Hit Down on the Ball! Help!
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From: ShrekUtog on 13 Sep 2007 21:44 Can anyone recommend drills which will help me hit down on the golf ball, with great impact position (hands ahead of the club, etc)...
From: Otto on 13 Sep 2007 21:52 <ShrekUtog(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:1189734292.631580.176720(a)22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com... > Can anyone recommend drills which will help me hit down on the golf > ball, with great impact position (hands ahead of the club, etc)... You might try this: http://www.tgw.com/customer/category/product.jsp?SUBCATEGORY_ID=4522 Otto
From: David Geesaman on 13 Sep 2007 22:10 ShrekUtog(a)gmail.com wrote: > Can anyone recommend drills which will help me hit down on the golf > ball, with great impact position (hands ahead of the club, etc)... > Start with easy 1/4 swings where your goal is to keep your wrists cocked even through impact. Let the hands stay ahead of the ball and just let the clubhead dip down enough to skim down behind the ball. Another trick is to set a ball down behind your ball about 6" back and try to hit the front ball without touching it. Partial swings again. The challenge is that most people who scoop the ball can be taught to get better with small swings, but it goes to pot when you swing above 75%. Be patient, swing slow, and keep your wrists cocked all the way through the swing. Dave
From: Steve on 14 Sep 2007 13:30 <ShrekUtog(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:1189734292.631580.176720(a)22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com... > Can anyone recommend drills which will help me hit down on the golf > ball, with great impact position (hands ahead of the club, etc)... > I have the same problem. What I have been trying is to place a ball well ahead of where you normally have your ball and hit that. 6-8 inches ahead. Also in my backyard I partially bury a ball at my normal ball position and place a pine cone 6 inches in front and swing so I miss the ball but hit the pine cone.
From: larry on 14 Sep 2007 13:55
On Fri, 14 Sep 2007 10:30:14 -0700, "Steve" <steve(a)nospamplease.com> wrote: > ><ShrekUtog(a)gmail.com> wrote in message >news:1189734292.631580.176720(a)22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com... >> Can anyone recommend drills which will help me hit down on the golf >> ball, with great impact position (hands ahead of the club, etc)... >> > >I have the same problem. What I have been trying is to place a ball well >ahead of where you normally have your ball and hit that. 6-8 inches ahead. >Also in my backyard I partially bury a ball at my normal ball position and >place a pine cone 6 inches in front and swing so I miss the ball but hit the >pine cone. It is easy IF you have properly moved your weight to your front leg before impact-- or said another way, unweighted your back foot before impact. When you make that early weight shift your hips turn toward the target and your swing center moves forward 6" or so, and the bottom of your swing moves ahead of the ball position. Voila! You automatically hit down on the ball because your clubhead is still going down at impact. Your hips also "clear" to allow you to propel the clubhead from inside the target line, preventing slice. BUT, if you lag back like 99% of golfers, if you have weight retained on your back foot at impact, you can only throw your arms and/or manipulate the clubhead with hands--to fake a correct golf swing. The long-term permanent fix is to learn the transition move. This blurb almost verbatim from "SLAP" Swing Like A Pro. -------------------------------------------------------------- >Anatomy of the Transition Move Golf would be simplified enormously if all you had to do was place your body and the club in a mechanically perfect, rock-stead position at the top of the backswing and then swing from there. A backswing wouldn't even be necessary. You could merely lift the club into place, check that your positions were sound, and then move all your body parts forward all at once, confident that a perfect swing was pre-programmed. The golf swing doesn't transpire that way, of course, nor does any truly athletic movement in any other sport. To again borrow the analogy of throwing a ball, imagine a baseball pitcher reaching the top of his windup and then, keeping his lower body stationary, flipping the ball forward with his arm alone. He'd throw a pretty feeble pitch. He needs a dynamic transition move, a cooperative movement between his upper and lower body that accumulates energy, stores it, then unleashes it with tremendous speed and force. To set the stage for a correct, powerful downswing, it is necessary for the upper and lower body to move in opposite directions just before the downswing actually gets underway. That's what the transition move is all about. A moment before your torso, shoulders, and arms complete their journey to the top of the backswing, the lower body, led by the hips, begins moving and rotating toward the target. Performed the right way, the transition move accomplishes several objectives. First, it "loads" the swing dynamically. The large rotational muscles in your trunk or core are stretched like rubber bands or a coil spring. So, too, are all the muscles running from your torso to your arms. They become stretched and taut, ready to snap into action to provide great speed and strength. Secondly, the accompanying weight shift from the back to the front foot that happens when the lower body moves forward provides a stable base of support for the unwinding of the upper body that occurs a moment later. It enables you to swing all-out with your shoulders, arms, and hands without risk of losing your balance or wasting energy. Finally, the initial move forward with your feet, legs, and hips sets up a chain reaction of movements in the upper body that allows you to transport the club forward along the proper swing path. Although the primary purpose of the transition move is to produce power, it has the equally important effect of allowing the correct swing path to occur. One of the major reasons most golfers fade or slice is because they're unable to move their lower body out of the way of the upper body, arms, hands, and club. It is obvious that if the hips are in the way during the downswing, the arms and club cannot follow the inside path required to