Lie Angle Adjustment without a lie board?

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By Sam R

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  • 8 Replies
  1. Sam R

    Sam R

    Hello All

    I had my first experience with a Titleist fitting professional last December. The club that was hosting the fitting is a reputable course in the area. My concern after speaking with multiple other club pros and industry vets is that there may have been an inaccurate adjustment made to the lie angle on the irons (+2*) that I got custom fit.

    After doing some research it seems that it would be extremely difficult to truly tell exactly how much to adjust a lie to unless i was hitting off a lie board or hitting in front of a launch monitor. There was not a lie board or launch monitor, just a fitting professional that seemed to be trying to fix the flight path of the ball. Since then, i have hit in front of multiple launch monitors and it seems that my custom irons may have been over adjusted. I'm concerned now that i am trying to work on my swing with a set of irons that will need to be re-adjusted after doing a fitting.

    A couple questions i would like feedback on...

    Can a lie adjustment be done without a lie board? Should the fitting professional make a distinction between an improper swing vs arbitrary iron adjustments?

    PLEASE HELP!

  2. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    Sam, I don't really know how to answer the second question. Too many variables. Maybe you were having a tough day and hitting it to the right so the club fitter figured you needed something more upright so he added 2 degrees. Just no way of knowing what his/her thoughts were at that time.In terms of the second question, lie adjustments can be made without a lie board, but why would you want to?Lie boards (in my opinion) are simple, repetitive and fool proof.If the wear mark on the tape on the bottom of the club is toward the toe, it's too flat. If it's toward the heel, too upright.If it's in the middle, you're good to go.

    End of story.
  3. Joseph M

    Joseph M
    Saint John, New Brunswick

    The best way to check whether the lie is correct is to use the “ink line on the back of the ball” technique. With a Sharpie pen put a thick, heavy ink line on the ball. Position the ball so the line is vertical, facing the clubhead as it would come into impact. Best to put it on a very short tee on close mown grass like on a par 3 hole so no grass can come between the ball and clubface. Hit the shot and look for a faint transfer of the ink line to the clubface. If the ink line is perfectly vertical/perpendicular to the scorelines, the lie is correct for the golfer at that length. If the line tilts so the top of the line is more toward the toe end of the head, the lie at present is too upright and needs to be flattened. Vice versa if the ink line is angled so the top of the line is toward the heel side of the face the lie is too flat and needs to be more upright. Subsequent hit testing with the ink line after bending verifies the change.
  4. Todd O

    Todd O
    Colleyville, TX

    Interesting. I'd never heard of this approach but it sounds like it would work as you suggest.
  5. Dave M

    Dave M

    I hardly ever use a lie board. I look at their posture and whether or not they are handle up, or handle low players. Being tall or short is irrelevant to upright or flat (although their are trends towards taller being more up and vice versa.) Next i look at club path using trackman, if a player is under 2* with club path and face angle then lie angle adjustments will have a bigger impact on desired trajectory. If a player has a severe out to in path they will be "toe down" on a lie board no matter how upright you go - i have seen plenty of 8-11* out to in or in to out. At that point i revert back to their natural posture and club position (i like to see the toe of the club slightly elevated at address) i dont want to fit them for a swing flaw they can fix later, but may lean a bit to get them started on the right track.
  6. james f

    james f

    The line on the ball is the best method to use as lie board marks lie use some masking tape on the face lining the tape across the bottom groove on the iron And use a white board marker that transfers the mark to the tape and follow the steps as Joseph M had suggested and you will have accurate read on your lie angle
  7. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    Have never seen a Titleist fitter use a lie board and i've been to many demo days here at the club. They use impact decals on the face coupled with Trackman and ball flight to determine lie.
  8. MEvans

    MEvans
    Dallas, TX

    Hey Sam,
    I'm a Titleist Club Fitter here in Dallas. Im very surprised a Titleist fitter didn't have a launch monitor as we all have Trackmans. I'm not going to ask who it was but I apologize he didn't utilize Trackman as that is our proper procedure unless his was not working. Have to say oldest way to recommending lie adjustmejt is by watching the members swing and ball flight. It would be proper to ask if you are currently taking lessons to change your swing. If so, he would have to consider the lie asjustment as it will emphasized as your swing changes. Some of us still use lie tape but not really necessary as Trackman tells us the lie angle at impact. I hope you will consider doing Titleist Fittings in the future and good luck improving your game sir.
  9. Eric O

    Eric O
    North Mankato, MN

    Can someone share with me their opinion on what the main differences are between the TS2 and TS3 fairway woods. I am upgrading from a 917 and need advice!!

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