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Ball First Contact - And Can Your Irons Help

SuperStroke
Definitely think the design of the irons can help mitigate the damage from hitting the big ball before the little one. It is why I chose the irons I play in large part, that is my miss with irons.
 
Ball first can be an issue for me. I don't have a consistent bottom of my swing all the time and I will hit the big ball before the little ball. The more GI and/or SGI soles tend to help me keep from digging TOO terribly deep when things go off kilter.

JM
 
JB said:
Do you believe you make ball first contact and do you think the bounce, shape, sole and grind design could help or hurt you if you are not?
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I believe I hit the ball first and I know the sole doesn't have a bunch to do with it, but I think psychologically it effects us more than we realize. I like a thin sole for personal reasons but I don't think many hit the ball first no matter the sole.
 
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This thread is really intriguing. I've never really thought about forgiveness in bounce. Would this be more important with wedges, and shorter clubs? I just don't understand how the sole of my 4i, or 8i, could influence how I make contact with the ball?
 
The confidence, for me, comes from how the iron addresses the ball from the top line, not the sole. But everybody is different, and like I said, it will be very interesting to get everyones take on this
 
For me, the additional bounce (regardless of which iron) helps to mitigate the steeper (digging) swings and allows more club to ball contact on those fatter shots. This, in turn, helps the shot to travel a little farther which I guess is forgiveness right?

JM
 
I make ball first contact about 2/10 times. And I'm not smart or educated enough to discount any of the following from effecting how a club performs. I'm ready to be enlightened.
 
If you are striking the ball clean, it shouldn't matter, should it? I'm having a difficult time wrapping my head around this, because it seems like a "you do, or you don't" kind of subject. I didn't strike the ball clean previously. Now, I've fixed it, and i do. Result: 10-15 yards further, and misshits are minimal. But I don't see how different grinds could do that?
 
Johnny mojo said:
For me, the additional bounce (regardless of which iron) helps to mitigate the steeper (digging) swings and allows more club to ball contact on those fatter shots. This, in turn, helps the shot to travel a little farther which I guess is forgiveness right?

JM
Click to expand...
Suppose so. Last weekend, a friend of mine asked me "What club did you hit on that?" (it was a par 3, 185 yrds). I replied with "Doesn't matter, caught it 4 inches short!!" We had a good laugh looking at that divot, at least 4" in front of the ball. I don't see any club helping that.
 
nwgolfr said:
This thread is really intriguing. I've never really thought about forgiveness in bounce. Would this be more important with wedges, and shorter clubs? I just don't understand how the sole of my 4i, or 8i, could influence how I make contact with the ball?
Click to expand...

Honest question. Why do you think hybrids are more forgiving than most irons?
 
JB said:
Honest question. Why do you think hybrids are more forgiving than most irons?
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Huh? Not sure where you got that from, but I've never even tried a hybrid. Maybe there was a misstake?
 
nwgolfr said:
This thread is really intriguing. I've never really thought about forgiveness in bounce. Would this be more important with wedges, and shorter clubs? I just don't understand how the sole of my 4i, or 8i, could influence how I make contact with the ball?
Click to expand...

nwgolfr said:
The confidence, for me, comes from how the iron addresses the ball from the top line, not the sole. But everybody is different, and like I said, it will be very interesting to get everyones take on this
Click to expand...

JB said:
Honest question. Why do you think hybrids are more forgiving than most irons?
Click to expand...

nwgolfr said:
Huh? Not sure where you got that from, but I've never even tried a hybrid. Maybe there was a misstake?
Click to expand...

I was asking based on your above statements. Club design definitely plays a role in ball flight and forgiveness. I was using the hybrid as an example in this question because of the larger sole than most irons. No big deal.
 
Oh - I just realized what you were saying. Yes, the deeper back and cavity's are more forgiving.....lower cg = more forgiving. But I still feel like strike is king
 
I don't always make ball first contact, and I often do make ball first contact but I catch it thin too. As far as club characteristics go I don't see how they could have an impact on my contact because it's a mechanics thing, but I could be wrong.

However, if I look at fairway woods and hybrids I feel like I always sweep the grind a bit just prior to making contact. I'm not talking inches, but a very small fraction of that. Also, out of the rough, picking it clean is not always the case, tall grass gets between the club and the ball at every playing level.
 
This is really just based on my experience taking my game from 17 hdp to 9.8. I didn't buy newer, more forgiving irons. Didn't buy the newest mackdaddy wedges. I practiced my contact, and divot, and it basically took hold from there. I'm not out to argue, just want to give an idea of what helped my game. The ball-first contact was key, and I can do it with my old junior clubs as well as my "way too long" clubs.
 
JB said:
Do you believe you make ball first contact and do you think the bounce, shape, sole and grind design could help or hurt you if you are not?
Click to expand...

Most of the time, but I do still hit it fat on occasion.

A well done sole/bounce/grind 100% can help if you miss. Go play a set of un-ground leading edge irons from years past and hit a shot fat with those...good luck. I've done it, the club digs in so hard you can barely get through the ball. The V sole on the Srixons and ground off soft leading edges on most new irons absolutely help on misses.
 
More now than in the past. I do think the bounce, shape, sole have a role in the effect of not. The w/s fg tour and the RTX 1.0 wedges had a tendency to dig when just a little off.
 
SSomehow in the years of playing golf, I've "lost" the ability to hit ball first, as I remember doing when I was younger. Now, I tend to hit more fat shots or pick the ball clean than bal first. Something I have to work on... I would assume the bounce and shape makes a difference in whether a swing yields a respectable shot even if a little fat. Would think offset vs non-offset shape irons would make a slight difference as well.

I admit I may not know enough to properly assess this issue, but certainly something worth pondering. I look forward to reading all the insights on this subject.
 
I think I make ball first contact most of the time and absolutely I think the grind/shape etc could both help and hurt you if you don't.
 
I hit ball first most of the time, but never in the right direction. I have a flat swing and take little to no divot most of the time, so I typically know I didn't hit ball first when I do take a divot (fat shot). After switching to the J15 CB's with the "sure contact" sole, I do believe bounce/grind helps on those fat mis-hits. Mainly because the contact still feels good and I retain a lot of my normal distances on those mis-hits. So much that I sort of wish I would have gone with the Srixon 545's.
 
I know I do not always hit the ball first and the results show that the ball doesn't go nearly as high but the forgiveness packed into my clubs does its best to get it to the usual distance.

I feel that the sole grind/bounce definitely helps with this 100%
 
No, I don't consistently make ball first contact. It's probably partly why I'm a low ball hitter and why I'm not getting the distance I probably should.

In speaking with Michael Vrska at #StaffProto he said that he never plays Tour Grind wedges and that only professionals, and - ironically - people like me (as far from a pro as one can get) who don't typically take a divot, should play it. So I'm assuming that yes, grind can definitely hinder or help. Same with bounce and sole.
 
Going from old clubs to the Z545 irons, I can definitely see a difference when I don't hit the ball first

When I am striking the ball well, ie ball first, I can't help but smile with how effortless it seems, but even when I don't quite hit the ball first I do not see the loss of distance that I would have seen with my old irons

So I would have to say that the sole design / bounce / grind does make a difference for me
 
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