Hitting close to heel

Question
Hi Eddie,
My heel shot problem started recently when I started experimenting opening the club-face for BS and then undoing it on FS. Strangely enough my ball flies straight to target with good trajectory but of course impact does not feel solid. I do finish with weight on my left side and balanced on the right toe. Before the heel problem I was using a no-hands pivot (passive hands at impact) but I was always fighting a block or push to the right. If I got handsy at the bottom I would pull left. So I changed to a more active release immediately from the top, a down and out karate chop to the inside quadrant of the ball. Doing this I can hit the ball straight more often, except the heel shot no doubt robs me of some distance and feels horrible. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.


Answer
Hi Mike:

Yes stop it!  Just kidding, but I would question why you feel as though you need to get handsy in the first place.  I question your grip.  Opening the clubface in the backswing means you have to close it on the forward swing, so that starts to lead to excessive hand action (why you hit towards the heel or shank), which then leads to poor contact (unless you hit 300 balls per day to time it), which leads to inconsistent direction, trajectory and contact.  When you describe a down and out karate chop to the inside from the top, that scares the heck out of me.  That is all manipulation.  Why not get back to basics, get back to fundamentals.  They always have been the easiest thing to repeat and they always will be.  First thing I would check for you is your grip.  I would question why you feel the need to use your hands so much.  Passive hands are good, but if all you do is push it a little bit or leave it to the right a little bit, then all you need is a little more rotation of the left hand.  If you wear a glove, use the logo on the glove to guide you in this exercise.  Proper rotation of the hands through impact is key to producing a square clubface, consistent trajectory and solid contact. The logo on your glove should be turning (rotating) down towards the ground through the impact area so when the club is belt high in the follow through, the logo would be pointing at the ground.  The right hand would turn over the left to match that motion, but whatever you think I just said, this IS NOT A HANDSY, WRISTY MOVE.  It is a controlled rotation of the back of the left hand and the left forearm all the way through the swing.  As soon as you start the club moving into the forward swing, the left arm would begin to rotate.  It will continue to rotate to square the clubface through the impact area and continue to rotate due to centrifugal force all the way into the follow through.  Believe it or not, it is very subtle.  I have my students concentrate on the rotation of the logo of their glove.  Until you can get that clubface squarely against the back of the ball, keep working on it.  Swing the club towards the target, work on the rotation of the logo, and continue to "feel" or "sense" the correct hand action.  Your ball will tell you exactly what happened.  You will feel it correctly done.  Check your grip first, and then start working with your logo.  See what happens.  If you get too flippy, wristy and handsy, then the clubhead will move out around the ball, causing the hit towards the heel and perhaps the dreaded shank.  Good luck Mike, you should be able to get it.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member