Anthony Kim choke down

[bobblehead]

After watching AK this past season, I notice he chokes down quite a bit(couple of inches) on most if not all of his clubs. Any benefit to this...better control and better contact?
I probably choke down a good inch on my clubs but I'm a short guy.

[leftylucas]

He says he alsways played that way and certainly it feels more in control and the shorter the club the easier it is to swing but you may have some shortfall in distance. AK has learned to do it his way and his lower body power makes up for any loss in distance due to choking up

[quinner]

If you want a good article about AK's swing, he is the feature golf swing in November's Golf Digest...worth checking out.

[BC MIST]

After watching AK this past season, I notice he chokes down quite a bit(couple of inches) on most if not all of his clubs. Any benefit to this...better control and better contact?
I probably choke down a good inch on my clubs but I'm a short guy.

When I choke down on a club an inch or so, more often than not, I hit the ball as far or occasionally farther than if I did not choke down. If the length of the club was as significant factor in distance as some still feel that it is, then this would not happen. No doubt better contact occurs and hence a little more distance, and better contact obviously means more control, too.

If a 38" and a 39" five iron were swung at the same club head speed, there would be little measurable difference in carry distance. But, if I had two 38' irons, whose loft differed by 4 degrees, there would be a huge difference in carry distance.

In watching Kim swing, there is no doubt that he is exceptionally flexible and because of this, has the ability to create "lag" on the downswing, which causes the extension of the leverage angles to occur later than most. This helps to maximize club head speed. But he also has the physiological make up to be able to swing his arms faster than we mortals, regardless of the length of the clubs. While the rotation of the lower body IS a factor in club head speed, its greatest contribution is to get into a position that allows the arms/wrists to release late, creating high club head speed, rather than being a huge source of power by itself. If you consider a cause and effect relationship, does a fast moving body CAUSE the arms to move fast, or do fast moving arms, CAUSE the body to move faster in anticipation of the arms moving fast? IMO, it's the latter, and while more instruction thinks along these lines, there are still many who teach that club head speed is generated by the legs. Golfers with upright swings have a strong leg drive, not as a source of CHS, but to compensate for the fault that is an upright swing. While AK has an on plane, Hoganesque swing, his lower body move is strong, because of the same from his arms.

[rezadue]

Wow, that is one heck of an explanation for an easy answer. He chokes down because, and only because, when he was a kid; he used to swing his father's clubs which obviously were way too long for him. So he used to choke down on them to feel more comfortable.

As a result, this has become ingrained in his swing and he no longer feel comfortable swinging when he does not do his normal "choke down".

This was directly from his mouth. I believe it was the episode of playing lessons from the pros and the on air personality ask him about it.

[dlb]

I started choking down on the club and it worked well for me. I was striking the ball much more crisply .....

[bNeill]

Does anyone know how much the lie angle changes when you grip up an inch and a half or so?

[Chieflongtee]

One half inch length difference equals one degree.

[Chieflongtee]

Here is the article.
http://www.golf.com/golf/gallery/art...862275,00.html

[dlb]

Great article ........ all I know is I experimented with choking up on all clubs and it worked extremely well for me !! Greater control and I never hit my driver better .........

[bobblehead]

Thanks Chief!
I just read the Golf Digest article yesterday...AK uses a 44.5" driver and chokes down to 42". Still hits it 300 yards...not bad.

[Sparkplug]

I really want to say something witty here but i will probably be banned form the site.

happy New Year.