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Strike the ground better for massive improvement

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Average golfers are giving away a ton of iron/fairway wood distance and consistency. Their distance control is also really poor, leading to shots that come up short and lack spin. They’re also hitting longer clubs into the green than necessary, which hurts accuracy because almost all golfers are more accurate with their shorter clubs than their longer clubs. And the reason?

They are not striking the ground correctly. Guaranteed.

11

A professional will first contact the ground in the red area (Photo from Golf Hacks).

Elite golfers can first contact the ground as much as 2 inches in front of the ball, which means they make a divot after the ball, not before it. It also means that their club is traveling downwards at the point of contact, giving a nice crisp and clean strike for maximum distance. This is true even with a wood or hybrid from the ground, although those clubs may come in a little shallower due to the longer club shaft. But it is the same premise.

You are NOT doing this

If your handicap is not scratch, I can pretty much guarantee you are not striking the ball this way. Almost everyone who walks onto my lesson tee is hitting behind the ball to some extent.

How important is it to contact the ground after you contact the ball? Put it this way — for every inch you average behind this “red zone,” your handicap level will likely increase by 5 shots. That’s right! From my experience, 25-handicap golfers make contact an average of 5 inches behind the ball, which is illustrated in the picture below.

The range from front to back is tight, so it is consistent. But the area and pattern are too poor to play good golf. And if you think you are not in that group, think again. I would put big money on the fact that you are hitting behind the ball constantly. Even players who know what they should be doing are horrified when I actually show them what they are really doing. Less than 1 percent of golfers I see are striking the ground in this red zone on average. The other 99 percent are striking the ground behind the ball. And I see a LOT of golfers every year.

Start improving your contact today, and watch your handicap plummet. Theoretically, for every inch farther forward you strike the ground your handicap should come down by around 5 or so shots. So this tip in itself is worth its weight in gold.

How to practice it

To practice, get a bunch of balls and spray paint a straight line on the ground. You can also scrape a line in the turf with a tee, or line the balls up in a straight line. Hit your shots and take a look at your divot after the ball has landed.

Did you make a divot at all? If so, was it in the right place? If not, how far off were you from the “red zone?”

2

To check your strike, line up your golf balls as shown above.

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Notice your divots: No. 1 is no divot (thin shots), No. 2 is a divot behind the line (fat shots), No. 3 is perfect.

The advantages of striking the ground correctly

  1. Increased distance with irons
  2. More consistent distance control
  3. Better accuracy

Now, who wouldn’t want that?

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Adam is a golf coach and author of the bestselling book, "The Practice Manual: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers." He currently teaches at Twin Lakes in Santa Barbara, California. Adam has spent many years researching motor learning theory, technique, psychology and skill acquisition. He aims to combine this knowledge he has acquired in order to improve the way golf is learned and potential is achieved. Adam's website is www.adamyounggolf.com Visit his website www.adamyounggolf.com for more information on how to take your game to the next level with the latest research.

69 Comments

69 Comments

  1. KK

    May 14, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    Not saying pickers can’t be good golfers but I’ve heard that the best pickers don’t do as well as the best divot golfers, at least in the pros. The picker shot is shallower and has less spin than the proper divot equivalent, leading to less controlled landings on greens and fewer/less aggressive targets to the green. Rory and Tiger hit towering divot shots to the green and they are two of the best ball strikers in the history of the game.

  2. Mat

    May 13, 2015 at 4:03 pm

    Wow.. way to rip off Bobby Clampett. Did you read the first chapter of his book and then write this? Wow… just wow.

  3. Jonny B

    May 12, 2015 at 8:56 am

    I’ve noticed that some portion of not being able to make solid contact and compress the ball can be attributed to a golfer’s release – or lack thereof. A lot of amateurs tend to delay their release, or hold it off entirely. This leads to thin shots or those high fades off the toe that come up short and right of the target. If amateurs would trust their release, finish their swing properly, with hands ahead of the ball and a very quick flick of the wrists through the hitting area it could benefit them tremendously.

    Another drill to practice making solid contact and taking a divot after impact is to hit shots off of a slight uphill lie.

  4. Paul

    Apr 30, 2015 at 10:07 am

    I have done this drill twice now and benefited from immediate improvement and gained distance. It forced me to change my set up by putting the ball farther back in my stance and my hands a little ahead of the club head. The big question is whether I can carry the lessons learned over to the course. Thanks.

