To avoid hitting the ground before hitting a teed up golf ball, use a. Maybe, you struggle to hit the centre of clubface and the ball travels low to the ground and the club feels terrible in your hands. However, with the design of a driver and the advantage of a tee under the ball, a sweeping motion is the desired way to attack the shot at impact. You are not sure where to look when hitting a golf ball. I dont believe i topped the ball as it felt like i hit the face clean. Dec 06, 2017 golf is a hard game, and things are going to go wrong on occasion. If either of these sound like you, then learning how to stop hitting thin golf shots will make a dramatic change in your. With the club dropping to the inside, you can swing out to the ball, which lets. But there are some pros that hover the driver above the ground.
You may even lose your footing with your right foot, which is another way to hit a drive fat. Stop hitting the ground behind the golf ball in this video rick gives some simple advice to eliminate what can be the most. Hybrid clubs are designed to hit balls directly off a fairway, so youll struggle to hit the sweet spot if the ball is up too high on the tee. How can i stop my driver from hitting the ground before the. If you tee it up high, you need to raise your driver head above the ground to hit it on the sweet spot because if you just return your clubhaed to the address position, you will pop the ball up. When you take a shot, the golf ball should be teed up high enough that the top of the driver clubface dissects the equator of the golf ball. Playing the ball further back in your stance can be useful at times if you want to make sure your shoulders stay closed and you want to punch the ball to the. Playing the ball too far back in your stance can cause you to hit the ground behind the ball and keep you from getting the accuracy and distance on the shot that you want. If this is the case, let the club sit flush on the ground behind the ball.
Stop hitting the ground behind the golf ball youtube. How to address a golf ball with an iron simple tips to. With driver the objective is to take the ball cleanly off the tee peg. Hitting the ground behind the ball can leave a big divot. The fat shot by definition is hitting the ground before the golf ball. Instead you hit behind the ball, chunk it again, and watch in disgust as the ball scuttles along the ground instead of arching gracefully through the sky overview. Whats the cause of golf shots going left but straight. Point the handle at the ball, get your distance to the ball right and you will hit the sweet spot.
From your address position rehearse making short swings where your back swing goes from low to high imagining the club moving upward as. Its super embarrassing and i really want to fix this issue before the coming girls golf season. If youre teeing off with a hybrid club, make it so that the bottom of the ball is just off the top of the grass and no higher. One of golfs most deflating mishits is the fat golf shot, when the club strikes the ground before the ball. Hold the shaft of your driver in your hand about six to 12 inches 15 to 30 centimeters from the. With recent advancements in golf technology, we now have the ability to track this information. Experiment and find out what works for best for you personally. To hone the perfect path through impact, try this drill. In the ideal golf set up with axis tilt you should have you head positioned behind the golf ball. It also results in a loss of clubhead speed, ideal angle of attack and general control over the clubface. What golfer hasnt quaked in his cleats while others watch him hit the days opening tee shot. Indeed, the objective is to reach maximum club velocity at the moment of impact. This is related to the wide narrow wide concept of club path.
Place a tee flush into the ground 12 inches behind the ball and ask the golfer to brush the ground there no divot. The key to hitting the ball farther with the modern, 460cc driver and modern golf ball which spins much less off of a flat face than balls of the past is high launch angle combined with a low spin rate. A fat shot is a term used to describe a shot that travels less distance than expected due to a swing that takes a large divot behind the ball. All right guys, so theres two main things that i see when people are struggling hitting behind the golf ball, time and time again. Stop hitting the ground before the golf ball with improved understanding of your golf swing. Hitting behind the ball with driver the sand trap golf. Even pro golfers hook the ball, as fred couples did on the 18th tee during the 1998 masters, leaving him in the woods. Trying to get a little more power often causes your back shoulder to dip, which can cause you to hit the ground first. So to counteract this, sometimes i would tee it up extremely high to make me want to have a clean hit. When you learn to consistently strike the ground after the ball what that feels like, how your weight shifts to make that happen its impossible to either hit. Fat shots typically occur with an iron in hand and may be rooted in any number of swing faults a poor weight shift is a common culprit. Hover the driver head above the ground if you tee the ball up real high when hitting your driver, it could be causing you the heel hits as well.
When the club is in this position the handle naturally comes up into a fixed position. Make a full turn behind the ball, and then keep that right shoulder passive so your upper body doesnt spin out. It is a frustrating mishit that results in added strokes to the scorecard. You should set up to the golf ball with your arms fully extended so that when they make the natural extension at impact, the club is right back at the ball.
Hitting behind the ball with driver instruction and. Some golfers like to ground their club behind the ball before they swing. Tee it up low and hover the clubhead above the ground. Centerface contact becomes a lot more difficult to find consistently.
