hitting down.

[Robert O' Keeffe]

Hi everybody.

Today at the range, I was hitting irons and set my concentration on the term we hear all the time, "hit down on the ball". Allthough i hit decent iron shots most of the time, I was pleasantly surprised at the results. The idea was to picture the club head striking the ball as though I was going to stick the clubface into the turf before the ball was struck. The end result was real solid strikes and good distance. By concentrating on just this swing thought, it seems to leave the rest of the swing happen naturally. What I also noticed was good square divots from wedge, 9, etc without looking to make a divot happen. I would appreciate any opinions on this theory, as to whether I am right or wrong, or is there anything else I should consider with this drill.

[Mr_Change]

Re: hitting down.

The idea was to picture the club head striking the ball as though I was going to stick the clubface into the turf before the ball was struck.

This thought will cause most people to hit fat shots. I suggest that you aim to drive the club into the ground just after the ball.

I do not believe in trying to hit down on the ball. I know many people do and it has been advised over and over again. I believe that if you keep on trying to hit down on the ball eventually you will be hitting fat shots or creating future problems.

I myself don't try to hit down at all, I try to swing on plane. My whole focus is turning without swaying and having my hands go back like they are on a rail and swinging them back down on that rail. My club will be coming down anyway, that is why the ball position has to be correct.

If I create a good spine angle the lowest part of my swing will be just past centre of my stance, So if I place the ball in the middle of my stance and swing on plane I will hit this ball with a downward blow.