hit the ball straight. Instead, the lower body is an obstacle that forces the arms and club outside, producing the dreaded slice as the clubhead swipes across the ball from outside-to-in. The transition move serves to remove this obstacle by initiating an early shift toward the target, clearing the hips. How thte clubhead itself moves is important in generating the proper swing path. The transition move helps to produce what we call the proper "fall of the club," in which the clubhead actually moves away from the ball as it nears the top of the swing. This automatically moves the clubhead onto an inside path during the downswing. The fall of the club is so important that, if done properly, it single-handedly eliminates problems related to swing path (the swing plane). How to Learn the transition Move The challenge of learning to uncoil your lower body while the upper body is still rotating to the top of the backswing is an awesome one to most golfers. The concept of moving segments of your body in different directions simultaneously is difficult to grasp, let alone perform! In a way it is like asking a child to rub his stomach in a circular motion with one hand while patting the top of his head with the other. The child will appear confused initially and fail at first. But if he persists he will learn to do it. We believe there are only three sound and lasting ways to learn the transition move. The first is to simply observe the best players in action. Although all players on the major tours perform the transition move well, we recommend you select a few whose swings are noted for their powerful move toward the ball. You'll also find it helpful to videotape your favorite players as they perform on TV. You can play those swings back in slow motion and study the moves. Next, practice the drills. Those listed below are the most efficient learning tools. Finally, you MUST practice. That cannot be over-emphasized! Some aspects of the swing "take" faster than others. Perfecting the transition move will likely take longer than any other. Be patient and persevere. The Transition Drills These drills are designed to give you the feeling of getting your lower body to begin the downswing while the upper body continues to complete the backswing. It is a movement that will feel very unusual for most amateurs. Once you master it, however, your game will be transformed! 1. Bump, Hug, and Go Place the teaching shaft (a golf club with no head), firmly into the ground vertical. Place it approximately 2 inches from your back hip when you setup. The teaching shaft will be stuck in the ground just outside your back foot heel. As you begin the backswing and shift of your weight to your back leg and foot, allow your back hip to move laterally just far enough to bump the shaft lightly as the club is horizontal to the ground. Your back hip should move NO farther away from the target, do not push the teaching shaft over. As your backswing continues, your hips simply "hugs" or stays lightly against the teaching shaft. At the moment the club becomes vertical to the ground, your arms horizontal, move your hips laterally away from the shaft and rotate them toward the target. Your goal is to create as wide a gap as possible between your hips and the shaft WHILE the upper body continues rotating to the top of the backswing. You have shifted your weight toward the target, the transition weight shift. Swing down and through the ball, noting all the while the sensation of the transition move. If done properly, you will feel stretching in the muscles of your trunk, the oblique and lateral muscles connecting your shoulders and arms to your hips. More importantly, you will begin to feel the power flow into the large leg and trunk segments. As with all our drills, you can actually strike the ball. At the beginning, however, you may want to eliminate the ball so you can concentrate on the transition moves. Then, when you feel comfortable with the move ingrained, add the ball and prepare yourself for a dramatic increase in distance. 2. Step and Go If you have any baseball experience, you will like this drill. On the practice range, place a ball on a low tee, then follow this procedure: Step 1. Using any club (short irons preferred) set up to the ball in a normal manner. Step 2. As you begin your backswing by moving your entire body onto your back foot, pick up your front foot and slide it toward your back foot. Make sure you turn your shoulders-get your front shoulder over your back foot, a complete 90 degree turn. Step 3 As the club reaches the vertical position, click your front foot heel against your back foot heel. Without touching the ground, drive your front leg and hip toward the target as the shoulders and arms complete the backswing. You will feel the core lateral and oblique muscles stretch to their limit and stop your shoulder rotation and pull your arms and club immediately into the downswing. Step 4 Finish the swing by allowing the trunk and arm muscles to stretch and unwind or rebound into the downswing. Don't rush the transition move. Allow the power to build during the winding portion of the backswing. If this move is performed correctly, you should hear the "swish" at the bottom of your swing, where the ball would be. Like cracking a whip, the big muscles transfer all their power to the end of the club, creating enormous velocity. 3. Weighted Club Transition Using a weighted club, and a normal stance, start the swing then stop when the club is horizontal to the ground. Slowly resume the swing to the top. When the club is vertical to the ground, prepare to reverse the club movement by rotating your hips, then the shoulders, then the arms in the opposite direction. Once the transition from backswing to downswing has been completed, keep swinging and allow the momentum of the heavy club to carry you into a full follow-through. Common Transition Problems If learning the transition move proves problematic over a long period of time, you probably are committing one of five mistakes. Two of the errors are rooted in poor preswing fundamentals. You can detect and cure those yourself using a mirror. The third and fourth mistakes result from poor execution of the transition move itself and will require observation by a friend. The final problem---lack of body strength, balance, flexibility, is inherent and can be overcome only by a rigorous exercise and flexibility program. |