Looking for some drills for hitting down on the ball

**3 wiggle** · August 12, 2010

I have a problem with hitting down on the ball. Im naturally a sweeper, but i know that for constancy and distance the ball must be compressed by hitting down on it. When im playing bad...im sweeping. Does anyone know of any drills that help with this. Ive tried the towel behind the ball trick...but i just keep hitting the towel. Any other ideas? I can visualize it, i can feel it, but i cannot do it!

**Ben** · August 12, 2010

Punch shots. When I was trying to improve my compression I would spend a grip of time hitting punch shots. Hands lead the clubhead to the ball, left wrist/arm firm and straight, aggressive through the impact zone, low finish. That's all you need!

RC · August 12, 2010

Agree with Ben. Try to hit an iron, say an 8 iron or a club with some loft, as if you were hitting under a tree limb -- low line drives. But work the ball forward until it is in your normal position and you can still hit the knock down. Some sweepers actually have too weak of grip, and I am definitely not a strong grip advocate, however, you need to feel your right hand on top of the ball so make sure the vee points at least mid-shoulder and the left hand feels like you are dragging the knuckles a little -- in other words, hands ahead, shift ahead, everything leading except the head -- don't slide the head forward of the ball.

**bwdial** · August 12, 2010

I'll have to give this a try. I have the same problem compressing the ball.

**TN94z** · August 12, 2010

You could do the Bobby clampett sand drill which helps to move your swing bottom forward. I have been reading his book lately if that isn't obvious.

**oneoverwrx** · August 12, 2010

rather than a towell use a ball or something your more affraid to hit. I would say something valuable but probably would be a good idea at first. I have the opposite problem. I hit down on the ball alot, take a deep and long divot. Sure it works but there are times where i would prefer to sweep the ball as i feel it would be easier to shape shots with a sweep. Anyway......you have to get your hands ahead of the ball before contact or atleast thats what i do.

**ks8829** · August 12, 2010

Sometimes it could be something very simple if you are hitting behind the ball like your arms at address may not be fully extended to the ground, you can try pressing down on the ground slightly just before you start you backswing. Another drill that might help is to hit balls with your feet together. if you sway you will lose your balance, with you feet together it forces you to take your backswing more upright and on the natural arc of the club with your arms, this helps prevent any swaying.

**TN94z** · August 12, 2010

Swaying will for sure causes this as I have had this problem in the past. When chipping as practice, try moving your aim point from the ball to a few inches in front of the ball. This will cause you mind to make your swing bottom out after hitting the ball. You will have to hit down on it to accomplish this.

**double_j** · August 12, 2010

The punch shot routine is one of my standards. It really helps to ingrain the feeling of proper contact with a quiet lower body. 3/4 swings and rifle through.

I'll also lay a tee a couple of inches in front of the ball while hitting 7 irons. The goal is to pick the tee off of the ground with each shot, which means that you have to move your swing arc forward. Hitting the ball is totally incidental but you'll find that you make good contact since the swing is bottoming out in the right place.

This works much better for me than the towel on the ground since I'm focused on where I want to hit as opposed to where I don't want to hit.

**NI4NI** · August 12, 2010

Punch shots. When I was trying to improve my compression I would spend a grip of time hitting punch shots. Hands lead the clubhead to the ball, left wrist/arm firm and straight, aggressive through the impact zone, low finish. That's all you need!

+1 on this reply. I happened on this exact concept last night at the range. I was hitting down fairly well on the longer irons, and then starting to get a big fatsie (courtesy of my nemesis, the sway demon), so I headed over for some bunker and wedge play. When I returned to my station, I continued with the short punch motion on my longer irons, and the ball was flighting great. Definitely a light bulb moment for me.

**Zeph** · August 12, 2010

Picture your hands being over your left foot, from your point of view at impact. Also make sure your weight don't hang back.