    • Adam young

      May 2, 2015 at 9:11 am

      Great stuff Paul. In order to improve your ability to carry the skill to the course, you now need to be practicing the drill in a more random practice format. That means changing club and target for each shot, as well as doing a full routine.

      Performance should drop a little, but retention of learning will be improved.

  5. Skip

    Apr 28, 2015 at 11:37 am

    You are NOT Doing this

    So all he does is say you’re not making contact with the ground after impact. So where’s the part where he tells you HOW to do it?

    “If your handicap is not scratch, I can pretty much guarantee you are not striking the ball this way.” Actually, in my experience a crappy short game is more likely the reason you’re not a scratch. Really lackluster article.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 30, 2015 at 1:00 am

      Advanced statistics show that long game is actually a bigger determinant of handicap and scoring – read Every shot counts by Mark Broadie. he does the stats for the tour.

      As far as how to do it – I will address this more in later articles. However, in my experience as a coach (and that is a LOT), simply by someone understanding the above info (which the vast majority don’t) helps people close the gap.

      “I know I should hit the bullseye on the dartboard, but the author doesn’t tell me how to do it”

      1. Most people don’t know there is a bullseye to start with
      2. Once you know where the bullseye is and you can see what your result is through feedback, your brain can close in on all of the variables (forces, release points, trajectory, grip pressure) on its own – that’s the beauty of the human mind.

  6. mr.Smith

    Apr 27, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    I take beaver pelts with short clubs and am a low handicap

    • The dude

      Apr 27, 2015 at 7:35 pm

      And…..?

    • Double Mocha Man

      Apr 28, 2015 at 11:05 am

      I do the same and am the Greens Superintendent’s worst nightmare. That is the nature of my swing… my golfing buddies are in awe of my massive divots… there is discussion about them over drinks in the grill after a round. I always replace them. My current GHIN is 2.9. One of my best golfing friends hasn’t taken a divot in years… he even picks his wedges clean… Larry has not destroyed one blade of grass in the last decade.

  7. Mike

    Apr 27, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    For as much as I agree with the your idea of a perfect strike, I cannot get on board with some of your statements. “25-handicap golfers make contact an average of 5 inches behind the ball”. I’m a 5 handicap and NOT scratch but I’m certainly taking a divot after the ball.

  8. Charlie

    Apr 27, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    I’m 69 years old with lower back trouble and not too flexible.
    I get all the free range balls I want to hit (a bunch per week), and I’ve been trying for 2+ years to bring a divot to the target side of the ball. Oh, I do it once in a while but mostly I hit a bit thin or a bit fat. I often forget to make that lower body first move – which results in both thins and fats. I have a Tour Striker but if you hit off a good lie or off a mat it lets you get away with fat shots. I’ve tried so many drills from Clampet(sp?) and others to get that good clean hit but nothing has worked very well. Lately the drill from Martin Hall that has you first pull back with the back arm and then pull back with the front arm has made a big difference with hitting my driver longer and straighter, but it has not helped much with the irons.

  9. Gary Q

    Apr 27, 2015 at 8:17 am

    I’m a 6 handicap and I am a picker. I rarely leave a divot. Any drills to begin this change?

    • Ben

      Apr 27, 2015 at 11:44 am

      I don’t know any drills, but the Tour Striker would help. I’m not a paid endorser but you can’t hit a ball with it unless you have your hands forward and making a descending blow at impact.

      • Gary Q.

        Apr 27, 2015 at 1:44 pm

        Which tour striker product? A club or the device you wear

      • Brutus

        Apr 27, 2015 at 2:45 pm

        I agree with using the TS as I was thinking the same. The pro version is the 7 iron which offers 1 scoring less of club face surface to strike. The standard is an 8 iron. Obviously both work well, but the 7 forces just a little more exacting of a shot.

        I start out every season hitting several buckets of just the TS for irons and then add in some real 7’s. The impact results have been very good. Great investment for ball striking.

        Someone used to advocate taking a 8×12″ rectangle of half in plywood, cut a 6×6″ square out along one of the long edges, and then lay that on the ground with the opening forward to practice. Put a ball along the missing edge line in the 6×6 area and learn to hit the ball and miss the board. If it gets too easy, then move the ball back a bit into the open square. It will do the same thing as the tour strike.

