The Fundamental Keys to Excellent Ball Striking
- Balance. Balance is the fundamental that makes everything else work. ...
- Full Shoulder Turn. Power is built in the golf swing through rotation, and the key to your body rotation is making a full shoulder turn in the backswing.
- Relaxed Grip. ...
- Eyes on the Ball. ...
What is a good ballstriker in golf?
More than anything else, "good ballstriker" implies the golfer repeatedly pulls off the wood and iron shots he or she is trying to hit, with accuracy. Putting the ball where you want it to go, over and over again: that is great ballstriking.
What makes a good ball striker?
Generally speaking, good ball strikers tend to be the most consistent performers on the course. If you can classify yourself as a good ball striker, you should be able to handle just about anything the course throws at you, including challenging weather conditions.
What is ball striking in golf?
While ball striking doesn’t necessarily have a specific definition, most golfers would agree that it refers to the quality of shots that a player hits when making a full swing. In fact, there is no exact way to measure the quality of a player’s ball striking.
What are the fundamentals of great ball striking?
Great ball striking is actually a lot simpler than most golfers make it out to be. If you can hit on each of the four fundamentals above in your swing – balance, shoulder turn, relaxed grip, and eyes on the ball – you can begin to strike the ball most consistently than ever before.
How do I become a good golf ball striker?
Collin Morikawa's best tips for being a better ball-strikerFIND YOUR RHYTHM, THEN OWN IT. ... KEEP GOING AFTER IMPACT. ... BORROW FROM YOUR PLAYING PARTNERS. ... TRY MY DRILLS TO IMPROVE YOUR BALL-STRIKING. ... THINK YOUR WAY AROUND THE GOLF COURSE.
What makes a good ball striker?
A good ballstriker in golf is a golfer whose full swings - shots with woods, hybrids, and irons - result in dead-solid contact over and over again. The golfer who is ultra-consistent in impact position - at making great contact - is a great ballstriker.
What do all good ball strikers have in common?
Enter GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jon Tattersall, who's here with a handy swing thought that will help you get more of a move Tattersall says is a “common denominator” among good ball strikers. That quality is “width, extensor action, radius,” — not on the backswing, but on the downswing.
What does it mean to say a golfer is a good ball striker?
Definition of ball-striker : a golfer regarded for his or her ability to hit the ball squarely The 26-year-old is a solid ball-striker and seems to have graduated from the same School of Cool as Retief Goosen, which is to say, nothing seems to excite or bother him very much.—
Who is the greatest ball striker of all time?
The three greatest golf ball strikers of all timeRory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy is one of the best when it comes to ball striking.Tiger Woods. ADVERTISEMENT. ... Lee Trevino. When it comes to golf ball striking, there is no competition for Lee Trevino.
How do you dominate as a striker?
Play For the Team. At times a striker needs to sacrifice themselves for the team. ... Stay Up Top and Act as an Outlet. Playing furthest forward on the team, the striker must remain upfield and not drop too far back in search of the ball. ... Be Constantly on the Move and Make Dangerous Runs. ... Hold Up the Ball and Keep Possession.
How can I be a better striker?
0:096:37How to become a better striker in football | How to score more goalsYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipStart making runs out here or they're not getting the ball in areas. So they start dropping backMoreStart making runs out here or they're not getting the ball in areas. So they start dropping back into the midfield. And they're getting on the ball. They might even be making nice plays a nice passes.
How do you fix an inconsistent ball striking?
0:125:15Are you Suffering from inconsistent ball striking? Here is a great way to ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd it's a really easy drill to fix and so I'll kind of show you here what what I mean is that IMoreAnd it's a really easy drill to fix and so I'll kind of show you here what what I mean is that I have two alignment sticks and so I'm going to put it on the same angle as my 6-iron.
Who is best iron strikers on tour?
– Who's the best iron player on the PGA Tour? It's a great water cooler debate. Two names generally jump to the top of the list: Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.
How far did Ben Hogan Drive the ball?
