This can happen as a result of a swing path that doesn’t reach down far enough. Or in other words, it is possible that your thin shots come as a result of a club that simply doesn’t travel down enough to hit the ball on the sweet spot of the club and produce a healthy divot following the strike.
Full Answer
Why do I hit behind the golf ball?
There are many factors which can affect your shot and cause you to hit behind the ball such as; Your position over the ball. Movement during your swing. Improper weight distribution and/or transfer. Some are easier to spot than others. The best place to start is the scene of the crime. Look at where the ball is positioned in your stance.
Why won’t my golf ball go up in the air?
In simplest terms, in order to get the ball up into the air — and not rolling across the ground — is to hit down into the dirt. If that’s not happening, there may be a few reasons why. Here are some of the most common I see:
Is topping the ball a problem in golf?
While topping the ball is a common problem in golf and the issues it creates can really play havoc with your score, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You may need to try quite a few adjustments to address the specific cause (s) of your topping problem.
What happens when you hit a golf ball off the hosel?
When you hit the golf ball off the hosel, the ball travels super low and far to the right, assuming you’re right-handed. If you’re left-handed, the ball veers to the left.
Why is my ball not rolling across the ground?
What ruins a golf swing?
How to throw a golf club toward the ground?
How to get the ball down to the ground?
How to brush grass without a club?
Why is it so hard to keep your head down?
What happens if you stand too far away from the ball?
See more
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How do I stop hitting over the top of my golf ball?
5:347:13Stop Swinging "OVER THE TOP" In Golf - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipLike i have here but this is simple simply back yourself up until you're about a hands width awayMoreLike i have here but this is simple simply back yourself up until you're about a hands width away from the wall with your buttocks flip the club around so you're actually holding.
How do I fix the coming across the golf ball?
0:358:19Stop Coming Over The Top! Drill To Fix Your Downswing & SliceYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOpen i'm actually going to keep my left shoulder in place you'll see that my when i come over theMoreOpen i'm actually going to keep my left shoulder in place you'll see that my when i come over the top my left shoulder would be pulling back this way i'm going to keep my left shoulder stable.
Why am I constantly hitting behind the golf ball?
Golfers usually hit behind the ball because of poor pressure movement and casting. Usually the two go hand and hand and are seen to occur together. I would recommend that golfers practice small swings focusing on pressing into the lead foot to start the downswing.
What causes over the top golf swing?
Over the Top is perhaps the most common swing fault among high handicap golfers. It occurs due to an overuse of the upper body on the downswing. As a result the club will be thrown on the outside of the intended swing plane with the club head approaching the ball from outside to in.
How do I stop Overswing in golf?
0:492:49GOLF OVER SWING WHY AND HOW TO STOP IT - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo when you go top of your backswing. And stop just hold on with your right eye hand only down atMoreSo when you go top of your backswing. And stop just hold on with your right eye hand only down at the bottom of the grip up to the top still turning your shoulders. Still turning your hips. Try.
How do I stop coming up and out of a golf shot?
2:405:03HOW TO STOP STANDING UP WHEN HITTING THE GOLF BALL - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHead what you want to do is try and keep your right hip there. And fall more towards your left.MoreHead what you want to do is try and keep your right hip there. And fall more towards your left.
How do I stop hitting behind the ball with my driver?
0:010:56Driving: Stop Hitting Behind the Ball | Fix Finder #27 - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipEarly. We know that we're releasing the club too early if you happen to hit the golf ball. You knowMoreEarly. We know that we're releasing the club too early if you happen to hit the golf ball. You know that you're dropping. Making this practice swing above the golf ball listening for that swoosh.
How do you strike a golf ball cleanly?
0:161:14Golf ball striking - how to connect cleanly every time | GolfMagicYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo when we step over the bow we're going to make sure our weight is on the center of our feet is notMoreSo when we step over the bow we're going to make sure our weight is on the center of our feet is not on the heels or the toes too much we should be poised athletic ready to go.
Why do I hit the ground before the ball with my irons?
When a player hits the ground before the ball it is generally because their club is attacking the ball from too shallow an angle. Golf coaches refer to this as the "Angle of Approach".
How do I stop over the top?
