Sliding under the ball with wedges

[albatross]

I've been working hard to fix this and I'm having so much trouble.

I've been shanking the wedges but when I don't shank I'm hitting before the ball and it feels like I'm sliding right underneath it and the ball goes 30 yards shorter than I want it to and there's no divot.

I've tried opening my stance a little, changing ball position to a little further back in my stance, and nothing is working. It just feels like this weird pinch before the ball at impact and when I focus on hitting a little further on the downswing, I'll skull the ball. Please help.

[JaY_B]

How open is your club face at address?

[albatross]

I use the same grip that I do with the other clubs so I don't think that it's too open?? But I guess it might feel that way. If I close it at all, I tend to blade it.

[MunkeyGolfer]

How far back in your stance did you try it?

[Lange]

Do you have similar problems with your nine iron? or does it tend to just be when your using a PW etc. Try having a bit steeper down swing, this way to you can grap some grass to make a divot and hit the ball correctly.

[Dent]

I used to have the exact same problem,

What i would do is lose confidence as soon as I was about to hit. Part of it is mental, which can cause to you mess up. When I swung, I was fine until I was just about to hit the ball. I was scared to hit the ball so I stopped my swing as soon as I made impact, While the club stopped near the ball, my hips were still flying forward, which was the only thing moving, causing the clubface to open a large ammount, causing the shank.

Make sure your club is following through the ball. Dont stop the club at the last minute.

[four1seven]

  mangine77 said:

...but when I don't shank I'm hitting before the ball and it feels like I'm sliding right underneath it and the ball goes 30 yards shorter than I want it to and there's no divot.

What degree bounce are your wedges, and what type of ground? Soft, hard? Bermuda?

[glebert]

For me I have to have the ball back a little, and need to use my hips a bit, gotta hit it with some conviction.. If I go all arms I fluff it.

[CG031]

Play them more off your back foot. Your probably swinging too shallow.

[pjsnyc]

I had the exact same problem a few years ago when I was a 30+ HC and because of what I did below, it lowered it down to around 18.5 (its probably closer to a 15 right now since I haven't entered in any of this years or the end of last years scores).

The way I fixed it was to:

• clean the grooves (it just made me feel better)
• ball back in stance
• hands slightly ahead of ball
• strike down with a very short pitch shot

This should allow you to hit the ball first and the ground second at a steeper than normal swing plane (the shorter shaft naturally makes me do this). If you see your ball check up a bit on the first or second bounce, then you hit it pretty well.

Then try taking longer pitch shots with solid contact and a nice smooth release all the while looking for that nice little hop check.

This basically helped me get a better feel for where the clubhead is throughout the swing. Now try a full swing at 50% (I know, it sounds like an oxymoron) with your wedge and gradually move your way up like I described with the pitch shots above. With wedges, I rarely pull the club back more than 70% compared to my longer irons/woods. I guess cuz its steeper? I'm not sure. I guess I just noticed the pros with their easy-does-it swings for their wedge shots.

Sure - I suffer from the occasional shank or skull like all mid to high handicappers do, but its a great feeling to know that you CAN get up and down when you're 50-100 yds away.

Also, fluffy lies sometimes allow the ball to get struck on the top part of your wedge which leaves it way short, so be sure to adjust accordingly.

[michaeljames92]

sometimes i hit under the ball, instead of hitting down on the ball and using the loft to get the ball in the air. so i would say put it further back in your stance and hit down on it.

[jasongst]

  mangine77 said:

I've been working hard to fix this and I'm having so much trouble.

What is your right knee doing during the swing? It should be relatively firm. Slightly bent, and firm. I find that if I allow it to buckle even slightly during the swing that I end up with problems similar to yours. (Your problem could be something else entirely, but this is something to watch out for.)

[albatross]

  jasongst said:

What is your right knee doing during the swing? It should be relatively firm. Slightly bent, and firm. I find that if I allow it to buckle even slightly during the swing that I end up with problems similar to yours. (Your problem could be something else entirely, but this is something to watch out for.)

I think this could be part of the problem actually. I'm a tall player and I have a tendency to "dip" or sway my knees. I'm having a hard time getting rid of this feeling and swining without doing this.

[iacas]

  jasongst said:

What is your right knee doing during the swing? It should be relatively firm. Slightly bent, and firm. I find that if I allow it to buckle even slightly during the swing that I end up with problems similar to yours. (Your problem could be something else entirely, but this is something to watch out for.)

  pjsnyc said:

The way I fixed it was to:

Stan Utley would disagree with both of you, and I encourage the original poster to pick up his short game book.

My short game has improved dramatically since reading his book, and it wasn't exactly poor to start with. I'm hitting everything a bit long, but he says that's something you have to adjust to, and I'm getting there.

[Ogg]

Just saw this tip the other day and had it here on my desk for people who scoop the ball and get under it. I have the same problem at times.

- Try this drill: Swing an iron with your left arm only. Make a full swing with just your left arm and note how your left wrist stays flat and does not break at impact. Place your right hand on the club aand swing while keeping the feeling of your left wrist in mind. This will ensure that you hit down with a solid left side rather than scooping the ball.

Seems to make sense to me.

[jasongst]

  iacas said:

Stan Utley would disagree with both of you, and I encourage the original poster to pick up his short game book.

Stan doesn't dip his right side during the backswing or the transition, which is the problem I'm describing (poorly, perhaps). He merely pulls his knee around during the downswing.

Go to YouTube and search for Stan Utley (apparently this forum blocks YouTube links). The first search result is a video of his pitch.

[pjsnyc]

  iacas said:

Stan Utley would disagree with both of you, and I encourage the original poster to pick up his short game book.

I guess I was just trying to say that full swings with wedges (for me at least) require a '6th sense' of where the clubhead is at all times throughout the swing without really concentrating on it so that you can concentrate on the ball (not that you wouldnt need that sense with your long irons or woods).

That said - if he's trying to make better full swing contact with his wedges, starting off slowly with little pitch shots - then big pitch shots - then little full swings - then medium full swings - etc... will at least give you the type of feel it requires to take a full swing with the same club and produce consistent results. I suppose I should check this book out too! (im always down for a golf book - im in the middle of 'your 15th club' by bob rotella) Is the name of the book just 'short game' by stan utley? Meh - nmind - ill google it!

[iacas]

  pjsnyc said:

Is the name of the book just 'short game' by stan utley? Meh - nmind - ill google it!

The Art of the Short Game.