I played the wrong lie angle for 28 years, including my pro playing days.

That's not a fun thing for a golf coach to admit. But it's the best example I've got of something I see in lessons all the time: a "swing flaw" that's really the club fighting the golfer. So let's talk about lie angle, grips and the impact position, and why getting fit might fix more than another lesson.

My curved face test. The lie angle and grips chapter is the part that changed my game fastest.

My 28-year lie angle story

I'm 5'7", and I played 1° flat for 28 years. When Avoda fit me, they put me 2° upright. That's a three-degree change.

You'd think, oh, that's a big change. Yeah, but it was a super duper easy change, because it was actually what I needed. It made my game better right away. What was news to me after 30 years of playing this game is that lie angle isn't just based on height. They factored in my style of swing, not just how tall I am. All my clubs are at 2° upright now.

Twenty-eight years with the wrong lie angle. Don't be me.

How BSK teaches: start at impact

Here's my philosophy. I don't want you to fit into somebody else's swing. I want to show you how to swing your swing. So at Big Swing Kings, we start at impact. Find your natural impact position, then work backwards from there.

But if your clubs don't match that impact position, your swing has to compensate just to make contact. Your equipment either locks you into your impact position or fights it.

The impact-first fix that makes golf feel easy.

How lie angle affects where the face points

What does lie angle actually do? Well, it's the angle between the bottom of the club and the shaft. It decides how the club meets the ground in your swing, and you want the sole meeting the ground flat at your natural impact position.

Avoda explains what happens when it's off:

• Too flat: the face points right at impact, so golfers start aiming left to compensate. Avoda says it can also lead to toe strikes and an over-the-top move.
• Too upright: the face points left at impact, so golfers start aiming right. Avoda links it to heel strikes, deep divots, chunks and even shanks.

Avoda also says they've seen golfers pick up 10 to 12 mph of clubhead speed just from correcting lie angle. That's their number, not mine. What I can tell you is that my own change felt natural from day one.

Grips: taking the hands out of it

I went to JumboMax grips with my Avoda irons, mediums on my same length set. It was a first for me. With thinner grips, I felt like I was moving the club around in my fingers. With the bigger grip, there's less movement in my hands. I can grip it softer and still feel like I've got a good, solid hold. It kind of takes the hands out of the grip.

Is it going to fix your grip forever? No. You can still grip it pretty strong with a big grip. And honestly, the jumbo grips were a little bit of an adjustment for me. But I won't be going back to thin ones. Avoda offers premium grip options with no upcharge on your irons, so it's worth trying a bigger size. JumboMax also has a sizing app worth checking out.

Lie angle plus grips locks you in

Here's the key, though. Big grips are fantastic if your lie angle is correct. If the club sits flat on the ground where you naturally get to the ball at impact, a bigger grip encourages you to get to that same spot each time.

In plain English: get the right lie angle and larger grips, and it's going to lock you into your impact position and make it easier to get to the ball the same way, over and over. Lie angle is the first thing on Avoda's fitting list, and their online fitting uses your down-the-line video and your height to work it out. My test of it is in Can You Really Get Fit Online?.

Avoda's view: flaws as compensations

Avoda goes further than I would in a lesson, but I think they're onto something. They say that for a lot of golfers, early extension, coming over the top, chunks, thins, shanks and tops aren't swing flaws at all. They're compensations for equipment that doesn't match how they're built to move.

I'll still help you fix your swing. But I want to know your clubs aren't working against you first. Think of it like trying to write neatly with a pen that doesn't fit your hand. You can learn to do it, but you'll be holding it funny forever.

Who's this not for? If you've had a proper dynamic fitting recently and your strikes are centred and your divots are even, your clubs probably aren't the problem. Go work on your swing.

A quick self-check and a BSK drill

Self-check (based on Avoda's lie angle guide):

1. Ball flight. If your solid irons start right and you've been aiming left to fix it, your irons might be too flat. Starting left and aiming right? Possibly too upright.
2. Strikes and divots. Lots of heel strikes and deep divots point to upright. Toe strikes and trouble taking a divot point to flat.
3. Setup. Avoda says a wrong lie angle makes you fidget over the ball and take extra time before you pull the trigger.

Drill: find your hitting position. Get into your impact position the way I teach it: shaft leaning forward, hands ahead of the ball. Hold it and look down. Is the sole flat on the ground, or is the toe or heel up in the air? That's your club telling you whether it matches your impact position.

You can hit it straight with any swing once you find your natural impact position.

Wedges are the same story. If you lean the shaft forward, your wedge sole needs to match. Four quick questions (your miss, your conditions, your shots, your highest-lofted wedge) and it tells you W1, W2 or W3. Take the WedgeFit quiz → More in W1 vs W2 vs W3.

Fit removes variables, and so does same length; that's The Real Benefits of Single Length Irons. You can see Avoda's irons and wedges here, start the full story at Same Length Irons Review, or text me from my same-length page.

When your clubs fit you, setup gets simpler, and it's easier to trust your swing.

Don't guess. Get fit. I bought all three of my Avoda setshrough their online fitting, and when I got fit in person later, the specs came back exactly the same. It takes a few minutes: a down-the-line 7-iron video, your height, your speed, and a real fitter emails your specs within 48 hours. Start your free online fitting →

If you buy through my links, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you, and I appreciate it very, very much. Buy through my link and message me, and I'll give you my mini course on succeeding with same length and combo length irons.

 

Learn to hit it where you want it to go. All of my courses, from ball striking to chipping, putting and bunkers, are in the Big Swing Kings store →