle to see myself hit such terrible shots throughout a round. My theory on what is happening is the heel of the club hits the ground and turns the clubface shut through impact causing a hooking ball flight. Am I crazy for thinking this? I recognize it could have something to do with my swing, but I have no problems with my wedges, driver, 3 wood or hybrid...only the irons.

I'm not playing nearly as much as I used to. Please see my response to Dub's post in explaining my theory on why this is happening. As I mentioned there, I have no issues with any of my other clubs...wedges included.

I would definitely have the lie checked if you are swinging the same. Maybe alignment is a bit off in regards to aiming. That can really screw up everything.

If your heal is the part of the sole making contact with the ground, then your irons are too upright and should be flattened. Irons that are too upright will definitely cause a left tendancy.

What strikes me as weird is that you say you got fitted for them when you got them. Can you describe that fitting process? Did you actually hit balls on a board or was the fitting based on your physical characteristics (i.e. height, arm length, etc.) ?

Hitting irons off of burmuda is tough, very tough. I remember when I moved from Denver to Atlanta years ago, I couldn't figure out how/why I couldn't hit good irons shots. I finally figured it out after 5 years, then I moved back to Denver where we have Kentucky Bluegrass.

I'm sure it will just take some time dealing with the burmuda.

I haven't played down south too much but I wouldn't think hitting out of fairways would be any different. If you are hitting it right it is ball then turf, why would it matter?

lol go play down south, come back and tell me what you think!

The fitting was with a board and impact tape. I hit the ball so pure that day. The Titleist rep actually took the club and showed it to another rep as the contact marks on the bottom and club face were perfect...one nickel sized purple mark on the club face and right down the middle on the sole. That being said, that was quite some time ago.

I'm sure my swing has changed some because back then, my miss was a bit right (just kind of tailing)...then my miss was a bit left (too much right to left)...now I'm way left much of the time

I've played in Hilton Head and at courses around here that have Zozia fairways "I couldn't spell that if my life depended on it". From what I remember it seemed like it was sitting up better, teed up almost.

When I went to HH, I played great that week, I know that for sure. I remember coming home and thinking golf down south was so much easier because you actually get flat lies. I

Sorry but the bolded above makes it seem like you are hitting turf first then ball. Is this the case?

Yes, I think that is the case. The toe of the club is slightly raised at address. The heel of the club is contacting the turf and folding the club face over...IMO. That said, it's happening almost simultaneously with the club face contacting the ball. My theory is that flattening the irons a degree of two will prevent this. I either need to choke down on the club to make it sit flat or look into getting them bent. I just didn't want to jump to conclusions without any validation from fellow golfers.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the toe being up at address doesn't necessarily mean the lie angle is wrong, what really matters is during the swing.

OK, so they did it right. If you're using the board and tape now and the marks are on the heal of the club, then your club is too upright.

Get them bent flatter to where that mark is dead center again and you should see your shots straighten out signifigantly.