Standing on one foot causes you to hit down on the ball, which helps you to hit the ball first. How can i stop my driver from hitting the ground before. Stop hitting the ball fat with this golf drill video lesson. The goal is to feel the clubhead working down and hitting the ground where the ball would be. First, i want to explain why youre hitting behind the golf ball, what you. In most sports involving hitting a ball tennis, baseball, png pong, cricket, the grip and the shaft are always in line with the sweet spot. Look at tour pros at impact and their right foot is already off the ground at impact, meaning they have already shifted their weight. Stop hitting the driver too low free golf tips, swing. The first thing is that you may be setting up with your hands too far ahead of the golf ball. I think there are 5 types of players who will do well with this set up. How to stop the ball from going left when driving in golf. When a player hits it fat, it usually means that he failed to strike down on the ball.
To give yourself the best possible chance at a clean and solid hit with the driver, take it easy and let your distance happen naturally. In golf, what is the main reason for hitting behind the ball. Too often the club will contact the ground before it contacts the golf ball compromising shot distance and flight control. When you hover the clubhead, you can hover the clubhead a little off the.
How to stop hitting the ground behind the golf ball duration. Mar 22, 2016 you place the ball on the tee, eye the fairway, and address the ball. Brent kelley is an awardwinning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Hitting behind the golf ball, or hitting it fat, is a common problem, especially with high handicappers. Tee shots are usually not a problem because the ball is elevated, but hitting from the fairway is often a completely different story. Improve your golf swing weight shift and strike ball before ground using this classic drill. Golf pro daril pacinella offers advice on how to shallow out your swing. You place the ball on the tee, eye the fairway, and address the ball. The story behind vice golf s lowcost golf balls and unique business model. Addressing the golf ball starts with the golf club now we have the club soled on the ground in proper position sitting nicely on the ground surface and slightly toed up. Lets readjust some things and get everything lined back up so we can hit the balls dead. While common advice is to focus either on the entire ball, a spot in front of the ball, a specific dimple on the ball or the back inside quarter of the golf ball there is no rule here and no proven method. However, the ball left a foot long shallow divot trail on the grass in front of my tee.
Dont get fixated with hitting the ball as you may then be subconciously aiming at it and hence hitting down at it as opposed to smoothly connecting with the ball throughout the movement of the swing. But there is something different about hitting behind the ball. Stop hitting the ball fat with this golf drill video lesson by pga pro pete styles now, one of the most frustrating shots out in the golf course is the fat shot. Note that without seeing your swing its difficult for me to say what is causing you personally to hit behind the ball. If your number one goal is to hit the ball farther, especially with your driver, make sure you are playing the right golf ball.
You must hit the golf ball first with a shallow, descending blow to avoid hitting behind the golf ball. Instead, you know immediately as soon as the club digs into the turf, that the shot will be a failure. Hitting the ball off the heel with your driver golf tips. If your club is hitting the ground before the ball, you may very well be too close to the ball. The first is as i set up to this golf ball my weight is falling away from the target, my right shoulder gets lower and closer to the ground. Question, are there any drills that will help prevent me from grounding my driver. This results in the lead arm being forced to retract into the body so the club avoids hitting the ground steeply and well behind the ball. Apr 29, 2011 90% of all bad shots happen before the club starts to swing. Aug 04, 2014 ever since i started playing and getting golf lesson 1. This puts the body in a great position to allow for a slight upward hit on the golf ball. Most amateurs hang back because the equipment is to strong for them, so they try to add loft and control the ball this way. The secret to hitting your driver better the left rough. Tee the ball lower to the ground than you would when using a driver.
He is the founder of innovex golf and the author of the art and science of breaking 90. Golf lessons stop hitting the ground before the ball youtube. If youre like many amateur golfers, perhaps dozens of swing thoughts are running through your head. Topped golf shots and ground balls for an activity thats supposed to be fun, golf causes an awful lot of dread. When you hover the clubhead, you can hover the clubhead a little off the ground or you can hold it right behind the teed up ball. Michael breed, host of the golf fix, explains how to hit the ball with the center of the club face in this exclusive tip. Oct 02, 20 in the ideal golf set up with axis tilt you should have you head positioned behind the golf ball. I do not recommend they be told to hit down or up on the ball as the swing changes that result make things way more complicated. Hi, i would say that 20% of my drives end up short because i hit the ground first. As the title states, ive been hitting the ground before the ball with my driver. As a general rule, the ball should be played in the middle of the stance and slightly back with shorter clubs. Your divot ought to take out the tee that is in front of the golf ball.
So if the driver hits any amount behind the golf ball, an inch, two inches. This shot typically occurs when the club head moves across the ball from left to right, imparting sidespin on the ball. Tee up your driver like usual and place another peg into the ground about four inches in front of it along the target line about the same height as your teedup ball. Sliding the hips sliding the hips forward before or at impact causes the body to shift. If you want to drive a golf ball straight, try adjusting how you tee the ball and how wide your stance is. Taking a big chunk of dirt and grass instead of the ball is more than a little frustrating, but you can remedy. As a bit of a prequel, ive really improved my ball striking over the past few months. How to stop hitting behind the golf ball simple fix. May, 2016 this causes many problems like coming in very steep to the ball and more than likely a chunking situation. After you get the feel for leading with the hands and hitting the ground, add a golf ball and hit some shots. When you try to hit the ball too hard, you are likely to dip down and catch the turf before the ball. We call hitting the ground before the ball dropkicking and it.
