Wouldn’t you like to know why you are topping shots and hitting worm burners? It really is frustrating when you know that you need to clear a pond in preparation for a perfect third shot to the green. That’s when we rush our swing and dump our ball into the pond. Thankfully, Danny Maude described the cause and fix in a recent blog.
YOUR MISTAKE: To make a mishit and top your ball, you must be swinging up and through the top side of your ball. The only way to do this is by shifting your weight to your trailing foot in your backswing and rush your downswing before you shift your weight back to your leading foot. Most recreational players make this mistake.
HOW THE PROS DO IT: Pros don’t rush their down swing so that they can easily shift their weight forward during their transition at the top and make a perfect swing down to their ball. Recreational players should eliminate swaying back during their back swing to keep the bottom of your swing arc at your point of impact and inline with your ball.
Know that your club will (a) bottom out at the bottom of your swing arc and (b) – for right handers- spray your shots right when you connect early in the radius of your swing and spray left when you connect late.
Solution
(a) Bottom Arc Correction: For iron shots (off the ground) setup so that your nose is directly over your ball and DON’T SWAY BACK in your backswing. For your driver (off a tee) setup so that your nose and club head are on a line 4 inches behind your ball and allow your club to swing up to launch your ball.
(b) Swing Radius Correction: To control the direction of your shot, the further you place your ball back in your stance, the more you need to open your stance (by moving your leading foot back an inch or two). Since your ball is forward in your stance for drives, you should close your stance (by moving your trailing foot away from your target line).
If you bend your leading arm in your backswing, you will have to straighten it out before you connect with your ball to control your distance from your nose to your ball. Bent arm swingers should place their ball more forward in their stance, hoping that you can straighten out your leading arm before impact. Unfortunately, you will tend to top more shots with a ball forward in your stance.
Ideally, learn to swing with a straight leading arm and your leading elbow pointing up your target line. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to feel your straight leading arm and keep your distance consistent from your nose to your ball. Don’t sway back and keep your leading wrist flat to shallow your downswing. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com