      • Tony Lynam

        Apr 27, 2015 at 8:22 pm

        Agree. I have the wedge and 7 iron models.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 27, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      Hi Gary – if you rarely take a divot, you will need to lower the swing arc – but you will also need a corresponding forward shift.

      Feel like you squat down and forwards in transition. Watch Rory and Tiger as they start the downswing

  10. bradford

    Apr 27, 2015 at 7:58 am

    It’s also important to not that without proper set-up and grip, this will be very difficult to do. Most players I see sport a very weak right hand grip (most likely to compensate for “flipping” the club rather than releasing it). That grip will make it very uncomfortable to make contact after the ball. I switched to the old “Hogan” grip about two years ago, and I was amazed at how easy it became to hit the ground in the right spot. All of the things people talked about now made sense…lag, hands forward, release, grip pressure….and I think I picked up about about a club in distance (not a priority for me). The new players I’ve taught (not a pro) are haunted by my phrase of “swing easy and hit the back of the ball first”.

    I believe Mr Penick covered this as well. He’d put a golf tee on the ground one inch in front of the ball and tell his students to hit the tee. The ball becomes “incidental”.

  11. Ted H.

    Apr 26, 2015 at 7:27 pm

    Any practice drills for us city golfers who have to practice on mats?

    • Adam Young

      Apr 27, 2015 at 1:16 am

      Place a thin towel behind the ball and try to strike the ground after the towel. If you are hitting behind, the towel will become dislodged.

      intersperse this with clipping bottle caps off the towel to improve low point without being too steep 🙂

  12. RB695

    Apr 26, 2015 at 3:14 pm

    Good article. If I’m reading correctly, it seems you can still get the proper divot regardless of whether your attack angle is steep or shallow.

    That leads me to believe that the swing arc should not be static and that the center of the arc (thus the entire arc) needs to keep moving toward the target. Is that correct? Seems like this would correlate with another big problem for amateurs – getting “through” the shot.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 4:03 pm

      You are correct – a quality strike can be achieved with a shallow or steep AOA, but I would tend to favor shallower.

      You are also correct that the hub(s) move and should move, unlike how most people visualize and try to maintain stable hubs (this actually creates lowered consistency – take a look at how Tiger drops his head height and then gets further from the ball through the hitting area.

      Advanced biomechanics is showing that the hands are actually moving upwards and away from the ball as the ground is being struck – this creates incredible speed and consistency. But this is difficult for most amateurs to understand as they think the hands should be moving down at impact (a recipe for disaster)

      The clubhead is moving down and forwards, but the hands are doing the opposite

      • PH

        Apr 27, 2015 at 12:44 pm

        Incredibly good point. This is something that you might explain in another post. The hands moving through the hit are going back up during impact. The reason this is possible is that the club is behind the hands and releasing towards the ground. Something I am still working on.

  13. Tom Duckworth

    Apr 26, 2015 at 12:27 pm

    This is one of the real keys to golf . If you don’t do this you will never hit irons with much power or accuracy. Yet I have friends who flip their hands through impact and insist that’s what they must do to get the ball in the air.
    Or my favorite “Maybe a new set of irons will do the trick”.
    I like Johnny Miller’s brush, brush drill. He draws a line on the ground and makes back and fourth small swings just brushing the grass after the line. Making sure his hands pass the line before the club head. I use to wonder how do I know where the low point of my swing is? That drill got me thinking wherever your hands are that’s the low point of the swing. I think it is best to simplify how you think about swing mechanics. So if you are turning correctly and your hands pass first you should always have ball then divot.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      Hi Tom,

      Yes, it is definitely best to simplify things as much as possible while retaining good mechanics intact.

      The hand positions do play a role, unfortunately it is infinitely more complicated than that – with swing direction, hand height at impact (or low point height) as well as low point position all playing a role in striking the turf correctly.

      Luckily, our subconscious minds are incredible at figuring this stuff out if given the right task. The above article explains this simple task – and getting better at it each day via appropriate feedback and skill development is the way forwards.

  14. Phil

    Apr 26, 2015 at 12:23 pm

    This is great advice on what should be done but to just say “practice it” I don’t think is enough. How about something that will lead to striking the ground in the red zone? Set up? Ball position? Focusing on the front of the ball or a spot in front of the ball? Getting weight onto the front side during the downswing?

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 1:40 pm

      Phil – none of those things in isolation will guarantee you hit the ground in the right place. It is far too complex to offer one technical cue. Read the above comment.

