Hitting Down

[Bubble Head]

I am a sweeper. If the ball has a sitting up lie, I can hit it solidly. But it always goes higher than other people's shot with same loft. If the ball is in deep rough, I am almost certain to hit it thin or catch lots of grass and have to ball go shorter than it should.

I never get a divot on a good ball strike. If I get a divot, it is because I hit it fat.

Is there a drill I can do to get a more downward strike on the ball? I would love to get more consistent strikes and a little more distance from my long clubs.

 

[Fitzpatrick]

I don't remember where I read it, but there was a drill that I had read that got me to hit down on the ball. It was essentially a drill where you put a tee in the ground about an inch ahead of your ball, and when you swung, you tried to clip the top off of the tee. To get to the tee and clip the top off, you will have to hit down and through the ball.

That's what worked for me, at least.

 

[Adam Pettman]

Put your hands ahead of the ball at address, this should make the club want to come down on a descending path into the ball. Your hands should be further forward the shorter the club you have. Experiment with moving your hands and see if it helps, you should hit the ball a little further because you are delofting the club slightly.

 

[sandwedge]

I have the same problem. I took a lesson and the instructor had me do a really weird drill to simulate impact and follow through. It is kind of tough to explain but here goes.

He had me set up the ball as normal and then move your hands and the shaft a couple of inches towards the target. Next clear your hips and have them straight at the target while your shoulders are still parallel to the target. From here take a backswing and hit the ball. You will only be able to make a half backswing at the most.

I was using my 6 iron for this drill and was hitting the ball as far as I normally do but was only taking a very small backswing and then a full follow through. Doing this drill I was able to take the perfect size divot almost every time. I probably hit about 50 balls this way and could barely walk the next day because of the awkard position I was hitting from. The whole point of the drill was to simulate impact and follow through and learn to hit down on the ball to take the correct divot.

Let me know if this drill makes sense or if you want me to try to explain it any different. It really does work. The only problem is that when I do it on the range I look like an idiot.