Originally Posted by JPsuff

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An arc is an arc.

The only reason you're hitting "down" on an iron swing is because the ball is on the ground as opposed to a tee and it's further back in your stance.

The "descending blow" is simply a byproduct of this.
Say that the bottom of your swing arc is Zero. This position would likely be used when hitting, say, a 4iron. That is to say that the 4-iron clubface strikes the ball at the "0" point of the arc. A 5-iron might make contact at the "minus .5 point", (because the ball is slightly further back(, the 6-iron might be minus 1 and so on.

A driver is struck either level or slightly on the upswing because it's on a tee and the ball is positioned further forward in the stance. So a driver might be struck at the "plus 1 or 1.5" point on the swing arc.

A divot is also a byproduct of hitting a ball early in the swing arc using a descending blow which is the result of moving the ball further back in the stance. A divot is not a "goal".

There is no difference between a driver swing and a 9-iron swing other than ball position and the natural difference in swing plane due to club length. But they are both arcs.

Now, there are specialty shots such as "pinching" a ball to gain backspin, bunker shots and certain other types of shots which require a more upright backswing and more of a "chopping" motion, but for standard shots, they're basically all the same.


-JP