1:223:36The Golf Fix - Stop Coming Over the Top | Golf Channel - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo when I'm over the top my right arm is on top of my left arm I got to make sure that my right armMoreSo when I'm over the top my right arm is on top of my left arm I got to make sure that my right arm is underneath my left arm very very simple drill what you do is you take your driver you hold it
How do you fix an out swing path?
3:576:15FIX YOUR IN-TO-OUT PATH - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd then often that's enough to get that club into some different positions. So what I wouldMoreAnd then often that's enough to get that club into some different positions. So what I would actually do is do a few rehearsals make a couple shots. So I'm just going to go back swing.
This one adjustment will help you avoid lunging at the ball
In golfspeak, you’re getting ahead of the ball. When you start the downswing, you lunge toward the target with your upper body. By the time the club reaches the ground, your torso is leaning ...
What happens when you hit behind the ball?
Hitting fat, hitting heavy, chunking the ball, grounding the club, whatever you call it, hitting behind the ball can cause huge issues in your game. Hitting behind the ball causes a divot to get between your club and the ball, resulting in an ugly mis-hit which tends only to jump 5 or 10 yards forwards. Hitting behind the ball can happen ...
How to avoid hitting the ball?
To avoid this, focus on your movement after striking the ball and ensure you are doing the following: Follow your swing and allow the momentum to turn your body towards your target. Keep your front foot planted and pivot your back foot to aid proper rotation.
What does it mean when your back shoulder drops?
Dropping the Back Shoulder. Similarly to a loose leading arm, dipping your back shoulder can give the same issue from the opposite side of your body. Allowing your back shoulder to drop causes you to make a scooping motion towards the ball, rather than hitting right through. The scooping motion causes you to take a divot and lose the shot.
Why does my head move forward in golf?
Moving your head forward causes your weight to shift incorrectly, changing your position over the ball before the club makes contact, causing it to hit the ground.
Why release the club early?
Releasing the Club Early. Also known as ‘casting’, releasing the club too early disrupts your swing plane, causing you to hit across the ball rather than through it . Not only is this an issue by itself, but it also promotes the hip movement we spoke about earlier.
How to keep your lead arm straight?
Your lead arm should be kept straight throughout your swing as if it is bent at the point of impact. Bending the lead arm will shorten your swing and cause you to miss the ball and hit the ground instead. Concentrate on keeping your arm straight, but not tense, at the point of impact.
How to follow through on a golf shot?
Using these tips, your follow-through should become natural and smooth for every shot. Remember; if your follow-through is off balance or inconsistent, your shot will be as well.
How to stop hitting golf ball too high?
In order to stop hitting the golf ball too high, you need to ensure you have the proper setup position and equipment. You also need to correct any swing faults that are contributing to the issue.
Why is my golf ball flying high?
One of the most common causes of a high ball flight is tempo. When people swing too fast, they struggle to make contact with the sweet spot of the club. Without doing this, it’s difficult to achieve a consistent trajectory.
How to fix wrists in golf swing?
The fix: Instead of actively hinging your wrists in the swing, loosen your grip on the golf club. Then, swing back as though you are only using your hips, arms, and shoulders. Because you now have a lighter grip on the club with less tension, your wrists will hinge naturally as you swing the club back.
What causes a high ball flight?
There are a number of things that might be responsible for causing a high, weak ball flight, including: 1 Improper setup 2 Swing faults 3 Bad tempo 4 Improper equipment
What happens if the ball is too far forward?
The ball is too far forward in your stance. The more forward the ball is in your stance, the less lag the club will have at the point of impact. This means that extra loft is added to the club. Not only will less lag produce a high, weak ball flight, but it will also significantly reduce distance. The fix:
What happens if you put too much weight on your back foot?
If you place too much weight on your back foot, you risk hitting the golf ball too high. This is especially true when hitting driver off the tee. The fix: Instead, make sure your weight is a 50/50 split between your feet or slightly favoring your lead leg.
What happens when the ball flies high?
When the ball flies too high, it decreases the potential distance of the shot and is much more likely to be blown off course by the wind. This makes it nearly impossible to control where the ball will end up (both distance-wise and direction) and adds more strokes to your scorecard.
Why is my ball not rolling across the ground?
In simplest terms, in order to get the ball up into the air — and not rolling across the ground — is to hit down into the dirt. (GETTY) If that’s not happening, there may be a few reasons why. Here are some of the most common I see: 1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact.