265 yardsBen Hogan hit his driver 265 yards, according to an article in the June 10, 1949 issue of Time Magazine. Even 15 years later he still hit drives that distance in a Shell's Wonderful World of Golf match against the equally long-hitting Sam Snead.
How far did Moe Norman hit his drives?
It was unbelievable.” At an exhibition once, Norman hit 1,540 drives in a little under seven hours. None was shorter than 225 yards, and all landed inside a marked 30-yard-wide landing zone.
How to translate your ball striking from the range to the course?
In order to translate your ball striking from the range to the course, you have to have the mental skills to go along with your physical capabilities. If your goal is to become the best all-around golfer that you can be, you should be dedicated to improving both the mental and physical side of your game.
How to get the ball off the ground in golf?
Move the ball slightly forward in your stance and shallow out your swing to pick the ball off the ground and send it on its way. Spongy lie. This can be one of the trickiest lies in the game. A 'spongy' lie is one where the ball is sitting up on top of the grass, with a cushion of thicker grass hiding below the ball.
How to strike a spongy lie?
For the best chance at a solid strike from a spongy lie, try to use a shallow swing and pick the ball off the top of the grass. Consistent ball striking can lead you to the best golf of your life, but you will have to have both the mental and physical components in place in order to reach that goal.
How to use your legs in golf?
Use your legs effectively by keeping them steady in the backswing and then allowing them to fire through the downswing to strike the ball with power and accuracy. It will be hard to find much fault with the technical side of your golf swing if you are able to hit on each of these four points above.
What part of the body should be engaged when hitting a golf club?
Engaged lower body. Your hands and arms actually do the work of holding on to the club, but your lower body has just as much to do with the quality of shots that you are able to hit. The lower half of your body should be engaged right from the start of the swing with plenty of knee flex at address.
What are the elements of a good golf swing?
If you can confidently say that each of these elements is incorporated into your swing technique, you will be well on your way toward solid ball striking. Balance. Balance is king in golf, and without good balance throughout your swing, you have very little chance of becoming a good player.
How many holes are there in golf?
Consistency is the name of the game in golf. If you are playing a full round you will have to navigate your way around 18 holes, many of them likely protected by water hazards, rough, trees, bunkers, and more.
What is the best way to strike a golf ball?
One of the oldest pieces of golf advice is also one of the best when it comes to quality ball striking. Keeping your eyes down on the ball will help your ball striking for a variety of reasons, but the most important thing this fundamental will do is allow you to keep your upper body down over the shot through the hitting area. ...
What is ball striking?
Ball striking is basically a category that excludes the short game, so you aren’t talking about chipping or putting when you are talking about how well (or how poorly) someone strikes the ball. Distance is certainly a factor in ball striking, but it is far from the whole story. The ability to hit the ball at the target, ...
What are the four fundamentals of golf swing?
If you can hit on each of the four fundamentals above in your swing – balance, shoulder turn, relaxed grip, and eyes on the ball – you can begin to strike the ball most consistently than ever before.
How to find grip pressure for chip shots?
To find the perfect grip pressure for your swing, start by hitting some chip shots with a light grip and work your way up into full swings, adjusting the pressure as you go until you find a good balance of control and freedom.
Is a good short game important?
While players with shaky ball striking and a good short game can post good scores from time to time, it is the balls strikers who will typically show up day after day with a good performances. Make no mistake – a good short game is still critically important to shooting good scores.
Is short game important in shooting?
Make no mistake – a good short game is still critically important to shooting good scores. You won’t be able to cash in on your great ball striking if you can’t putt, so you shouldn’t neglect your short game practice just to spend more time on ball striking.
Does a good ball striker require a coach?
Good ball striking doesn’t require any kind of fancy golf swing methodology or lessons with an expensive coach – it simply requires plenty of practice and a dedication to the basic fundamentals of golf. Below are four of the key ingredients that should be present in your swing if you wish to consider yourself a quality ball striker.
What does it mean when a golfer is a ballstriker?
but some of us are better than others. When you hear television announcers call a tour pro "a great ballstriker," it means that golfer rarely makes contact on the heel or toe of the clubface, rarely catches it fat or thin.
