[golfgnome]

Aside from the standard wisedom of a lie angle which is too flat tending to produce an open face and one which is too upright tending to produce a closed face what common compensations do people tend to have if their lie angle doesn't fit them?

I recently re-checked my lie angles and impact location and found that my impact was consistenly slightly towards the toe in exactly the same spot. If I adjusted for a true 'center' impact, a push/push fade resulted. Sure enough, my lie angles were 2-3 degrees off once I checked on a lie board. Length of club made no difference in my case, always the same impact location.

Getting a proper lie angle and shaft makes a big difference in being able to "make the motion and let the motion make the shot".

Great question Ed. Before I try to give you an answer I need to clarify your statement about the clubface being closed or open based on lie angle. This is a common mistake that many golfers make when clubfitting. With a clubface that is square and a lie angle that is flat the ball will go right and go left if it is to upright. This has to do more with loft than face angle. The more loft your club has the more direction deviation there will be. For example, hit a wedge and a 2 iron off of a side hill lie with the ball above your feet. The wedge will go much farther left than the 2 iron. Anyway, on with your original question.

Length and lie angle are very important when it comes to swing motion but other variables such as head design, shaft type, shaft weight, shaft deflection are just as important. Because your marks did not move when you changed lie angle and/or length I would suggest a different head design, maybe one with more offset. I would also suggest looking at shafts, stiffer or weaker. I know this sounds vague but without seeing your motion It is hard to tell.

*Non-offset heads (blades), flat lie angles, large grips, and *less loft will make the ball go more right.
*Offset heads, upright lie angles, small grips and more loftwill make the ball go more left.
*More loft, weaker shafts, lower deflection shafts, lighter weight will make the ball go higher.
*Less loft, stronger shafts, higher deflection shafts and heavier weight will make the ball go lower.
*Shaft length can have an effect on centerdness of hit in either direction.

All of the above is true when the 3 imperatives are met. Can you imagine what would happen to your golf swing if ALL of the club characteristics were off? For example, If a player has a club that is 4 degrees to flat, to heavy, to stiff, deflection to high and non-offset and they met the 3 imperatives the resulting ball flight WOULD be a low right fade or push fade. Since most players do not want to hit that shot they will start changing components in order to see correct ball flight. Most of the time bent left wrists are used to accomplish this, as is a bent plane line to the left (over the top). There is also no sustaining of lag pressure because the player is trying to throw everything he has into the ball just to get it up.

Ed let me know what your specs are and we can go farther with this. I know you have a very strong motion and the above is not an example of your swing. I would also like to know if there would be a benefit to the forum if I were to post a video explaing how equipment effects motion. I have done it for a couple of Lynn's schools and it was well received. Just a thought.