What ruins a golf swing?
Nothing ruins a great golf swing like a loss of balance. Assuming you’re in a good set up to start, it only takes a small loss of balance to cause you to top the ball. A good check of balance is holding your finish until your golf ball lands.
How to throw a golf club toward the ground?
It can be helpful to practice this by placing a ball in your right hand, from your golf posture. Allow the elbow to fold as it would in your backswing and then throw the ball so that it hits the ground.
How to get the ball down to the ground?
1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact. Bowing forward from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders can put you in balance and also get the club down to the ground. Too much knee flex or squatting can often make it extremely difficult to get the club down into the turf, and therefore get the ball into the air.
How to brush grass without a club?
Keeping your hands away from your sternum can help to maintain the width of your backswing, making it easier to brush the grass. One of my favorite drills for feeling this is to hold your lead wrist with your trail hand. From here, make your backswing without a club and feel your trail arm pull your lead arm wide.
Why is it so hard to keep your head down?
The problem with keeping your head down is that it limits your body’s ability to move athletically. If you attempt to keep your head down, it’s very difficult to allow your body to rotate properly on your downswing to get the club down to the ground and the ball into the air. 7. Tension in hands and arms.
What happens if you stand too far away from the ball?
If you stand too far away from the ball at address, it’s almost difficult not to top the ball without a heroic move. Reaching for the ball — where your arms often get into a diagonal position — will often lead to a thin shot or a top.
When hitting irons, should your divots start after the ball?
When hitting irons, your divots should start after the ball. For the best possible iron contact, you should aim to strike the ball and then the ground. This is a useful image to have in mind for any player who is struggling hitting fat golf shots.
How to hit fat golf shots?
If you are hitting fat golf shots, the first place to start is with your address position. With your mid irons, the ball should be positioned slightly forward of middle in your stance so that your sternum is over the ball. Importantly, your hands should be a fraction ahead of the ball. This will encourage the downward angle ...
What is fat golf?
Hitting fat golf shots is one of the most frustrating faults in the game. It doesn’t matter how forgiving your irons are, if you are striking the ground before the ball, some technical swing changes are needed. Here, we will look at where hitting fat golf shots comes from and offer some pointers for how to improve your ball striking.
Where should weight be in golf?
The basic key here is that your weight should move towards your back foot in the backswing and then towards the target in the downswing. For some golfers, there is a desire to lean back through impact to help the ball into the air.
Where should the bottom of the arc come?
The bottom of the arc should come just after the ball ( with your i rons). If you are hitting fat golf shots, the lowest point of the arc will be before the ball causing the club to strike the ground first.
Why is my golf ball so far forward?
Is the ball located too much forward? One of the reasons your club may penetrate the ground before it hits the ball has to do with the placement of the ball itself in your stance , in relation to your feet. A ball placed too much forward – towards the target – can prove tricky to hit cleanly and can result in fat shots.
Why do golf clubs penetrate the ground?
Another reason for why your club could penetrate the ground too deeply has to do with the placement of your hands on the grip. Certain shots require you to grip down on the club in order to shield yourself from hitting fat shots. Notably, a ball that is above your feet will require you to grip down on the club, among other things.
Why does swinging make you fat?
Swaying can lead to fat shots because it moves the bottom of the swing arc away from where it was set at address.
Why do fat shots occur?
The fundamental causes behind fat shots relate to the arc of the swing itself and more specifically to the position of the bottom of the swing arc. Indeed, in order to produce a shot that sees the club penetrating the ground before contact is made with the ball – such as the case with fat shots – the bottom of the swing arc needs ...
What is a fat shot in golf?
In golf a fat shot – or a golf shot hit fat – is one that sees the club penetrating the ground before making contact with the ball. This is in contrast to a better shot that sees the clubhead making contact with the ball before it proceeds to penetrating the ground, as should happen in shots made with irons and wedges.
What is the error in golf that leads to fat shots?
A typical error that golfers make which can lead to fat shots is that they fail to keep this spine angle constant throughout the golf swing.
How to swing at full speed?
The general guideline for swings at full speed is to place the ball in the center of your stance for wedges and short irons and to incrementally move your feet back in order to find the ball forward as the length of the clubs increase.
How to tell if you shanked or sliced a golf ball?
