How to "compress the ball"

[iacas]

Whether or not the ball is still in physical contact with the clubface, as the leading edge reaches the turf, trying to achieve acceleration through impact, is a good thing. Or is that bunk too?

Feel isn't real. That's almost all I'm pointing out. The clubhead decelerates when it hits the golf ball and then into the ground. The hands decelerate before that too. Whip-cracking - everything decelerates in sequence, from the ground up. Let's stick to the topic though...

[sean_miller]

Feel isn't real. That's almost all I'm pointing out. The clubhead decelerates when it hits the golf ball and then into the ground. The hands decelerate before that too. Whip-cracking - everything decelerates in sequence, from the ground up. Let's stick to the topic though...

Pretty sure it was on topic - understanding what you see on video is different from what you feel, but that's how it feels anyway, is helpful. Especially for people who want to work on their swing but either don't have access to video, or they don't want to use it every time out (raises hand). If a person sees on a video that the clubhead / ball contact is over before the clubhead reaches the ground they may think they can ease the club into the turf.

[Zeph]

I'll agree that trying to get the club to pinch the ball can be a helpful feeling when trying to get the forward leaning shaft. You'll never pinch it of course, but if it works as a swing thought, keep doing it.
I don't like the swing thought on trying to accelerate the club through impact. I'm focusing on letting #4 go fast and keeping the flying wedge. If I get those two things right, the speed will come. Currently I don't got any of them, but the work I've done so far on #4 has been promising.

I prefer the feeling of the impact being the bang and finish of the swing, and from there everything unwinds and falls into the final finish position. If I try speeding really up with the body, I just spin out of it, lift the arms and top it. Getting the weight forward, making sure the right foot stays on the ground, letting #4 go and maintaining the flying wedge.

[iacas]

Pretty sure it was on topic - understanding what you see on video is different from what you feel, but that's how it feels anyway, is helpful. Especially for people who want to work on their swing but either don't have access to video, or they don't want to use it every time out (raises hand). If a person sees on a video that the clubhead / ball contact is over before the clubhead reaches the ground they may think they can ease the club into the turf.

It's off topic because it gets into swing mechanics and feels and is pretty much irrelevant to "how to compress the ball."

There's a principle in boxing and martial arts and in golf where you actually try to brake (stop) the club at impact to deliver the strongest blow. "Hit fast, stop fast." One of the bombers I know (legit 280 carry on average - maybe not a bomber on the Internet but in real life for sure) feels as though he's trying to stop the clubhead AT the ball. But again, it's off topic for this thread, as "feels" for good compression are going to be different than "what causes compression" or "how to compress the ball." It's related, don't get me wrong, but I see it as a different topic.

[sean_miller]

It's off topic because it gets into swing mechanics and feels and is pretty much irrelevant to "how to compress the ball."

Aah - yes, I see what you mean now. The topic isn't "how do you swing to compress a ball?".

[Joeyvee]

Sometimes, when I get into the cart awkwardly, I compress a ball and it hurts.

I loled. I did that recently. Showed up to a full parking lot at a pretty serious surf spot on my moped and hit a bump, a nut went under my ass and squish. I almost fell and just got off and sat down to everyone asking WTF happened? I just turned and drove out and went around the corner and sat for 20 minutes. No surf that day.

[M2R]

You need to hit near the sweet spot (dynamic center of mass?) of the club too don't you? Unless that is implied in the words "square path" but I took that to mean not a glancing blow. So it seems the path could still be a "square" but the ball hit off the hosel or toe of the club.

I mean if you have a relatively square path, a good amount of shaft lean, and a high swing speed but hit 1/8 inch from the toe of the club will it compress the same as hitting nearer the sweet spot? It seems like it wouldn't or I wouldn't lose so much distance by doing so.

Also, all other things being equal, won't more effective mass striking the ball impart more compression? Again it seem that the greater the differential between effective club mass and golf ball mass, the less the club will decelerate on impact. Or ... I'd rather be in a Mack truck hit by a Smart car than the other way around.

[iacas]

You need to hit near the sweet spot (dynamic center of mass?) of the club too don't you?

Yes, that's a good point. That goes into "hitting the ball squarely" but is different enough to warrant a separate note. Good job.

Nobody ever says "boy I really compressed that one" after they shank it or whiff it off the toe.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instr...gertips_gd0703

Exactly, this kind of thing is why I posted this thread. No wonder novice players find it so mystifiying to try to develop a fundamentally correct swing, when the pros have this level of misunderstanding of what actually happens when the club hits the ball!

-Andrew

[tws1098]

Exactly, this kind of thing is why I posted this thread. No wonder novice players find it so mystifiying to try to develop a fundamentally correct swing, when the pros have this level of misunderstanding of what actually happens when the club hits the ball!

I don't think they are intending to say you compress by pinching the ball between the club and the turf...eventhough they state that at one point. They are saying that your swing should "feel" that way, which as Iacas pointed out, is another topic. Most of that short article refers to angle of attack. I would say they are right on with this, as I see 90% of divots coming in the crater variety at my local courses.

[Open-Faced Club Sandwedge]

I don't think they are intending to say you compress by pinching the ball between the club and the turf...eventhough they state that at one point. They are saying that your swing should "feel" that way, which as Iacas pointed out, is another topic. Most of that short article refers to angle of attack. I would say they are right on with this, as I see 90% of divots coming in the crater variety at my local courses.

Well, you're right about the majority of the article being on point (and not mythology), but I think it's weird that you see these fallacious statements about compression all over the place.

-Andrew

[Meddle]

How to compress golf ball:

lol exactly

[double_j]

Ball compression happens naturally with a 'sound' golf swing. You don't really need to think about it as an area of improvement because it is an output of overall swing mechanics. That is, it's impossible not to compress the ball to a certain extent when you make 'solid' contact and I don't know of anything specific you can do to specifically improve compression independent of improving your overall ball striking.

Said another way, it's nice to understand what happens when you hit the ball to aid in devloping proper swing mechanics but compression in and of itself won't be something you have to think about too much.