It could be because of a number of different factors, including:
- Poor setup – ball too far forward, open clubface, weight on the back foot.
- Swing faults – bad tempo, excessive hand/wrist action, improper swing path.
- Equipment – golf shafts with too much flex, too much loft on the driver, playing the wrong kind of golf ball.
Full Answer
Why does my golf ball fly so high?
Here are some of the common setup mistakes that lead to a high ball flight: 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.
Is it possible to hit a golf ball too high?
It’s possible to hit your drives too high, even when you make solid contact. Obviously, excess height will decrease how far the ball rolls, and it can hurt your carry distance, too.
Why is my driver hitting the ball so high?
Hitting the ball extra high with the driver is generally a sign of too much backspin. This can often be chalked up to your equipment, other times to your swing, and sometimes traced to a simple flaw in your setup. Review the following causes and cures if you struggle with super-high tee shots:
Why does my golf club hit the ball to the right?
Ball Position: The ball might be too far back in your stance. This causes you to make contact when the club is still swinging to right field. Backswing: You might be too far inside on the backswing, pulling the club away from the target line. The club should track a gentle arc on the way back, not a rapid arc to the inside of the target line.
How fast is a golf ball?
Many golfers fail to understand the importance of having the right golf ball for their game. If your swing speed is above 100 miles per hour and you are playing a low compression ball, chances are the golf ball is flying too high and taking away distance from you.
What are the most common swing faults in high handicap golf?
The casting of the golf club might be the single most common swing faults among high handicap golfers. The inability to maintain any lag, lead s to a loss of speed and extra loft added to the swing prior to impact. This leads to poor contract and when the ball is well struck, potentially a ball flight that is too high for your liking.
What happens if you hit the wrong shaft in your driver?
If you have the wrong shaft in your driver for your swing speed, not only are you going to lose distance, have trouble with accuracy, but chances are you will hit the ball too high. This is especially true of those that have a shift that has the wrong kick point for your swing. This will result in extra loft being added at impact, resulting in higher shots and a difficult to control driver in the wind.
Why is my golf swing so high?
Cause: Swing is too upright – By standing very close to the ball, you force the backswing onto a steep or upright plane. There are several ways this can create a ball flight that’s too high; for instance, you may make impact on a descending angle, or swing on an outside-to-inside (over-the-top) path.
Why is my golf ball teed so low?
Cause: Ball is teed too low – It may seem counter-intuitive, but teeing the ball low causes you to hit down, producing excessive backspin and high, short drives. Cure: Tee it higher – With the driver, about half the ball should be above the top line of the face.
Why is hitting your driver too high a problem?
Hitting your golf driver too high trajectory is also troublesome because most courses don’t start mowing the fairway for a hundred yards or so off the tee. That means a golf ball flight too high with driver will probably fall short of the fairway cut and force you to play the next shot from a poor lie in the rough.
Why is my drive so high?
Causes and Cures: Drives are Too High – Golf Tip. It’s possible to hit your drives too high, even when you make solid contact. Obviously, excess height will decrease how far the ball rolls, and it can hurt your carry distance, too. Hitting the ball extra high with the driver is generally a sign of too much backspin.
What happens if you avoid the crown of the club?
Even if you avoid the crown of the club and manage to hit the club face at impact, you are still going to be left with a drive that flies too high and falls way short of your distance potential. Since the club is moving down through impact, you are going to generate more backspin than you want on a tee shot.
What does hitting up on your iron shots mean?
Hitting up on your iron shots is a recipe for thin shots, topped shots, shanks, and more. Basically, nothing good is going to result if you are hitting up on your iron shots. With that said, the story is pretty much reversed when it comes to hitting the driver.
What is driver golf?
The driver is a club that is meant to be swung ‘around’ your body, not up and down like a wedge. If you are fighting this kind of faulty takeaway in your swing, try the following basic drill. On the driving range, set up with your driver like you are going to hit a regular shot off the tee.
What is Golf Ball Compression?
Golf ball compression is the measure of how much a golf ball deforms when it is struck by a golf club. The more a ball compresses, the greater its reaction to impact and, therefore, distance will be.
Why Are There Different Golf Ball Compression Levels?
Golf ball compression levels range from low to high, and each of them results in different performance characteristics.
Which Compression is Right for You?
The answer to this question is largely based on the distance you’re looking for and how much control you want over your game.
Are Soft Golf Balls Good For Distance?
Soft golf balls are good for distance for golfers with slower swing speeds.
Do Hard Or Soft Golf Balls Go Further – Final Thoughts
The type of golf ball you choose is largely based on your clubhead speed and the distance you’re looking for.
Why do people top the ball when they hit the equator?
For a lot of people actually topping the ball when they hit above the equator, when they try and correct it, they make it even worse because they actually end up trying to lift and scoop the ball up so it’s like a self perpetuating fault, they do it and they keep doing it.
What does it mean when a golf club hits the equator?
Basically a shot where the club would hit above the equator of the golf ball causing a ball that scoops out very low across the floor or even nose dives into the floor. And if that’s the shot that you’re struggling with just consider why that might be happening.
