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Trapping the ball ?? Advice plz

Andaluzian

By Andaluzian,
in Instruction and Playing Tips

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Andaluzian Well Established Member

Andaluzian

Hi all,

I would like to know more about this method of trapping the ball. What does it do, what are the benefits and how do I learn how to do this. I'm consistantly hearing on telecasts this term so it's open . . .

Thanks

IN THE BAG-
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Irons Taylromade r7 Steel shaftCallaway X 60 degree wedge MD groovesPutter Scotty Cameron Newport

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Lemay427 Great Member

Lemay427

hit down on the ball. you are trapping the ball with your club face and the ground.


i am sure someone will add to this.

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Fried Egg Established Member

Fried Egg

That is pretty much it. It's hitting the ball on a steep enough downswing that allows the club to trap the ball against the ground which will lead to a divot. This is opposed to many players whose swing is shallow and basically picks the ball clean off the ground which will cause a very small divot, if any at all.

Joe McNulty

5SK™ Director of Instruction, Cape Cod, MA

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osean79 Established Member

osean79

what i'm wondering is... how can you possibly trap the ball unless the club head comes down practically face down? The club face is open to the sky by default... so then i'd have to overturn my hands to force the face to look down when hitting the ball...

In my Bag-Boy NXO Revolver cart bag:
Driver: 909D2 9.5, UST Proforce V2 x-stiff
Wood: Burner '09 3-Wood
Hybrid: H585 3-Hybrid, stiff steel shaft
3-PW: : MP-57 4-PW, Rifle Project X 6.0Wedge: Solus 51, 56, 61Putter: White Hot XG Teron 34"Ball: ProV1x "Practice"

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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what i'm wondering is... how can you possibly trap the ball unless the club head comes down practically face down? The club face is open to the sky by default... so then i'd have to overturn my hands to force the face to look down when hitting the ball...

It's a figure of speech. You're not actually "trapping" it. "Trapping" just means "de-lofting a bit more than normal."

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
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osean79 Established Member

osean79

It's a figure of speech. You're not actually "trapping" it. "Trapping" just means "de-lofting a bit more than normal."

LOL, thanks for the explanation. When I first heard the term, I literally imagined the club face turned down with the ball being trapped between the ball and the ground!! hahaha but I still can't understand the concept except that 'de-lofting' would require that i keep my hands lower and more ahead of the club head...

In my Bag-Boy NXO Revolver cart bag:
Driver: 909D2 9.5, UST Proforce V2 x-stiff
Wood: Burner '09 3-Wood
Hybrid: H585 3-Hybrid, stiff steel shaft
3-PW: : MP-57 4-PW, Rifle Project X 6.0Wedge: Solus 51, 56, 61Putter: White Hot XG Teron 34"Ball: ProV1x "Practice"

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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LOL, thanks for the explanation. When I first heard the term, I literally imagined the club face turned down with the ball being trapped between the ball and the ground!! hahaha but I still can't understand the concept except that 'de-lofting' would require that i keep my hands lower and more ahead of the club head...

De-lofting = shaft leans forward at address (thus, clubface has "less loft.").

It's part of hitting down and leading with the hands. The hands aren't really any "lower," no, but they are ahead of the ball at impact, yes.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • Author, Lowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

Check Out: New Topics | TST Blog | Golf Terms | Instructional Content | Analyzr | LSW | Instructional Droplets

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powerfade Well Established Member

powerfade

Also...use caution when trapping on hard fairways. It's brutal on your hands and wrists.

Years ago I golfed with a low handicapper who played an exagerated trap. I can still remember a shot where he hit down so hard with an iron that the ground looked like shattering glass. It was unreal.

Driver: R7 SuperQuad TP 9.5° Fujikura Rombax 6X07
Hybrid: Rescue TP 19°

Orlimar3wood: Hip-Steel 15° (oldie but goodie)Irons: Ping i10 [4-GW] DG X-100Wedges: Ping Tour-W [54° & 58°] DG X-100Putter: i-Series Piper HBalls: B330-S or e5+

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Chilidipper Dedicated Member

Chilidipper

De-lofting = shaft leans forward at address (thus, clubface has "less loft.").

This is pretty much it. I was taught to hit a trap draw from the age of 12 and still use that shot. Infact I can't hit a fade iron shot very well.
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fusioncal Dedicated Member

fusioncal

Hi all,

It's like sandwich-ing the ball between the club head and the turf at an angle (down). The way to do this is to get your hands ahead of the club head at impact (lagging), which will cause the head to de-loft and hit the ball first (trapping) then the turf (divot).