What is a good ballstriker?
Updated May 24, 2019. A good ballstriker in golf is a golfer whose full swings - shots with woods, hybrids, and irons - result in dead-solid contact over and over again. The golfer who is ultra-consistent in impact position - at making great contact - is a great ballstriker.
What does Hogan say about golf?
As Hogan once said, "This is a game of misses. The guy who misses the best is going to win.". Those golfers called good ballstrikers miss the least. Being a great ballstriker also doesn't guarantee you a good score. If you have a lousy short game, you're in trouble no matter how good a ballstriker you are.
Who has hit it perfect every time?
No golfer ever has hit it perfect every time. Even the very best ballstrikers - Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Miller, Joyce Wethered and Tiger Woods in his prime, to name just a few - suffered mis-hits. As Hogan once said, "This is a game of misses. The guy who misses the best is going to win.".
How did Miller respond to his golf club?
Miller responded by simply lifting up his golf club and pointing to a dime-sized area of wear on the face - the tiny little spot where he made contact over and over. Being a good ballstriker also implies the ability of a golfer to "work the ball" - to make the ball move right or left, or to flight, the ball up or down.
How to focus on a ball before taking the club back?
When you’re focusing on the ball before taking the club back, pick out a single dimple to look at. So it would go like this: – ball and target. – ball and target. – ball for 2-3 seconds. – swing, focusing on a single dimple (the point of contact) = keep eyes fixed over the ball.
What is the purpose of the eye in golf?
Golf is a hand-eye coordination sport. The eyes tell the body what it needs to do. The ball is essentially an intermediary target in the process of hitting a good golf shot.
How long does it take for a player to fix their eyes on the ball?
Elite players fixed their eyes on the ball for an average of 2 seconds, while the average player fixed their eyes for an average of 1.5 seconds.
How much of the average golfer's shots are putting?
With putting accounting for around 45% of the average golfers shots, this can be an easy way to shave strokes off your handicap and putt better under pressure.
Why did Dr. Watson study golfers' eyes?
In a study, she wanted to find out how elite golfers use their eyes to find out if there was a difference among different levels of golfer. She used headgear which allowed her to see exactly where the elite golfers were focusing their eyes, before, during and after a shot.
Who conducted the study on golf balls?
Another study was performed by Dr. Mark Wilson a lecturer in human movement science, which involved reminding players to briefly focus on the EXACT spot where they wish to send the ball, and then settle their eyes back on the ball and hold them there. Dr. Wilson conducted the study with 2 groups of golfers.
What did Dr. Schoenfeld discover about golf?
She found that the average player is more erratic with the gaze and they don’t hold their gaze on the ball for as long, before taking the club back.
Why Ball Striking Matters in Golf
Back to Basics
Balance
Full Shoulder Turn
- Power is built in the golf swing through rotation, and the key to your body rotation is making a full shoulder turn in the backswing. It is actually your hips that will drive your body through the shot, but your hips won’t be in a position to do their job if you don’t first make a great shoulder turn. One of your main practice goals each time you visit the driving range should be to work on maximizin…
Relaxed Grip
- In order to strike the ball cleanly, you need to allow the club head to move freely through the hitting area. If there is any restriction in your release at the bottom of the swing, you will never be able to find the sweet spot on a regular basis. One way to keep the club moving freely through impact is to maintain a relaxed grip pressure throughout the swing. Your grip should be just tigh…
Eyes on The Ball
- One of the oldest pieces of golf advice is also one of the best when it comes to quality ball striking. Keeping your eyes down on the ball will help your ball striking for a variety of reasons, but the most important thing this fundamental will do is allow you to keep your upper body down over the shot through the hitting area. Here’s an excellent ...
Final Thoughts on Ball Striking
- Great ball striking is actually a lot simpler than most golfers make it out to be. If you can hit on each of the four fundamentals above in your swing – balance, shoulder turn, relaxed grip, and eyes on the ball – you can begin to strike the ball most consistently than ever before. While there are still plenty of other skills to master on the course, such as chipping and putting, good ball str…