hitting all shots thin

[rhabc123]

hi, I am hitting all my shots thin from a little chip shot to a full driver. I saw a golf tip that says to stop the club head quickly after impact, which will stop thin shots. i tried the tip and it works but i cant transfer the same strike to my shots when i play on the course. does anyone know why stopping quickly after impact improves the strike? and how can i transfer it onto the course?

[iacas]

hi, I am hitting all my shots thin from a little chip shot to a full driver. I saw a golf tip that says to stop the club head quickly after impact, which will stop thin shots. i tried the tip and it works but i cant transfer the same strike to my shots when i play on the course. does anyone know why stopping quickly after impact improves the strike? and how can i transfer it onto the course?

I can't say I've ever heard that tip, and if I did, that I'd ever believe it.

[muskegman]

You always want to accelerate through the ball, never stop the clubhead abruptly. Make sure you are hitting down on the ball and that the ball isn't too far foreword in your stance. If you are "casting" you'll hit a lot of thin shots too.

[kklick]

hi, I am hitting all my shots thin from a little chip shot to a full driver. I saw a golf tip that says to stop the club head quickly after impact, which will stop thin shots. i tried the tip and it works but i cant transfer the same strike to my shots when i play on the course. does anyone know why stopping quickly after impact improves the strike? and how can i transfer it onto the course?

Well it seems to me that by tring to stop the club after contact it would keep you from pulling up and catching it thin. I'd also guess by trying to stop the club you probably don't see youself falling back away from the ball. If you have a problem finishing on your back foot or the reverse pivot that can also cause you to pull up and catch it thin. Make sure that someone standing behind you could see the sole of your back foot when you finish. Another common cause of a thin shot is tension. Hold your club out in front of you at your normal address position with your arms and shoulders relaxed. Now just tense your arms and shoulders and your grip and you'll see the club pull up from the ground. Tension can make the club pull up from a half inch to an inch. Now if your club is an inch high on an inch and a half ball you can imagine what shot you'll get from that. Keep your grip light and your arms relaxed and see if that helps any.

[Ben]

Try paying attention to your back angle, and making sure it stays the same throughout the swing until after impact. Lifting up even so slightly may be the culprit?

[muskegman]

I'm sorry but stopping the club after impact is not the answer. No reputable teacher would recommend such a method. Accelerating the clubhead through and following impact is the only way to swing the club.

In fact the clubhead often will be faster just after impact than at impact. This goes for putter through driver. I can think of no acception to this rule.

[kklick]

I think some of you guys may be overlooking the obvious here. Stopping the club after impact is not all that uncommon. Now I agree it would never work as a normal swing but should be beneficial in practice drills. Need some examples? Ok here you go.

http://www.practicerange.com/detail.aspx?ID=620

Impact bags stop the club after impact. Impact bags are used by alot of instructors. Therefore stopping the club after impact is suggested by many teachers. I'm not trying to argue with anyone but I think the original point has some validity.

Now I'm not sure how easy it would be to try and stop a full speed swing after impact but I can see how a half speed swing or something may work. Essentially he is trying to do the same thing an impact bag would do. Show where the club should be at impact.

Now I'm not a golf instructor or teacher by any means so maybe I'm way off base. Thats how I see it though.

[iacas]

I think some of you guys may be overlooking the obvious here. Stopping the club after impact is not all that uncommon. Now I agree it would never work as a normal swing but should be beneficial in practice drills. Need some examples? Ok here you go.

There's a difference, though, between something else stopping the club and you stopping the club. If you force the club to stop, that changes your swing. Impact bags are meant to show your impact position - if you change your swing, you don't get an accurate picture of your impact position, and forcing yourself to stop just after hitting the ball IS changing your swing.

I would NEVER hit balls stopping just after impact. The overall negatives would outweigh any positives. I would use an impact bag, but you do that without a ball.

[rhabc123]

thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments, i saw the tip in a golf instruction book by beverly lewis called "great golf tips", she is a pga pro and captin of the british pga. the tips says " a buckled left elbow, or trying to hit the ball up in the air,will cause thin shots. try hitting shots and stoping quickly after impact, this will activate the hands and improve the strike". ive tried the tip and it works for me but only when i do the exercise. i cant seem to get the same good strike on normal swings also i thin driver shots and little chip shots. anyone got any ideas on how to improve this situation? thanks

[iacas]

thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments, i saw the tip in a golf instruction book by beverly lewis called "great golf tips", she is a pga pro and captin of the british pga. the tips says " a buckled left elbow, or trying to hit the ball up in the air,will cause thin shots. try hitting shots and stoping quickly after impact, this will activate the hands and improve the strike". ive tried the tip and it works for me but only when i do the exercise. i cant seem to get the same good strike on normal swings also i thin driver shots and little chip shots. anyone got any ideas on how to improve this situation? thanks

If you're bending your left arm at impact, you need to learn to hit down and through the ball. Take a divot. There are a lot of practice drills out there that can get you to do this sort of stuff, but I really don't recommend stopping after impact and actually hitting balls, regardless of what one person has said to do.

The fix could be as simple as taking slow-motion practice swings in the air and making sure you extend DOWN AND THROUGH the hitting zone. It sounds like you're hitting "at" the ball and compounding that by trying to lift it into the air. Down and through with a straight left arm. Let the loft do the work. No drill should ingrain other bad habits, and the "hit and stop" thing sounds like it could.

[cmarkmyers]

At my first lesson my instrutor had me hit balls with just a short little swing, barely bigger than a chip. Then I moved up to taking the club back just enough to get it parrallel to the ground. The goal was to get comfortable with the grip, keeping the triangle formed between the chest and the arms, and with making a follow through motion. The drill also helped me learn what it feels and sounds like to hit a ball correctly, albeit weakly.

[OcgolfrChick]

actually, my coach has had me do that as a drill before. I do a short backswing, hit the ball, and stop before my arms turn over. it helps to improve impact. works just the same as an impact bag, but u are able to see where ur hands should be better by just doing it on ur own

[joel745]

stop the club head?....wow!
i'd try 1 of 2 things, either move ball back in stance half inch and hit the ball on the downswing instead of upswing. or widen your stance a half inch. use normal swing for either remedy

[joel745]

ever wonder why kids( teenagers) play so good today. simple.......they just swing withought the mechanics. instructors give way too much info today. they no longer teach the main goal of golf, to get the ball in the hole with as few strokes as possible, only teach how to hit the ball. ever see trevino, watson, nicklaus and woods play sub par golf and still win..........because they put the ball in the hole, even when hitting it poorly. i just love trevino....pasr 3 140 yds into the wind and he hits a low 4 iron and skips onto the green....... now that's golf!
i have a real problem with the modern game.........hi tech clubs and balls, lack of ettiqutte. i need to lobby the usga to bring back balata, persimmon,blades,plus 4's and tams, not to mention tassles on my golf shoes with steel spikes. ban long putters, and bomb every home within 50 yards of a tee box............lol

[flap]

My 2 cents;Check your ball posistion it is probably to far foward and your posture is way to upright.Picture yourself sitting on the edge of a barstool and sit into the shot.