What does a divot mean in golf?
For the vast majority of the iron shots you see the pros play, there will be a divot which comes up after the ball has been struck. That divot can only mean one thing – the player has hit down nicely through the ball. A divot is the result when the club tears into the turf at the bottom of the swing arc.
How to practice short game golf?
As you practice the short game, work on leaning the shaft slightly toward the target and hitting down with confidence. Keep the club head moving through impact and don’t look up until you are sure the ball is on its way. You shouldn’t have to struggle your way around the course hitting one ground ball after the next.
What does it mean when a golf club is leaning to the left?
That means the club is going to wrap around the body at the top of the swing, and the body weight may be pulled toward the target prematurely. If you find yourself leaning to the left at the top, you’ll have no choice but to lean back a little to the right as you swing down (just to avoid falling over).
How to hit a golf shot on grass?
Place a golf ball down on the grass in front of you and take your seven iron out of the bag to hit the shot. Before taking your stance, take an extra golf tee and press it into the turf an inch or so behind the ball. You should push the tee down far enough that the top of the tee is flush with the top of the turf.
How to get the ball off the ground?
When you hear that the best way to get the ball off the ground is to hit down through impact with your irons, you need to believe that is the case. If you are still thinking in the back of your mind that it makes more sense to lift up through impact to help the ball on its way, you’re never going to reach your goals.
Why is my golf ball not hitting the ball?
One reason you might not be hitting the ball very far is that you have too high of a spin rate with your driver and irons. An easy way to spot this is watching how high your shots go in the air. Golf shots that get hit with high back spin rates tend to climb higher into the air.
How fast can a golfer hit a golf ball?
The number one factor that separates most golfers ability to hit the golf ball far is swing speed. PGA Tour pro’s can swing a driver 120+ mph with guys like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson reaching 125-130 mph. Compare this to the average golfer who has a swing speed of 90 mph. Adding an extra 10 mph can make a huge difference ...
Why use wedges on golf greens?
This is why we use our wedges to chip around greens instead of 4 irons. The wedge will put more spin on the ball , giving us more control and helping the ball stop quicker on the green. But with tee shots, the goal is to hit the golf ball as far as you can down the fairway. Driver’s should ideally have lower spin rates to allow ...
How fast can a golf club swing?
You could have your club swinging super fast, producing 115-120 mph swing speed but if you don’t hit the ball very square, all that energy will be lost during the transfer. Ball speed is often judged by “smash factor” which is a metric you get access to when you swing on a simulator like the Trackman.
Why is swinging harder better?
Swinging harder isn’t always the best answer because it can lead to out of control shots. You also have to improve your ball striking contact to maximize energy transfer from the clubhead speed to the golf ball, launching it into the air with fast ball speed.
What happens when a golf club makes contact with the ball?
Every golf club in your bag has a different loft angle on the club face. As the club makes contact with the ball, it imparts spin on the golf ball.
What happens if you hit a banana slice in the rough?
If you tend to hit a hard banana slice into the rough, you’re probably losing distance from the golf ball curving off line. Same can be said for those who hit a duck hook that curves hard into the rough. Once you’re able to straighten out your swing, you should notice an increase in club distances as a result.
What causes a golf ball to fly higher?
The key factors for air density are humidity, air pressure, and temperature. Let’s take a look at how each of them will affect how far your golf ball is flying.
Why won't my golf ball fly far?
The conventional wisdom is that if it’s extremely humid the ball will not fly as far because the air feels heavier. Just last week I heard a broadcaster on TV talking about this during a tournament when a player’s ball landed short of the green.
What is the biggest impact on golf ball flight?
Wind and altitude have a much larger impact on your ball flight, and for most golfers wind is really the culprit. The other culprit is honesty. Most golfers aren’t realistic with their distances. Let’s face it, most of us are overstating how far we hit the ball.
What causes a golfer to make contact with the ball?
Ball Position: The ball might be too far back in your stance. This causes you to make contact when the club is still swinging to right field. Backswing: You might be too far inside on the backswing, pulling the club away from the target line.
What does it mean when a golfer hits the ball to the right of the target but on a straight line
A right-handed golfer hitting the ball to the right of the target but on a straight line is hitting a push shot. Your divot, if there is one, will point right of your target line.
What is the difference between a right handed golfer and a left handed golfer?
If you are a right-handed golfer you are pushing the shot or pushing the ball. If you are a left-hander, you are pulling the shot or pulling the ball . Below, golf instructor Roger Gunn gives us a checklist of possible causes for these types of mishits, but the faults and fixes differ depending on the golfer's handedness.
Where should the golf club be on the downswing?
The club should be over your shoulder at the top, not over your head. Downswing: Your arms are likely pushing away from your body at the transition. Keep your arms in so that they pass close to the left pants pocket on the approach. Make sure your head doesn't move toward the target until after impact.
Is it a good sign to point right after a tee shot?
It's not usually a good sign when a golfer is pointing right after a tee shot, as Vijay Singh does here. Robert Laberge/Getty Images. Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.