      But everyone I teach gets better at this skill through the appropriate focus and feedback, with a motivational nudge from me 🙂

      I sometimes think players are looking for that one bit of swing advice which is a cure all – but the reality is that it is dedicated focus on improving the simple things daily.

      EVERYONE can hit the ground further forwards. You have to figure out what is stopping YOU – mostly it is mental. Which is where good coaching comes in.

  15. Brian

    Apr 26, 2015 at 11:26 am

    I’m a picker. Wish I was not. Any tips for staying down on the ball to get that divot?

    Note: I’m 6’2″ with two herniated discs in my lower back from a military injury so my body wants to be upright. But I think I can train it to stay down with the right drill.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 1:42 pm

      Brian – for a start I wouldn’t ‘stay down. have a look at most of the top strikers and they have an upward trust through impact.

      You could add more squat to the transition. That would get the low point of your swing lower – but it would also need a corresponding increase in forward shift (weight shift)

    • Billy

      Apr 27, 2015 at 1:40 pm

      Sam Snead and Tom Watson were pickers of the golf ball….

      • kjond12

        Apr 29, 2015 at 1:53 pm

        I think that is a very common myth Billy… as I am an instructor and have heard it several times from students. Watch any highlight of Watson in his prime and the most clear one of Snead is from his Shell’s match with Hogan (link below)… both take a divot with every single iron swing they make.

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxBmn8HCCQo

  16. blademonkey

    Apr 26, 2015 at 9:40 am

    do different clubs matter? say someone hitting a GI club versus blades? do blades “dig” more or is that not true?

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 1:43 pm

      If everything in the swing is the same, a blade will likely dig in more due to a thinner sole. but this doesnt matter to an elite player, as they are striking the ball first

      • Dave S

        Apr 27, 2015 at 12:47 pm

        So what you’re saying is that for those of us who are not elite players, we could be better off with GI clubs as they would minimize to some extent the negative effect the occasional behind-the-ball strike?

        This might be a topic for another post, but is there really ANY advantage of using blades or cavity-back blades for mid-hcp golfers? Would not we all be better served by GI irons?

        • Jeremy

          Apr 27, 2015 at 2:15 pm

          I think for most people, if their ego doesn’t get in the way, yes. Although if your goal is to get better and not merely get the most out of the few times a year you play, then you’ll get more feedback from clubs with thinner soles. Mishits will be more penal, but you’ll know you did something wrong and you’ll work to improve.

        • harleyweewax

          Apr 27, 2015 at 2:44 pm

          Would like to know the answer to this as well, not so much as an overall topic but specifically in relation to this article. I was a picker from the time I started playing until I started playing a set of Pings (I series) fitted to me – instant divot, increased distance and accuracy versus the wide sole SGI irons I was using at the time. So I truly wonder if the wider soles vs blade or thinner soles makes as big a difference as I am thinking. When the ground gets hard here in the dry Oklahoma summers, I almost have to go back to my wide soles just to keep from a massive shock at hitting the hard ground with my thinner soled clubs….

          • Adam Young

            Apr 28, 2015 at 10:12 am

            I would say the majority of players would need to use a GI club. The advantage being slightly more forgiveness on behind hits, and generally a bigger sweetspot.

            The disadvantage of a GI club is that, as the Center of Gravity of the club is further back from the face, it creates slightly more gear effect on off center hits.

  17. Chris

    Apr 26, 2015 at 7:30 am

    This is a great article! I am a high handicapper and went out in the back yard and practiced my chipping after reading this. INSTANT IMPROVEMENT! I have never hit my chips so consistently and accurate. Knowing where your divot should be gives great reference point and place to aim your swing. I have been working on my swing with a golf pro and made some great improvements. Adding this tip to my “toolbox” will really drop my score. I don’t believe this was intended to be a cure-all to your golf game. It’s just ONE of the things that you are most likely doing incorrectly. You can hit your irons pure every shot and if you 3-putt on the green your still going to have a high handicap. Thanks for the article Adam. I bookmarked it to read every once in a while.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 26, 2015 at 1:44 pm

      Thanks chris, glad you enjoyed. Sure it is not a cure all. But I have worked on this consistently over the years and now strike the ball similar to the elite professionals.