What's in the bag:
Driver: r7 SuperQuad 10.5° ~ UST Proforce V2 65g Regular
Wood: 906F4 18.5° ~ Aldila VS Proto 80g Stiff
Irons: MP-60 3-PW ~ True Temper Tour Concept S3
Wedges: Vokey Oil Can 252.08, SM56.10 & SM60.08Putter: Marxman Mallet 33"
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crazy_horst Well Established Member

crazy_horst

It's interesting, because I don't believe players actually trap the ball between the clubface and the ground. I hope I can post this link:



That's Boo Weekley on SwingVision, and you hear Peter Kostis talk about him "compressing the ball between the clubface and the ground," but when you actually watch it, he does nothing of the sort.

Watch the closeup at impact and you'll see what I mean.

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Andaluzian Well Established Member

Andaluzian

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Ok that was amazing. The flex in the shaft after impact is crazy and the distance that he keeps the face square is truly amazing. I took a lesson over the weekend this instructor was saying that I was flipping at the bottom and to keep the shaft angle infront and don't roll the hands through, but it looks like tiger rolls his hands, I duno, maybe a different forum would be better to post this. but thanks for the video link
k

IN THE BAG-
Driver Adams 8.5 Insight XTD YSQ-65 Stiff
Nike Sumo2 3 wood
Nike Sumo2 3 hybrid
Irons Taylromade r7 Steel shaftCallaway X 60 degree wedge MD groovesPutter Scotty Cameron Newport

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VanillaEps Established Member

VanillaEps

Trapping the ball was exactly what I learned from my instructor this past weekend as well. Trying to take the divot after the ball rather than before or no divot at all.

My flaw: exaggerated weight on the back foot during the backswing. The exaggeration caused me to sway back and I couldn't catch up on the downswing. That caused very fat shots and inconsistent ball flight.

Fix: Try to stay stationary during the backswing and come forward during the downswing. Taught me the feeling of a strong left at impact, coming forward on the downswing, and taking a divot after the ball.

Conclusion: trapping the ball. Consistent ball flight and increased distance.

DRIVER - Tight Lies/Graphite/10°
3 WOOD - Sasquatch/Graphite/15°
5 WOOD - Tight Lies/Graphite/19°
IRONS - X-22/Steel/3-PWAW - SV Tour Black Satin/Steel/52°SW - SV Tour Black Satin/Steel/56°LW - SV Tour Black Satin/Steel/60°PUTTER - Black Series #2/34"
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pjsnyc Great Member

pjsnyc

Don't know how to explain how it happened, but this week I FINALLY am striking the ball first before making a divot!!! It honestly feels like I have struck a golf ball solidly for the first time in my life again! Oddly enough, the only change in my swing was at address - I would set up with the clubhead slighlty above the ground.

Anyway, I have a question about divot size. Even though I am hitting the ball first, does the size of the divot matter? I noticed that the smaller the divot, the better (as long as its in front)...but I find it hard to believe since youre hitting the ball first anyway.

:P
In the bag Nike SasQuatch SuMo 10.5* {} Tiger Shark Hammerhead 3w, 5w, 3h {} Nickent 3DX Pro 5i-PW {} Titleist Vokey 250.08* {} Cleveland CG11. 54* {} Callaway X-Tour 58.11* {} Carbite Tour Classic Putter {} Titleist ProV1x

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supercow Dedicated Member

supercow

Ok that was amazing. The flex in the shaft after impact is crazy and the distance that he keeps the face square is truly amazing. I took a lesson over the weekend this instructor was saying that I was flipping at the bottom and to keep the shaft angle infront and don't roll the hands through, but it looks like tiger rolls his hands, I duno, maybe a different forum would be better to post this. but thanks for the video link

It really depends on what type of 'release' your instructer is after. In any case, you never know. He may simply be trying to ingrain the feeling of 'chasing' after the ball in order to give you the feeling of hitting ball first. I know of a lot of teaching professionals who teach their students to punch the ball first (like your instructor is going with you) in order to demonstrate this concept.

Also, you never know what type of shot people are hitting in these videos. He could be hitting a low draw for all we know and I know for certain that if you look around you'll find a video of him hitting a 'heel cut' where he stands a tiny fraction closer to the ball and then chases down the line with his driver (I think he calls it shaking hands with the target) while holding the clubface square (sort of like you are).
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supercow Dedicated Member

supercow

Don't know how to explain how it happened, but this week I FINALLY am striking the ball first before making a divot!!! It honestly feels like I have struck a golf ball solidly for the first time in my life again! Oddly enough, the only change in my swing was at address - I would set up with the clubhead slighlty above the ground.

Good size is about the size of a 'dollar bill' according to Tiger Woods. Yes, size of divot does matter. In general, if you try and hit bigger divots you'll lose some distance control. If you hit smaller divots though, you're basically giving yourself a smaller margin for error.

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