I need help bad!!!

[daddymack]

I'm new to this site (hello everyone) also new to the game of golf. I'm picking up things very fast but the one thing I can't seem to grasp is the idea of hitting down on the ball.

I envision striking a nail with a hammer when i hear that. My balls never get more then 3 feet off the ground when I hit them.

Can someone please explain the concept another way and/or give me some practice drills that will help improve. I can't go on with improving other parts of my game without solving this mystery.

Thanks

 

[Silver]

Okay, this picture should help:

When you hear "hit down on the ball", no one means on the TOP of the ball. They mean for you to hit the SIDE of the ball before you hit the ground and that your club should be in a downward motion at the time it contacts the ball.

 

[Rockford35]

Nice graphics, reminds me of grade 2.

All kidding aside, Silver has the grasp of it here. From what you're describing, it sounds like you're thinning or "blading" the shot and making it take off 3 feet off the ground.

You have to envision the start of the divot you're taking starting just in front of the ball. Basically, you have to hit down on the ball so that the clubhead first makes contact with the ground only after you have "pinched" the ball with the clubface. This is much easier from a "tight" or thi lie. Out of the rough, it's much harder as you get grass between the ball and the face, grabbing the hosel, ect.

Try hitting a few 15 foot shots, making sure that you are getting under the ball, but not so much that you are taking big pelts. Remember, that divot should start after the ball. (As you're starting to see, there isn't much room for error here, which is why you need to practice, practice, practice...)

Give that a try. Then, work your way up to 3/4 shots. With your short irons, you shouldn't be swinging more than 90% at any time. Control is alot better than distance when it comes to the scoring clubs.

Cheers!

R35

 

[Silver]

Nice graphics, reminds me of grade 2.

Yeah, that was totally the point! Throw up some sweet MS Paint work.

 

[Bravo]

I kind of liked the graphic...crude - yes - but effective.

 

[pball5156]

Picked this one up from Johnny Miller while watching the PGA. Try moving your head farther to your left, where your head is, the bottom of the swing will be. You want the bottom of your swing to be at about the front half of the ball, so you hit the ball at the very end of your downswing, right before you make the divot.

I put my head forward on my high/mid lofted irons, but on my low lofted (3,4) irons, and on my fairway woods, and driver, I like to hit up on the ball, by putting the ball more in the front of my stance, and incorporating my legs more.

I encourage you to watch golf on the weekends, and look at their swings, and listen to the commentators little tidbit tips, they help alot. A great guy to watch is Bernhard Langer, he has a picture perfect swing.

 

[Rockford35]

I picked this up from Johnny Miller:

"I am better than everyone".

(Please see my multiple anti-johnny threads for explaination - nothing personal, whatsoever.)

R35

 

[MAHALLEDAY]

I picked this up from Johnny Miller:

Whoose Johnny Miller? He's not the guy the makes MGD is it?

 

[Silver]

I picked this up from Johnny Miller:

"I am better than everyone...except maybe Tiger Woods. Tiger, you can push it in harder, I can take it, I'm the best!"

 

[Rockford35]

Yes, he's responsible for "Miller Genuine Drab".

I hate that joker.

R35

 

[pball5156]

Looks like it...

 

[Augster]

DM,

Hitting "down on the ball" is a bit confusing.

For most every club, you want the "5-groove" on your club to contact the equator of the back of the ball. By envisioning that, it will allow the bottom of your club to get underneath and ahead of the ball where a good divot starts.

So, in the diagram, you don't need to come in nearly that steep. When you "5-groove" it, you pinch the ball between the ground and the clubface thus imparting backspin. The steeper you come in though, the more backspin you will put on it.

Get the 5-groove on the back of the ball. You can re-enact the process with a ball and a club on your table-top just to demonstrate to yourself what "should" be happening. Hold the club by the clubhead and simulate it in slow-mo. It helped me a lot.

 

[Slingblade61]

I have a drill......

Make a line in the grass (at the range) by compressing the grass with a club.

Lay your golf balls on the line. If you are hitting your irons correctly, all the divots will be thin scrapes of turf that begin just after the line and point directly at your target. If a divot starts before the line you're hitting too far behind the ball. No divot at all means you are either topping the ball or not hitting with enough of a downward blow. If your divot is pointing to the left you're cutting across the ball from outside to in resulting in a slice.

 

[Silver]

Haha, that's totally a Johnny Miller drill. Good call.

 

[Slingblade61]

It would be if I had said "I have the BEST drill, the only one you'll ever need"