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Hi my name is Tyler and I am a single digit handicapper and looking to turn professional in the next couple years. I have only been playing for about 5 or 6 years and take lessons a couple times a month however I am having trouble with a certain aspect of my swing. I usually shoot in the low to mid 70s. I keep the ball in play with the driver and my short game is solid however my iron play is complete garbage. My swing bottoms out behind the golf ball and therefore I either catch the shot very heavy or I flip my hands and pick it off the turf. Overall I do not hit it solid in which I hit the ball then the turf making a divot in front of the ball. I have a slightly over the top downswing but it is progressively getting less and less thanks to the practice time I spend on it however my ballstriking just flat out sucks. I cannot for the life of me get my swing bottom to get in front of the ball. I make a good weight shift back and through and do not hang back on my right side through impact. I have made sure that I cover the ball with my right side but I still hit it fat. It's like the way I drop the clud into the ball just goes to the ground behind it. Should the club drop on the downswing but move forward to the ball as I approach? My angle of approach is real shallow and it is killing my game. I seriously believe if I could get this aspect and start striking the ball like all pros do that I could finally shave the last strokes off of my game and start shooting in the 60s. Any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
Be sure that you are transfering you r weight to your left foot. Also make sure you are not dropping your right shoulder assuming that you are a right hander. That tilt generated from dropping your shoul der will couse the club to bottom out behind the ball. Keep your right knee flexed through the backswing and stay level with your shoulders. Should help!!!! -
Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
Sorry for the double post but also make sure your not flipping your hands. Think of making the back of your left hand face the target at impact not the sky....Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
You strike the ground before you strike the ball. The problem lies with your intent. You intend to strike the ball upwards. Don't do that please. The ground is in the way anyway as you've noticed. Instead, strike the ball downward.
To strike the ball downward. Slow down the shoulders. When that doesn't work, accelerate the hands. When that doesn't work, place the ball back in your stance. When that doesn't work, quit and take a break. Do something else for a while. Read the physics of colliding bodies, balls in flight and other pertinent information regarding your plight.
Have you played tennis? Ping pong? Soccer? If yes, you must surely have noticed that sometime, the ball will curve right, left, up or down. This curve is produced by spin of the ball as it flies through the air. Read below for all possible ball flights according to spin direction.
Back spin. Ball flies up. In tennis, we call that ball a floater. In golf, we call this a 300 yard drive.
Top spin. Ball flies down. In tennis, we call this a smash. In golf, we call this a ridiculously short drive or skulled.
Side spin either right or left. In tennis, we call this a curve. In golf, we call this a fade, draw, slice or hook. Depending on your point of view, of course.
Look at your clubs, notice they all have loft. This means that all clubs are designed to brush the ball to spin it backwards. The higher the loft, the shorter the club. The lower the loft, the longer the club. Shorter clubs are intended to launch the ball high with high spin for short distances. Longer clubs are intended to launch the ball low with low spin for long distances. Depending on the speed, spin will allow the ball to fly through the air. If the spin is not sufficient to make it fly, the ball will act like a rock and drop like a rock a short distance away.
Strike the ball downward.
As you strike the ball downward, you will strike the ball first, the ground second. Since you will hit the ground after you strike the ball, the ground will not affect the club before it hits the ball. When the club strikes the ground before it strikes the ball, the ground affects the club in unpredictable ways which then strikes the ball in unpredictable ways and how knows where it will end up.
As you strike the ball downward, you will somewhat reduce the loft of the club. A direct result of this is a lower launch angle and a higher spin. The end result is more distance than otherwise.
As you can see from the explanations above, striking the ball downward not only allows us to strike the ball more precisely but also allows us to send the ball farther. Striking the ball downward is all good, as they say. Perhaps you are still confused as to what technique to use to do that? No worries. Change your intent and you'll find the technique. The alternative is that you keep the same intent but expect a different result. I think you already know the answer to that one.
Intend to strike the ball downward.Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
It's a very unusual fault for a single digit handicapper?
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
I was thinking the same thing. Then it occurred to me that we can still play well by bombing and chipping. Perhaps that's the OP's method.Originally posted by bulldog2k View PostIt's a very unusual fault for a single digit handicapper?Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
I recommend you purchase the 3 Skills book "Nail It" 3skillsgolf | A revolution in golf instruction It has moved my ball striking to new level and from what you have described will do the same for you.Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
I was at work yesterday, I work at the Country Club the pro I take lessons off of, and I got a chance to talk to him breifly about it and he told me to hit balls with a 5 or 6 iron and play the ball where I play the driver. I did this a few times at the range today and it seemed to make me shift a little more than I usually do but it seems that when I did this the club became more narrow to my body as I started down. After doing this I noticed that before I shifted good but I had my arms and hands dropping the club straight down which dug into the ground fat instead of moving the club closer to my body and allowing a more narrow descent into the ball. I was just wondering is this the feeling I should strive for to fix this problem? It feels like the shift moves my swing arc closer to my body or more narrow than the backswing, either description. Just want to see what you guys think. I hit the ball pretty good thanks to this and I was just want to make sure Im on the right track. Thanks.Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
I'd bet that you are, in fact, hanging back on the right side until it's just a bit too late. I'm not in the single digits, or even close to it, but I have had this exact same problem since I started playing golf four years ago. It seemed that my swing would bottom out just ahead of my right foot, no matter what I did. I tried setting up with the ball in front of my right toe, and that actually helped with contact, but I'd tend to push the ball far right, not surprisingly. I tried accepting the problem and changing my alignment. This worked, for the most part, but it felt weird to set up this way, and I felt there must be a better solution.Originally posted by tpbarrett View Post
When I took some video of my swing, and looked at it frame by frame, I saw clearly that my forward weight shift was delayed, so that at impact I was stuck back there, and my weight would only come forward after the ball was gone. I'd make a good finish, feel like it was a good swing, and get a junk shot because the timing of the weight shift was off.