Practice hitting the ball first by standing on your front foot and hitting golf balls at the range. Failure to pivot from the right side to the left on the downswing moves the bottom of your swing arc to a spot behind the ball. Hitting down causes more spin and therefore more control. Hes been playing so well that his playing partners have dubbed him. Instruction 3 fivesecond fixes to cure your shanks, putting strike and driving accuracy instruction. Not only should you keep your head in the same place during the swing, but consciously avoid head motion thats downward or to your right. Im trying to do too much with my left hand, and i wind up throwing the club into the ground behind the ball. Are you hitting lots of golf shots that start out left of the target and continue flying left, on a straight line, until they land left of your intended landing area. Apr 01, 2016 the story behind vice golfs lowcost golf balls and unique business model. Why do you hit the ground before the golf ball youtube.
This results in the ground that is being displaced pushing the ball forward. Oct 25, 2011 hitting the ground behind your golf ball. One biggie nobody mentions is thinking the club head travels in a circular instead of an elliptical path. Most golfers think they should set the driver on the ground at address. I think maybe im having trouble keeping my head down and eye on the ball. If you are struggling with hitting behind the ball, look at it this way at least you are hitting something. When a righthanded golfers tee shot curves to far to the left, the shot is described as a hook.
Learn to find the center of the driver face the golftec. Do you often catch the golf ball thin and watch it go sailing through the back of the green. You place the head of your driver gently on the ground behind the ball. The trouble is, most golfers equate great driving with distance. A high rate of backspin is the enemy of hitting good shots with your driver.
I encountered a strange phenomenon last round i played, on about 6 drives i literally hit the ball straight into the ground. Personal preference can come into play here, but the determining factor should be how consistently you hit the ball. Oct 22, 2018 this results in the lead arm being forced to retract into the body so the club avoids hitting the ground steeply and well behind the ball. Swinging through the ball will promote a complete swing acceleration towards the moment of impact.
Jan 30, 2020 kevin downey is a golf equipment professional. How to stop hitting the ground before hitting the golf ball. Oct 05, 2009 as the title states, ive been hitting the ground before the ball with my driver. Go ahead and hold the golf club maintaining this tilt. Rick shiels golf how to stop hitting behind the golf ball. Hitting the ground before the ball can have many causes.
Some balls are made for distance, others for spin, and some are a hybrid of the two. The face angle or path may be wrong, but you should be on the sweet spot. Golf is a hard game, and things are going to go wrong on occasion. One of the problems that many golfers have is the tendency to hit the ground before hitting the ball. There are some tour pros who hover the driver head behind the ball at address. Okay, so the heavy shot that shot where we hit the ground before hitting the golf ball, it is a horrendous. While hitting behind the ball is often a problem experienced with the irons, we are going to address driver. But striking the turf is an important part of hitting a crisp golf shot with the aim obviously being to hit the ground after the ball referred to as ballthen turf. Michael breed explains how to hit golf ball golf channel. How to stop hitting behind the golf ball top speed golf.
If you want to get some distance with your swing, tee your ball high in the ground and stand so that the ball is aligned with your left toe. Stop hitting the ball fat with this simple golf drill. Fred soobhany has found great success using the peak performance golf swing. Oct 19, 2019 with a lot of modern drivers having large heads, the need to make taller tees arose, resulting in tees of varying lengths. Fix your golf swing to stop hitting behind the ball.
During the takeaway your will move slightly away from this starting position. Hitting down with a driver is easier to control and therefore straighter. A golf shot is considered fat when you hit the ground prior to hitting the ball. In my opinion as an instructor who has taught full time for over 20 years, hitting behind the ball is actually much better than topping the ball. Jan 10, 2017 how to stop hitting the ground behind the golf ball duration. Fix your golf swing to stop hitting behind the ball golficity. This mistake means that the club loses almost all of its speed before hitting the shot, and the ball usually wont travel very far.
The story behind vice golfs lowcost golf balls and unique business model. My swing is textbook, according to my coaches, and my stance. Jun 10, 2014 this is due to the design of the irons, and the fact that you are usually hitting them off the turf instead of a tee. Compressing the ball is all about your attack angle. It will also make sure your swing is full and that it wont stop shortly after impact but will rather proceed with a complete follow through. How to hit a driver 5 fundamentals golf podcast, news. The dreaded fat shots with a golf driver video by pete styles. Importantly, on the downswing make sure you head remains behind the golf ball and especially at the golf impact position. Place a third tee about two inches behind the teedup ball along the target line, this one laid flat on the ground. And a lot of this is understanding where the center of your driver is so that you can select the proper height to tee your golf ball. In fact, its often necessary during a round to think quickly to take care of the problem, especially in tournament play. If you are righthanded, you are pulling the ball or pulling. Im hitting all my other clubs pretty good and even have decent drives when it hits the ground.
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