kblehman

LOL, I've been athletic all my life but I'm no Sergio. I do have hands that are active enough that I had to go from a strong grip to a neutral grip, but it's always been a challenge for me to get my weight completely forward on impact. Went to the range last night with a buddy who can really compress his irons and he worked with me for quite a while. It was a struggle trying to hit a tee that was 3" in front of the natural bottom point of my swing (and later a ball). I had a tendency to slide forward, and that can get ugly, but I did get better after an hour or so. What finally clicked was when I watched him pinch some irons and I noticed that his front foot wasn't rolling forward so much as it was pressing down into the ground during his transfer. That image really helped (similar to the video shared by saevel25) and I finally felt it 4 holes into a quick 9 after our range session. At that point my mental image was to push my weight through my front foot with my swing, if that makes sense. That mental thought helped me get to my left side and also stay down through impact (another weakness of mine) and suddenly I was hitting down into the ball with my irons. I wasn't taking 8" divots (I've always been more of a picker) but I was definitely going through the ball first and catching turf when my thought was to swing "down into my left foot.". Progress!!! :) I have a golf outing to play in on Friday and will report back after some live swings. Thanks everyone! Kerry in MI

I have the same problem and it's becoming very frustrating. On easy lob wedge swings from 90-yds and in -- with the ball back in my stance a bit -- I can pinch the ball and take a divot, no problem. Contact is crisp and my direction is pretty consistent. However, when I take a full swing I cannot seem to compress the ball and take a divot in front of the ball. (I often pull it and I always hit it very high.) Yesterday I was at the range for an hour with a tee/line on the ball and only once in 40+ swings did the divot start in line or in front of the tee. Most others were behind the ball--even when I was trying specifically to take a divot in front of the ball. (My 4 handicapper buddy gets as frustrated as I do when he works with me on this.) Note: if I move the ball back in my stance I will eventually shank it or hit the ball with a very open face or both. If I move the ball forward to avoid a skank, the divots again occur behind the ball. It's truly maddening. (FYI: I often hit the ball on the heel side of the face too--another swing flaw I cannot figure out.) I can only assume that although I think I'm moving forward (I do end up on my front foot after the swing) my weight is hanging back through impact. Perhaps my arms outrace my turn and weight shift? Or is there more to it? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. K in Michigan