So..that's what's meant by "compressing" the ball?

[chilly]

Played with a guy last Friday that hits driver 245ish, smooth swinger. But his irons are freakishly long considering his game off the tee, PW 150, 6i 200yds, etc (laser confirmed, plus playing with two single handicappers that were playing stock yardages to same pins). We talked about it after the round, he's obviously lagging and delofting, but the ball still has plenty of height so it works. Also noticed it almost looks like he is "pinching" the ball, and takes a huge PGA divot.

I've been hitting irons pretty well, but I "pick" the ball clean off the turf and basically leave zero divot, probably casting a bit but my camera doesn't have enough resolution for me to know for certain at impact. Yesterday I went to the range primarily to try out my new (to me) R7 TPs and work on the swing a bit. Noticed that I felt some pressure on my right wrist on a few swings and increased lag, which is a good thing. Finally hit one with that descending path and "pinched" it as described above, and the ball was absolutely hammered compared to my other "good" swings. Awesome feeling, and the ball flight was "pro" style starting low and then climbing...usually I hit a big high "rainbow" of sorts. Actually took the time to walk out on the range (light rain so I was out there alone) and that ball was 12yds past my other well struck shots. Worked on it some more and hit one more like that, but trying to do it consciously results in a lot of pull/hooks.

Played a quick 9 after a buddy showed up on the range and had a 6i to our long par 4 after a crappy drive. Again, was able to compress the ball and flew it off the green (dead) but I couldn't be happier, ball flight was perfect.

So, here's the question, what drills can I work on to replicate this action? I really couldn't repeat it by consciously lagging the club, so it's pretty much happening at random now.

Also, what causes the distance increase? I hear folks refer to this is "compressing" the ball, but I can't imagine that's really what's happening, is it just from lelofting the club? Beyond the distance gain, I really liked the ball flight and the fact that the three times I did it the ball went dead straight.

[JWL1957]

Hitting down and through the ball is critical. Unfortunately for me lately..... My 4 iron divots are a deep as my wedges. :(

[Zeph]

More distance is a result of higher smash factor, higher swing speed and forward leaning shaft at impact. I'd also like to point out that the loft of people's irons can vary up to 4-5º, which can make a huge difference in distance.

Everyone is compressing the ball, even on a topped ball. Only you don't compress it very well that way. Higher compressions comes from the factors named above. Which of those you improved when hitting it that time, I can't say. Say you have a golf ball and a swing robot that can vary the speed from 100 to 200 mph. The higher swing speed, the more the ball will be compressed at impact, which gives it more bouncing effect, causing it to fly farther. The sweet spot is the ideal spot to hit the ball at. It is where the mass of the clubhead is best transferred to the golf ball. Imagine an off center hit as being a 4 pound hammer, and the sweet spot being an 8 pound hammer. The 8 pound hammer will hit the ball the farthest, at the same speed.

Or perhaps better, imagine a pyramid flipped sideways, so the tip of it is pointing away from the ball. Replace the clubhead with this pyramid. If you hit the ball right in the center of the bottom of the pyramid, the most mass is directly behind the ball, making it compress more and fly farther. Now imagine you hit the ball halfways to one edge of the bottom. The pyramid can and will deflect at impact, because the part with most mass is not where the golf ball is struck. This will create less mass behind the ball, and it will fly shorter, often left or right too. Reason being that the club keeps moving forward. If you don't hit the ball in the center, the center will still be moving forward, but with the ball in the way, the lighter part of the club (like the toe) will not travel as fast because the ball is in the way. So the club starts rotating.

[ohiolefty]

You can search YouTube for the flying wedge drill.

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Also, I can 'pick' it and get very handsy too (although I don't cast much/badly/often). One drill I do is to hit balls out of a divot. I take a club with considerable loft (8 or 9 iron) and hit crisp, flush shots with a proper 'secondary' divot.

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One more thought on this. When I've worked on lagging the club and/or compression, you can get in your own head really badly. I try to forget about all of it on the course and just play shots. Over time, the work you're doing on your impact will just become natural. If you're overcooking the swing thought while you're playing a round, you can end up with some nasty, embarassing shots.

[Zeph]

One more thought on this. When I've worked on lagging the club and/or compression, you can get in your own head really badly. I try to forget about all of it on the course and just play shots. Over time, the work you're doing on your impact will just become natural. If you're overcooking the swing thought while you're playing a round, you can end up with some nasty, embarassing shots.

Having one swing thought when playing golf is something I would recommend. Why not spend the time on the course to help ingrain changes? Who cares if you hit embarassing shots? The flying wedge is where the forward leaning shaft at impact comes into play. The sooner you lose the wedge, and throw away the club, the more speed you will lose too.

[ohiolefty]

Having one swing thought when playing golf is something I would recommend. Why not spend the time on the course to help ingrain changes? Who cares if you hit embarassing shots? The flying wedge is where the forward leaning shaft at impact comes into play. The sooner you lose the wedge, and throw away the club, the more speed you will lose too.

And I would argue you can't create impact position in the middle of the round. Yes, swing thoughts are good...but impact position isn't as simple as lagging the club.

Everybody's different, but I'm leery of a swing thought IN A ROUND that has to do with changing something. Just my opinion, but good swing thoughts for the course usually help you create a repeatable, consistent swing. That's it. But, everyone is different. When I'm on the course, I'm thinking about getting my iron shots near the hole. Period. My swing thought, which is more like a mantra, just involves me taking the club away the right way so the rest of the swing takes care of itself.