Fortunately, you can tell whether you’ve sliced it or shanked it just by observing your ball flight. A golf shank travels low and directly to the right. A slice gets up in the air and curves to the right. For now, I’m going to share golf swing tips for overcoming the golf shank only. But don’t worry.
How to get a lead shoulder in golf?
Take your regular golf stance. Open your stance by shifting your lead foot farther back than your trail foot. Take your backswing. As you swing forward, be mindful of your lead shoulder and the wall behind you. (If there is no wall, imagine one.) You want the lead shoulder to stay low and work back towards the wall.
What is a shank in golf?
A shank occurs when you hit the ball off the hosel. The hosel is the socket connecting the shaft of your golf club to the clubhead. Here is a classic example of a shanked chip shot: When you hit the golf ball off the hosel, the ball travels super low and far to the right, assuming you’re right-handed. If you’re left-handed, the ball veers ...
What is the most dreaded shot in golf?
The golf shank may be the most dreaded shot in the game. You think you’ve got a good shot lined up, then the ball flies low and to the right. Now you’re off course, you’re irritated, and you just wasted stroke.
Why do you put alignment sticks on the outside of your golf ball?
Taking an extra moment to add an alignment stick on the outside of your ball to avoid interfering with the proper swing path can pay dividends on the course. If you know where you’re aiming when you’re on the range, then you will know how to adjust when you go to the course.
What does it mean when you hit it better on the range?
Even if you hit it better on the range than you do on the course, it is showing you potential and hope.
How to be a better golfer?
Rather than being upset, better players often just go and get the ball and make the best of that situation. Learn the lesson from better players and do the best you can. Take a good practice swing. Understand your game as well as you can. Enjoy your good shots.
Is it better to swing on the range or to be more relaxed?
You are more relaxed on the range. There is certainly something to be said about the value of being more relaxed. Free swinging on the range and letting it go will allow you to stay more relaxed in your hands and arms and even your entire body, helping with better contact and distance.
Do you address your golf ball before you play?
Obviously, it is better to do this before you start to address your golf ball. High level golfers may even try to play a round on the range, where in their head they go through their course and try to change clubs the way they would from hole to hole, even replicating teeing up on the par 3’s.
Is it helpful to care about your game?
While it can be helpful to care about your game, caring too much about every shot and the results can lead to not being willing to swing athletically and freely.
Can you swing on the range without knowing where you are aiming?
On the range, many golfers just swing without knowing where they are aiming, simply working on solid contact. While there is a time and place for that, it doesn’t always transfer to the course if you aren’t being more thoughtful with your practice time.
Why is my ball not rolling across the ground?
In simplest terms, in order to get the ball up into the air — and not rolling across the ground — is to hit down into the dirt. (GETTY) If that’s not happening, there may be a few reasons why. Here are some of the most common I see: 1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact.
What ruins a golf swing?
Nothing ruins a great golf swing like a loss of balance. Assuming you’re in a good set up to start, it only takes a small loss of balance to cause you to top the ball. A good check of balance is holding your finish until your golf ball lands.
How to throw a golf club toward the ground?
It can be helpful to practice this by placing a ball in your right hand, from your golf posture. Allow the elbow to fold as it would in your backswing and then throw the ball so that it hits the ground.
How to get the ball down to the ground?
1. Bad Posture. Good posture is the basis for solid contact. Bowing forward from your hips so that your hands can hang below your shoulders can put you in balance and also get the club down to the ground. Too much knee flex or squatting can often make it extremely difficult to get the club down into the turf, and therefore get the ball into the air.
How to brush grass without a club?
Keeping your hands away from your sternum can help to maintain the width of your backswing, making it easier to brush the grass. One of my favorite drills for feeling this is to hold your lead wrist with your trail hand. From here, make your backswing without a club and feel your trail arm pull your lead arm wide.
Why is it so hard to keep your head down?
The problem with keeping your head down is that it limits your body’s ability to move athletically. If you attempt to keep your head down, it’s very difficult to allow your body to rotate properly on your downswing to get the club down to the ground and the ball into the air. 7. Tension in hands and arms.
What happens if you stand too far away from the ball?
If you stand too far away from the ball at address, it’s almost difficult not to top the ball without a heroic move. Reaching for the ball — where your arms often get into a diagonal position — will often lead to a thin shot or a top.