Good drill for ballstriking, especially when you have to hit off mats.

[SoundandFury]

Came up with this last night at the range.  Someone else probably thought of it, but what the hell.

Take an alignment rod (not one of your clubs, unless you don't like it very much) and line it up directly behind the ball along the target line.  How far from the ball depends on how decent of a ball striker.  I started out with the rod about 6" behind the ball, and after 5 balls or so moved it up to 2" -3".  Once it's this close you can basically guaranty that if you don't hit the rod, you're hitting it pure.  Having the rod there also helps you groove a good takeaway.

There's a lot of talk about mats masking heavy shots, and this sort of fixes that problem.  Don't get me wrong, grass is still preferable for a lot of reasons, but sometimes you can't get to a grass range.

Last thing, this really only works with a 6i on up.  The shallow AoA of a long iron means you can make a great swing and still hit the rod.

[cipher]

Nice drill, I like that one!  I will try that.  It also might be neat to angle the alignment rod slightly in the direction you want to start the ball.

[Ernest Jones]

I use a strip of masking tape. Directly behind but not under the ball. Even with a 3i I can (usually) hit the ball and then mat without hitting the tape. I'm sure I'd hit the higher profile of the alignment rod with a 3i but probably not with a 6 or higher lofted iron.

[SoundandFury]

Originally Posted by cipher

Nice drill, I like that one!  I will try that.  It also might be neat to angle the alignment rod slightly in the direction you want to start the ball.

Yup, that's another benefit.  Personally, one of the (numerous) thing I hate about hitting off mats is I can't help feeling I should align with the mat, i.e., if the mat points right of the target, I have a super hard time lining up square to the target.

[SoundandFury]

Does the masking tape give decent feedback? I can definitely tell when I hit the rod.

I didn't have a problem with a 6i, 5i I always felt like I was steeper than I wanted, and a 4i was impossible.

[justtapitin]

I have tendency of dragging club during the back swing so hopefully this drill can fix that too!

Thanks!

[colin007]

Yup, that's another benefit.  Personally, one of the (numerous) thing I hate about hitting off mats is I can't help feeling I should align with the mat, i.e., if the mat points right of the target, I have a super hard time lining up square to the target.

Can't you just move the mat?

[Ernest Jones]

Does the masking tape give decent feedback? I can definitely tell when I hit the rod.  I didn't have a problem with a 6i, 5i I always felt like I was steeper than I wanted, and a 4i was impossible.

If you hit it fat the club will scrap the tape and it will stick to your club. Perfect feedback IMO. I use it on virtually every swing when hitting of off mats. I used to put the tape 4" in front of the ball and made sure I hit the tape after the ball but I got tired of constantly replacing the tape so I started putting it behind the ball. Now I only have to bend over and redo the tape when I hit a fatty, so it's negative feedback. Very effective, has done wonders for my contact.

[rehmwa]

rock climbing chalk is cheap and you can dust the mat also

[Ernest Jones]

^^^ that's a good idea too.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

I use a strip of masking tape. Directly behind but not under the ball. Even with a 3i I can (usually) hit the ball and then mat without hitting the tape. I'm sure I'd hit the higher profile of the alignment rod with a 3i but probably not with a 6 or higher lofted iron.

I will try this.

I also like putting the tape on the clubface to make sure I'm hitting the sweetspot.

[RonTheSavage]

Lots of good ideas here, I'll give a couple of these a go!