Golf Smart Academy Forum — Choking up on the club

Can choking up on a golf club for a full, stock swing make any real difference (normal stance, normal lie) to the dynamics of the swing? The reason I ask is that I've been working on ironing out my wrist positions through impact and release, and I have the "feeling" that it's much easier to not flip my wrists at impact when I choke down on the grip by about a half-inch or inch or so. Just curious to know whether there's anything real in terms of the center of mass of the club or weight distribution (or anything science-y), or if it's just a psychological trick I found for myself (that will not last longer than a couple days).

Previously I've only choked up on a club if I'm in between yardages, and I want to take the longer club and carry the ball ~5 yards less. It's never made any sense to me why choking up on a club would make it any easier to hit under any circumstances (even for uneven stances). But now I'm beginning to wonder.

In theory, yes. Choking up on the club should influence distance.

In most sets, the difference between two clubs is about 4 degrees of loft and a half inch of length. If you look at the speed chart below, you'll see that pros swing the irons about 2mph faster for each club. They are typically swinging their hands at about the same speed, so it's the extra length that equates to the added speed. So in theory, choking up a half inch should lower the speed enough to take off 5 yards or so.

Also, a shorter club can make it easier to control the club face at the bottom. Looking at it another way, one of the harder things about the driver is that the length of the club and the speed it's moving makes it trickier to control the face compared to a short iron. The face typically has to be lined up sooner with the longer club. Some golfers like Anthony Kim and Brook Henderson choke up on the club and hit it great. The extra weight on the other side of the hands seems to help their feels.

Choking up on the club

Choking up on the club ¶

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