Begging for advice !!

[Lefty-9]

My swing is bottoming out app. 3" behind ball!! The longer the club, the more magnified it is. This is after a 2 yr. lay-off. I have been out in the garage tonight hitting on a mat. It is definitely 3"-4" behind ball (and it appears ball is correctly positioned). When I move ball position back, it looks like it is even with my back foot!! What is going on??? I can't come off the tee; nothing. Someone please offer some advice. Has my swing gotten too steep? If so, how do I correct it? I have tried everything. It's every club in the bag. I even hit short irons thin (club hits the ground; then ball). It's not fat, it's just bottoming out!! HELP!!!

[aftford]

Re: Begging for advice !!

Fear no more Lefty. your problem is very common and very easy to cure. You are reverse pivoting ( i have written this with regards to left handers )
In shifting their weight to the left at the start of the backswing, many golfers slide their hips sideways and upwards or away from the target. This movement tends to slant the spine towards the target, creating a "reverse-pivot" ( a tilting of the upper body to the right ) rather than having the body behind the ball.
A proper setup position will help eliminate this problem, which is a major cause of slicing, pull-hooking and hitting behind the ball. At address, your head should be slightly left of centre, with your right eye looking at the back of the ball.
The spine angle this creates must be maintained throughout the swing. A good image to keep in your mind to help train yourself to do this is to imagine your right belt line higher that your left and maintain this image throughout the swing, allowing you to rotate your body and keep your hips level.
Your weight will transfer correctly on the backswing and you will bring the club to impact with the body at a correct angle.

Hope this helps mate. let me know how you get on.

[Lefty-9]

Re: Begging for advice !!

Thanks Aftford, I will try this today. I had a gut feeling that a loss of spine angle might be the culprit. Reverse pivot is one of those things I never thought I would have trouble with. Boy, was I wrong.!!

Thanks again, Lefty

[aftford]

Re: Begging for advice !!

As an extra piece of advice, try not to let your right knee ( left handers ) collapse during the take away and back swing becuase doing so will almost definately lead to a reverse pivot.

[shootin4par]

Re: Begging for advice !!

putt ball 2 inches forward of center for a six iron and try that. by what you say it may be that the ball is too far back and this will cause the reverse pivot because without it far enough forward you cannot shift through the ball because if you did do this correctly you would thin it every time

[Robert O' Keeffe]

Re: Begging for advice !!

Hi aft,
Thought you were gone to bed. Thats a great answer on revers pivot. I find that when I have any problem in my ballstrike, it all comes back to setup, stance, grip, and most of all relaxing in the swing. This is the one advantage pros have over us amateurs, the ability to repeat a consistent swing and tempo. I honestly believe that they do not even think swing thought on the teebox. They are thinking of the next shot and approach. We mere mortals are thinking too much about setup etc.
Cheers Rob

[aftford]

Re: Begging for advice !!

hi robert .
i occasionally have to let tpg use my PC ( he lives next door and is on dial up ) . a small price to pay for having my house painted ( just kidding ).

thanks for feedback robert. Hope things are going well for you .

remeber robert: pro's hit 1000's of balls a week. some of us have to work for a living ( i'm not at all jealous )