Need help at impact position

[thumper07]

my problem is that i dont really strike down and trap the ball like i'm supposed to. i hardly ever take a divot and really dont generate a whole lot of spin with my 7-3iron. my low irons are ok because i hit the ball high. i have watched video of my swing and my hands are exactly over top the ball at impact and opposed to ahead of the ball where they are supposed to be. when i try to practice and work on this and get my hands foward of the ball i push them out to the right big time. if anyone knows anything to help that would be great.

-matt

[fusioncal]

my problem is that i dont really strike down and trap the ball like i'm supposed to. i hardly ever take a divot and really dont generate a whole lot of spin with my 7-3iron. my low irons are ok because i hit the ball high. i have watched video of my swing and my hands are exactly over top the ball at impact and opposed to ahead of the ball where they are supposed to be. when i try to practice and work on this and get my hands foward of the ball i push them out to the right big time. if anyone knows anything to help that would be great.

Did you forget to release the club? You know what, don't put too much attention on it. Just retain the angle of your wrist until just before impact then you release the club. Naturally your knuckles will be in front of the club head. I think the reason why you pushed your shot is because you tried too hard keeping your hands forward and didn't release the club.

Another reason why your short irons are okay because you don't need to retain your wrist angle as long as mid-long irons. The longer the irons, the longer you retain your wrist angle. It's really about feel and timing (tempo). There's this good drill I got from Leadbetter's 5 DVDs and I've been practicing it whenever I lost my feel. 1. Address the ball as usual using 7 or 8 iron preferably. 2. Keeping both your arms still, cock your wrist as if it's on top of your swing. Again, keep your arms still especially your left arm (RH golfer). 3. Now with your wrist cocked, begin your backswing and downswing (not too fast) and actually hitting the ball using that method. Do it couple times until you hit it right. Don't focus on the result yet, but if you do it right you'll hear nice crisp sound of impact. 4. When you finally get the feel of it. Just swing with your usual swing. You'll feel the difference. Hope that helps.

[thumper07]

thanks i'll give it a shot

-matt

[Leek]

my problem is that i dont really strike down and trap the ball like i'm supposed to. i hardly ever take a divot and really dont generate a whole lot of spin with my 7-3iron. my low irons are ok because i hit the ball high. i have watched video of my swing and my hands are exactly over top the ball at impact and opposed to ahead of the ball where they are supposed to be. when i try to practice and work on this and get my hands foward of the ball i push them out to the right big time. if anyone knows anything to help that would be great.

You're flipping. You are also turning your driver into a 3 or 4 wood, your 5 iron into a 7 iron etc. There is a video from Brian Manzella, "Confessions of a Former Flipper" that will help a lot.

[gotgolf?]

I'm guessing that if you kept your spine angle you wouldn't be able to get the high trajectory you are getting. Is that what flipping is? Lowering your right side and raising the left side of your bosy and scooping the ball into the air? Sounds to me this is what you are doing. You will get decent shots but without workability nor consisntecy.

[nevets88]

This problem caused me to quit, but I eventually figured it out. You want that swoosh sound to be in front of the ball as much as you can make it.

When I tried to fix it, I didn't get pushes, but tops and shanks. Usually, a push means your hands are way ahead of the ball, but the clubface isn't closing fast enough, but you can still hit a push with a wrist breakdown, flippy action if you're using a very strong grip.

Practice on grass, using a sand wedge, using half or 3/4 swings and try and make the divot come after the ball. Teeing the ball up, but not too high, might help. Now trying to get the proper release, you can go to books and magazines to find what makes it happen for you. There is Harvey Penick's tip - I think it was drop your hands and keep the right elbow close to the side. There's the swing the rope drill, the 3 pumps and release, teeing the ball way up in your stance, etc... See what works for you. Another thing is alot of the work is in the left hand, left side. Keep the right from taking over. And no tension.

But start with the wedge - if you can't do it with the wedge, you defintely won't be able to with the other clubs.

You know you're on the right track when you've lowered your flight, the divot comes after the ball and a normal swing gets you 100 yards or more, assuming your wedge is 56*ish.