Why is my divot before the ball???

["Richard"]

I used to try to sweep the ball off the ground with my club and would always hit the ground first and then the club would either take a chunk of grass out and then hit the ball or it would hit the grass, bounce back up and hit the ball in its equator. I've watched the pros hit the ball in slow motion and they hit down on the ball, and continueing into the ground after the ball is gone and taking a diovt. What drills can I do to help me do this?

[jvincent]

I seem to remember a drill where you put a tee behind the ball (can't remember how far behind) and then you try to hit the ball and not the tee.

I'm sure if you google "hit down golf drill" you'll find something useful.

["Richard"]

"Take three tees. Place one in front of the other, 6 inches apart. The first tee is your ball. Set up in your normal stance to the first tee. Swing and try to miss the first tee, and clipp the second and third tee. Or try this-

The pine cone / wiffle version. Imbed a golf ball so that it is halfway in the ground. Take a pine cone or a wiffle ball and place it 6-8 inches in front of the half buried golf ball. Set up to the imbedded golf bal and make a swing, missing the imbedded ball and striking the pine cone or wiffle. It's hard to do, especially if you haven't trained with the other Bertholy exercises. About a year ago on the Golf channel, Martin Hall demonstrated this drill and gave Bertholy credit for it. In the winter I use a foamy cut in half and golf tees on my carpet."

I got that off a site, that sounds impossible. If your first tee is your ball and you miss it but clip the second and 3rd... won't your club face be open when it passes tee #1?

[jvincent]

The point of the drills is to teach you how to hit down.

Once you learn the motion, you will be able to hit down on your normal shot.

[BC MIST]

I used to try to sweep the ball off the ground with my club and would always hit the ground first and then the club would either take a chunk of grass out and then hit the ball or it would hit the grass, bounce back up and hit the ball in its equator. I've watched the pros hit the ball in slow motion and they hit down on the ball, and continueing into the ground after the ball is gone and taking a diovt. What drills can I do to help me do this?

You say that you tried to sweep the ball previously, however, that cannot be true if you are hitting behind the ball. The truth is that you are trying to get the ball airborne by hitting up on it, your left wrsit is breaking down(flexion )with significant power loss, and likely your weight stays on the back foot.

There is no magic bullet here and a gazillion drills are not necessary. At the top of the backswing your hands/arms/club head are ABOVE the ball. Just bring everything DOWN into the inside quadrant of the ball, as though you are trying to crunch the ball into the ground.

When you start hitting the ball first and taking chunks of turf, you will instinctively move to where you hit a little less down and shallower divots result, because your hands will hurt.

[jbrace]

My wife had this problem when she first started and her instructor had an excellent drill, but you have to be practicing off a mat. Take a roll of masking tape to the range with you. Rip off a 2 inch strip and tape it to the mat about two inches in front of the ball. Concentrate on hitting the ball and making contact with the tape after the ball. You won't see instant results, but if you keep working at it eventually you'll start hitting the tape and even scraping it right off the mat. When you get more comfortable, try moving the tape a little more forward. This drill worked really well for my wife. After one lesson with this, she was properly hitting down on the ball without even thinking about it.

[sharkhark]

I too have this problem of ground first.
I am confused as I want to practice the right things. Does your swing have to be 'steeper' to do this?
I know I have a flat swing, and for driver add loft, due to hitting slightly up. Any advice re steeper?

["Richard"]

" your left wrsit is breaking down"

BC, what does this mean? Does this means my hands should pass the ball before the club face? Keep them a little coc ked still?

[sharkhark]

" your left wrsit is breaking down"

BC, what does this mean? Does this means my hands should pass the ball before the club face? Keep them a little coc ked still?

I am guessing he means flipping the wrists through prematurely, that would reduce the snap of power you want?
But I am waiting on reply too, I seriously need to improve my power this yr.

[BC MIST]

" your left wrsit is breaking down"

BC, what does this mean? Does this means my hands should pass the ball before the club face? Keep them a little coc ked still?

Except at address, you should try to keep your left wrist flat and your right wrist bent. Obviously, it is most important that this position occur at impact. If your wrists unhinge prematurely, the right wrist flattens and the left wrist bends backwards, and power and accuracy is lost.

Try to establish a feeling of swinging into the ball, from the inside, where your hands at past the ball, before your club head gets to the ball.

Check the shot of Hogan below. Notice how his right hand is still significantly bent backwards. Beautiful.

[Gofish2]

Game needs a lot of work.Ready to sign up for a series of lessons. BC and others,what instructors teaching indoors would you advise ?

[BC MIST]

Game needs a lot of work.Ready to sign up for a series of lessons. BC and others,what instructors teaching indoors would you advise ?

Pat Laderoute, Pat Laderoute, Pat Laderoute.
858-8648
patrickladeroute@hotmail.com

I have no other interest in Pat's teaching except that I know that he will give you the correct knowledge necessary for you to understand what you need to do, and he will help you get better in reasonable time. He will help you get your swing on the correct plane so that you can maximize both your accuracy and distance.

I know that "leftylucas" is seeing Pat, so you might want to contact him for his opinion,as well.