The best solution I've found was mentioned on this forum by cmays, and he's mentioned it again, his suggestion 1. Don't setup with 50-50 weight distribution; do 60-40, or even 55-45, and just make your regular swing. This small adjustment has been a huge help. It's no good with the woods and a teed-up ball, and I still need work there, but it has turned things around with the irons.Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
I have been working on the same thing. First here is a very helpful video that was posted on here before:
He shows a piece of plywood with a cutout in it and a technique on how to use it as a great drill to get the feel of hitting DOWN and THROUGH.
Secondly, I found a fantastic tip that turned my iron striking around almost overnight. Here is the tip, please give it a try. You will be amazed.
Take a golf tee. Put it in the ground at an angle with the sharp pointy end pointing toward the target and the axis of the tee paralled with the target line. Push it into the ground at an angle, then take your iron and practice swinging into the tee with the idea of pushing it right into the ground. If you tumble it out you are not hitting down.
Now start this last drill with a little swing and gradually increase it. When you get to where you can hit it into the ground and take a divot, try it with a ball. Imagine the tee is sticking out of the ball and you are just trying to hit the tee. The ball just happens to be there. You will be astonished at how quickly your ball striking increases....YES...YES....YES
Chessbum....Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
Tyler,I ran your comments through Leadbetter Interactive. In the case of a low handicapper hitting fat shots, Leadbetter suggested that it may be the result of a swing that is too far to the inside. A drill he suggested, is to place a golf ball about 8 inches behind the ball you intend to hit, and about an inch or so inside the target line of the ball you're going to strike. And then strike the first ball without hitting the second ball. In this case, you may have to put the first ball a little more forward than you would normally, and you wouldn't be able to ground your club since on the backswing you would hit the second ball.
I hope this helps best of luck!
JamesComment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
A few inconsistencies:
On your profile, you state you don't have a handicap but you say you are a single digit.
Single digit handicappers do not have your problems
Hitting fat is due to poor weight transfer and lunging-losing the spine angle
Put a tee in the ground a few inches in front of the ball and try to clip the tee; you are not extending through the shot.
Check ball position and make sure also your hands are ahead at address and at impact.
Single digit guys don't scoop.
Originally posted by tpbarrett View PostComment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
If a new member doesn’t edit their profile when they sign up, the default is "I don’t have a handicap".Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
takinitdeep, I'm sorry I don't have a handicap I have never bothered with one since the golf course I play at does not offer anything to get a handicap, I've heard next year they are going to have that. I still hit the ball fat and thin yet I still shoot in the 70's. If thats not a single digit handicapper then I don't know what is apparently. When I hit it fat its not that I hit the ground and the ball goes ten yards, I hit the ball fat and instead of my 7-iron going 165-170 like I used to be able to when I would have divot after the ball contact with a more over the top swing my 7-iron now only goes 160. However the shot is still going the way I would like it minus an occasional pull or push, but I am still able to work the ball with a fade and draw. When you get used to missing greens you have a tendency to develop a good short game which is something I have thanks to my poor ballstriking and as for my drives I hit my driver great although it is really old, a Titleist 975J. Ive been using a demo of the FT-i Callaway and Ive picked up alot of yardage thanks to that plus more accuracy. It is my ballstriking with my irons, it is so inconsistent and unsolid, that my game is not able to break through to the next level. In fact I played last week, only 9 holes, at the country club I work at Williams Country Club in Weirton WV and I shot 1-under on the back nine cause I got up and down 7 times, one of those for birdie. I think you may have misunderstood my previous posts about my situation and I hope this clears this up. Also if anyone has looked at my last post let me know what you think about my downswing becoming more narrow thanks to a better shift. Thanks.Comment
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Re: Swing bottoms out behind the ball not in front of it
You hit your 7 iron fat or thin and the ball goes 160 yardsOriginally posted by tpbarrett View Post
Lets just forget about your handicap and how far you hit the ball a minute. You should be hitting the ball on the sweetspot of your clubs, with your irons that requires you to hit with a descending blow and a delofted clubface as your hands will be ahead of the clubface at impact. Hitting thin is caused by the leading edge hitting the ball at or above it's equator, nothing else, hitting fat means you are hitting the leading edge of the club into the ground behind the ball, nothing else.
Just stop doing it! Your clubface will be coming into the ball too low, you must be trying to scoop it into the air. Hit down, aim to strike the ball just above it's equator (20 deg angle wedges up to 6 iron, 10 deg for long irons and fairway woods) on an angle that will hit the ground in front of the ball. What ever you try to do with your body will only be any use if it allows this to happen.Comment
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