**3 wiggle** · September 10, 2010

You guys are the best. Its so difficult to play consistently when your compression is poor. I dont know why hitting down on the ball is so hard for me...but im workin on it!

**mdl** · September 10, 2010

Two things that helped me:

1) Sort of a hack fix, but try hitting at the range looking at the FRONT of the ball instead of the back. You'll probably start hitting it thin, but for me it actually helped me get more of a divot

2) Real fix. I realized that while I was keeping a pretty decent spine tilt, I was rolling my front shoulder and really flattening out my shoulder plane. There's a good thread on shoulder plane you can find. Working on not rolling my shoulder and keeping the shoulder plane as well as the spine tilt has got me coming down much steeper and making a really good divot (though not too much). Not only do I get better spin this way, it's also very significantly increased my distance, though I find it easier to do with the shorter, more lofted clubs, so it's compressed my between clubs distances a bit too much. I've started hitting my 8i 155, 160+ if I really strike it perfectly, up from 145, but my 4i has only gone from ~190 to about 195+, though at the range I might hit 1 in 7 to 210+ now.

The extra spin is definitely worth the effort too. On a recent day when I was hot and was getting beter than average accuracy with my long clubs I put my 2h on the green twice from over 200 yards and both times stopped it within a yard of the divot, whereas on similar pretty soft greens I'd often roll it 5+ yards past the divot.

**CalBoomer** · September 11, 2010

For starters, I would suggest that you stop thinking about "compression." It has nothing to do with hitting down on the ball. If you have ever watched some of those close-ups on TV when they analyze the swings of various pros, pay attention to the shots of the clubhead striking the ball. The first thing you will notice is that the clubhead hits the ball just before it contacts the turf. The ball is then off the clubface, not being compressed against anything, while the clubface starts to dig into the turf. This is the basis of the very old adage: "hit the little ball before the big ball (the earth)." Take your usual set-up and practice swinging the club (with hands forward like a hockey stick shot or a punch shot as others have recommended) so that you take a shallow divot every time. See where the beginning of the divot is in your stance. Now place the ball so that it aligns just before the divot begins. Now hit the ball with the same swing creating the same divot.

**Zeph** · September 11, 2010

You guys are the best. Its so difficult to play consistently when your compression is poor. I dont know why hitting down on the ball is so hard for me...but im workin on it!

I'm a hardcore flipper and struggle immensly with it. I know exactly what I should do, but is just not able to. Using an impact bag or some other object (on the range, perhaps a ball bucket) to force it can help.

It's kinda funny watching this video, because he explains exactly what I'm doing. Upper body moving forward to help me hit down on it. PS: Anyone know if the full version of this video is still free and where to find it?

**squaddie** · September 14, 2010

A drill I was recommended by my Pro was to put a business card down right in front of where a ball would be placed (but don't place a ball). Then I would swing and try to launch the business card. You could practice that on a mat or turf not on the range.

If on the range and there are trees nearby, just put a small leaf down slightly in front of the ball, and aim for the leaf.

**Shanks A Million** · September 14, 2010

This has to be the most misunderstood part of the game. Hitting down and compressing the ball are A: not related, and B: not things you need to be trying to do. When you consciously try and hit down on the ball, you generally just get steeper. You don't want to try and swing down at the ball, but rather, to keep the hands ahead of the ball. To do that, you hold onto the shaft; try not to let your wrists uncock, at all. You will release them, but you will feel like you don't. That's really all it takes.

Most high handicap players have the club vertical, or even leaning backwards at impact. They flip the clubhead out in front of the hands because it feels natural to try and lift the ball into the air. What's really amazing is, how many people believe they're not doing it. They believe they're swinging down because they come way over the top, and really steep, and yet the clubshaft still crosses the hands at or before impact. It's hard to get yourself to hold onto that lag angle, but it's perhaps the most important fundamental of all. The reason Ben's idea of hitting punch shots works because people hold onto the lag angle with a punch shot, because they're trying to hit it low.

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