What to look out for

Why do it?

A neutral clubshaft lean helps take power out of the shot by adding loft and reducing compression. Factor in the potential for extra spin and it can work when the green is firm or the pin is cut close to you. In this instance, taking more loft will often make more sense; but it remains an option for you to be aware of and to experiment with.

Lie:

There is a limit to how much we would want to do this. Generally the only time we’d want to see backward lean, the handle behind the clubhead, is in sand. But it is possible to hit effective shots with an upright shaft

– the higher pink ball directly above the lower one. It affects the shot in three ways:

Clubface loft marginally increases from the maker’s design. Those few extra degrees have the potential to add spin.

The compressive power of the strike reduces, taking some of the heat out of the contact.

The club now sits a little more on the trailing edge of the sole. The effective sole bounce increases as the leading edge is pulled further from the ground.

1. 2. 3. Bounce:

A neutral or slightly backward shaft lean promotes an effective bounce angle larger than that built into the club. If you like to see plenty of loft on the clubface around the green, consider a sole grind with lower bounce to stop that leading edge rising too high.

With the trailing edge of the sole impacting the turf and the leading edge raised up, neutral shaft lean works best when there is some grass under the ball. Tight, firm lies risk the dreaded bounce thin, the club skipping up behind the ball.