You're Correct!

Holding the club closer to the shaft or choking down shortens its length enabling a golfer to have more control over the club head.

Its something many people will see the best players in the world doing during competition. As the club length shortens, the club head effectively moves closer to the hands. In golf, and in everyday life, using a shorter shaft gives more control. Gripping the club further down the shaft, however, does have a number of trade-offs that golfers need to think about.

First of all, gripping the club further down the shaft will cause players to lose distance with that particular club. The longer the club, the more potential leverage and power it has. Also other adaptions will have to be made.

Use this following guide to hit an iron whilst choking down the grip:

• Grip the club slightly further down the grip – an inch to three inches depending on how much control is needed.
• Set up – place the ball slightly further back than normal with the feet shoulder width apart. Alignment should be straight down the ball-to-target line with the posture as normal.
• Place about 60% of body weight on the front foot and lean the shaft towards the target so the hands are ahead of the ball opposite the left thigh.
• Swing the club away long and smooth keeping the body weight 60% on the front foot (dont let the body weight drift back away from the ball).
• Drive down and through the ball again keeping 60% body weight on the front foot ensuring a downward strike.

Because the club will be shorter than normal, golfers can either tilt more over from the spine or place a little bit more weight on the front foot to ensure the club bottoms out correctly.

Gripping down the club will help control the ball flight which in turn could possibly help with nerves. However, the change is more technical than mental.

Choking down on the club does not mean holding on tightly! It simply means holding the club slightly further down the grip. Choke down on the club to ensure more control.