      As you said, it is no cure all, but it is a necessary fundamental

  18. Rich

    Apr 25, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    A 25 marker hitting behind the ball 5 inches on average? I find that hard to believe. That means that for every shot they hit well (divot in the right place – and they do hit good ones from time to time) they would have to hit one 10 inches behind the ball to even it out? Doesn’t sound right to me. If you hit 10 inches behind the ball at anytime, you are not going to be even a 25 marker. Good point to the article on on how to improve your impact but I think the numbers are a little out of whack.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 11:32 pm

      Rich – believe it. I’ve been doing a study on it for over a year now.

      What 25 handicappers do is learn not to take a divot at all – they just graze the grass behind the ball and the deeper part of the divot starts maybe 4-2 inches behind the ball. Their ‘4 inch behinds’ are their worst shots (the duffs that seem to come out of nowehere), and their 2 inchers are the best ones, but still lost a ton of potential.

      Also, the players then learn to flip the club to add more bounce to the club to stop it digging – again sub-optimal.

  19. AussieDanB

    Apr 25, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    A very good article, I like to read the various articles on this site and often will direct people to this site to read specific articles, this would be one of them. I will say though, with my experience trying to get a bigger handicapper to strike down more and intently so usually leads to then dropping in their swing more and ending up hitting the ball worse. I think the article is Still very valid and heading to your local PGA pro is never going to end up being a bad choice either. 🙂

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 11:34 pm

      Aussie Dan – you are right; I agree and I rarely tell a player to hit down on the ball (although I learned it that way). Science is showing that the hands are actually moving up through impact.

      But by making people aware of their divot position, they, in most cases, simply move a decent action more forwards

  20. Nathan

    Apr 25, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS.!!!
    I came in for a leisurely read this morning, Adam I am 28 handicap. Take note that is 28. I think you are totally wrong. I can guarantee you I strike the ball first and then the turf 2inches past the ball. I can also guarantee I will not finish reading. I don’t know how u come up with your assumptions

    • Adam

      Apr 25, 2015 at 8:54 pm

      Perhaps you are a 28 handicap because you are an idiot who refuses to listen to others who:
      1. Are better than you
      2. Golf instructors
      3. Take time out of their profession to write articles for those WHO WANT TO IMPROVE.
      Maybe your hitting in front of the ball, but something still sucks in your game to be a 28 handicap.
      -Peace

      • Adam 2

        Apr 25, 2015 at 9:06 pm

        i don’t think this guy is Adam.

        • Adam

          Apr 25, 2015 at 9:25 pm

          I’m not, just another guy named Adam.

          • Adam Young

            Apr 25, 2015 at 11:38 pm

            lol – way too many Adams in here 🙂

            Nathan – I hope that was sarcastic. Also, I know there are high handicappers who strike the ground effectively, and some lower handicappers who fall into the other end of the range. But in my thousands of hours of teaching, I would say less than 1% of the handicap players I see (above 5) strike the ground on average within a couple of inches of the ball.

            As always, there are anomalous results. congrats – you are one of them 🙂 now you just have to find out what it is you are doing wrong to not be better

    • talljohn777

      Apr 27, 2015 at 1:07 pm

      I call BS…

      • Billy

        Apr 27, 2015 at 1:42 pm

        Me too, I have always hit the ball first and never got below a 6…

  21. west

    Apr 25, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    Pros and low handicappers have their hands well ahead of the club at impact, this also helps create this forward divot.

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 3:46 pm

      True West – that is one of the elements. But you don’t have to have the hands a long way forwards to do this – and the hands should be releasing through impact (not held onto as some believe).

      The main reason for the pros having a lot of forwards shaft lean is to try and keep the flight of the ball down at their incredible speeds. If most amateurs were to copy this, they would hit a very low flight.

      • Rich

        Apr 30, 2015 at 5:21 pm

        That’s what I found while working on forward lean of the shaft. I play to a 12 and I don’t have enough club head speed to deloft mid to long irons. I can deloft short irons for windy conditions.

        I do work hard on using the bounce to “thump” the ground and the more “thump” I get the better the ball flight.

  22. Jake

    Apr 25, 2015 at 3:15 pm

    Good idea and well written, yet you didn’t explain how average golfers are supposed to achieve this. The article may as well just say, “Go see your PGA professional..”

