Flattening clubs and distance

[mike8750]

Club and tech guys I was wondering does taking your clubs from a more upright position to a more flattened position decrease the distance that each club is capable of?

[WUTiger]

Not necessarily. If you have irons that are too upright, you will tend to miss to the left. On the longer clubs, this can cost you distance as the ball never gets airborne properly.

You want to adjust the lie so that you hit the ball squarely on impact. Ideal lie angle sets in quickly for most golfers, and stays that way unless a major swing change is made.

I had trouble for years with missing left once the season got underway and my swing got grooved. In 1994, I got fitted for irons and it turned out I needed 2* flat. This immediately tightened my iron dispersion, and I suddenly became much more accurate with my wedges.

About 2004, I underwent a major swing rebuild and got a more upright stance. My last season with the 1994 irons, I started having a lot of impact toward the toe on my flat-lie irons.

For Callaway and Mizuno irons, the standard lie seems to fit me fine. For Ping, I usually test out for a slight, three-quarter degree flat lie (red dot on color chart).

So, you need to change lie angle after getting a fitting. It's hit and miss if you just start bending clubs on a hunch.