Is Moving the Hands Forward at Address in Order to Hit Down on the Ball Considered a Band-Aid?

[ShaftFarmer]

I just can't for the life of me hit down on the ball unless I have at least a few inches of forward shaft lean. However, I very rarely see good golfers doing this. Is this considered a bandaid for a bad weight shift or something? 

[ncates00]

1 minute ago, ShaftFarmer said:

I just can't for the life of me hit down on the ball unless I have at least a few inches of forward shaft lean. However, I very rarely see good golfers doing this. Is this considered a bandaid for a bad weight shift or something? 

Your message as typed is a bit unclear.  Are you saying: 1) that good golfers don't have forward lean at address or 2) that good golfers don't have forward lean at impact?

If you meant #1, that's not true.  There are many professionals who play with forward lean at address.  Some will have the shaft more vertical at address because they already lean it so much on the downswing.  Others, like Rory, will have some lean at address.  Some will have a lot of lean at address and some will only have a little.  I'm no pro, but I set up with forward lean at address with every club but putter.  Only my ball position changes--I still have the grip pointed somewhere around my front (left) hip.  I do this because it helps me to see/feel the correct impact position; I don't lean it a ton naturally in my swing, so I like to have some at address.  I then lean it a tad bit more at impact and it helps me hit the correct launch window while hitting down, taking a nice divot.

If you meant #2, you're obviously wrong.  All great players have forward shaft lean at impact.

[ShaftFarmer]

3 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

Your message as typed is a bit unclear.  Are you saying: 1) that good golfers don't have forward lean at address or 2) that good golfers don't have forward lean at impact?

If you meant #1, that's not true.  There are many professionals who play with forward lean at address.  Some will have the shaft more vertical at address because they already lean it so much on the downswing.  Others, like Rory, will have some lean at address.  Some will have a lot of lean at address and some will only have a little.  I'm no pro, but I set up with forward lean at address with every club but putter.  Only my ball position changes--I still have the grip pointed somewhere around my front (left) hip.  I do this because it helps me to see/feel the correct impact position; I don't lean it a ton naturally in my swing, so I like to have some at address.  I then lean it a tad bit more at impact and it helps me hit the correct launch window while hitting down, taking a nice divot.

If you meant #2, you're obviously wrong.  All great players have forward shaft lean at impact.

Yeah sorry for the poorly phrased question, I did mean #1. I know all good golfers have forward shaft lean but was just wondering if doing that at address was a fix for something you aren't doing correctly in your swing. I guess I need to pay more attention to the pros angle at address. Thanks for reply!

[ncates00]

5 minutes ago, ShaftFarmer said:

Yeah sorry for the poorly phrased question, I did mean #1. I know all good golfers have forward shaft lean but was just wondering if doing that at address was a fix for something you aren't doing correctly in your swing. I guess I need to pay more attention to the pros angle at address. Thanks for reply!

No worries.  Again, it depends on the player; some do it and some don't.  Rory, DJ, ZJ, and lots of guys have forward lean at address.  Although Stenson does not have it at his static address, as soon as he does that little "sit back" move he does, he leans it.  I don't see it as a band-aid and certainly not a bad thing at all.  Having your hands a little forward of your zipper and a bit of shaft lean is a good thing as it helps set up a good downswing intention.

[DaveP043]

To me, the image of having my address position be very similar to my intended impact position is a good thing.  So I try to set up with a pretty straight line from my left shoulder to the ball (in-line impact).  This means that I will always have a bit of forward shaft lean at address unless the ball is positioned about even with my left shoulder, and I only do that with my driver.

[Carl3]

I have started to address the ball with some forward shaft lean (except driver and putter).