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 3:51 pm

      Hi Jake – unfortunately, as it is only a short article, it is tough to go through the myriad of technical elements which create this – such as weight position, shaft lean, height of body positions, swing arc direction, release etc. All of which relate to it, and all of which need to be a nice blend. There is no ‘one way’ or ‘perfect way’ to achieve this task.

      However, I routinely improve my pupils’ abilities to hit the ground more effectively. The average golfer goes away hitting the ground at least 50% or more closer to the goal (often much more) in one session, simply through understanding and awareness, and quality feedback like the line drill. I used it myself to get to scratch in 3 years.

      The problem is, most golfers are so worried about how their swing looks that they are unable to focus or even identify if they have done the divot in the right place.

      And 90% or more of the clients through my door don’t even know if or where they should make a divot

  23. Philip

    Apr 25, 2015 at 2:49 pm

    What if my divot tends to be only a ball divot with a light grass divot with my club? Same thing as #3, right?

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 3:52 pm

      could you rephrase the question philip – I would be happy to answer

      • Philip

        Apr 25, 2015 at 5:18 pm

        When hitting good I tend to skim the grass so you can see where my club contacted the ground (a close shave), but there is no clubhead width divot in the ground. Instead you can see a divot mark sometimes left ball by the ball after contact for an inch or so from where the ball was before being hit by the club. The ball mark is not deep.

        • Adam Young

          Apr 26, 2015 at 1:45 pm

          wait, are you saying you are topping the ball into the ground?

          • Philip

            Apr 26, 2015 at 2:51 pm

            No, it still goes pretty well. I’m going to have to wait and see how it goes in the next few weeks now that the courses are opening up. I’ve improved my swing quite a bit over the winter so it may be a mute point.
            Thanks

  24. Rob

    Apr 25, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    “Elite golfers first contact the ground 2 inches in front of the ball”
    “No. 3 is perfect.”

    No. 3 is not 2 inches in front of the ball. What am I missing?

    • Adam Young

      Apr 25, 2015 at 2:44 pm

      Good spot Rob – it should say elite golfers ‘can’ strike up to 2 inches in front.

      • MHendon

        Apr 25, 2015 at 4:57 pm

        Phew thank god you elaborated on that a little more. I was thinking it would be hard to make a divot 2 inches in front of the ball with out catching it a little thin.

        • Adam young

          Apr 26, 2015 at 7:52 am

          It is also a little dependant on angle of attack. With a very shallow approach through impact, I have seen top pros start their divot 3 or more inches in front, especially with low spinning wedges.

          But with a steeper angle of attack this wouldn’t work. Hitting the dot the ball is resting on is a safe bet…. But have a little experiment around.

          My only word of warning is to watch you don’t start hitting a different part of the face. Striking the ground like a pro is useless if you are shanking it 🙂

          • MHendon

            Apr 27, 2015 at 1:56 am

            Ok so I think we need further elaboration here. When you say striking the ground 2 inches in front of the ball are you refering to the leading edge of the ball in other words the side you’re striking or the trailing edge. If I look at the picture above the correct strike would appear to have struck the ground about center of the ball. Considering a ball is a little over an inch in diameter that would be striking the ground slightly over 1/2 inch past the contact/leading edge of the ball. Hence my statement above. If you where striking the ground 2 inches past the trailing edge of the ball I believe you’d be thinning it.

      • TheCityGame

        Apr 27, 2015 at 8:02 am

        It might be better to indicate what’s BAD, which is contacting the ground anywhere BEHIND the ball.

        After a whole article of talking about contacting the ground in front of the ball, your “perfect” picture shows the ground being contacting -.8 inches “in front” of the ball. ‘

        I think this article would be really helped with some video links of pros and amateurs making contact. Especially seeing the difference between where the ground is contacted based on the club choice, steepness of swing, etc.

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Instruction

Clement: Stop ripping off your swing with this drill!

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Not the dreaded headcover under the armpit drill! As if your body is defective and can’t function by itself! Have you seen how incredible the human machine is with all the incredible feats of agility all kinds of athletes are accomplishing? You think your body is so defective (the good Lord is laughing his head off at you) that it needs a headcover tucked under the armpit so you can swing like T-Rex?

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Instruction

How a towel can fix your golf swing

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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.

For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.

Setup

You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.

While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.

Get a Better Shoulder Turn

Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.

In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.

Stay Better Connected in the Backswing

When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.

Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.

Conclusion

I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.

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Clement: Why your practice swing never sucks

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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!

 

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