One of the first things, particularly for a beginner, is anxiety and getting too tight and too anxious over the golf ball. That will often cause you to pull your arms and if you hit the ball, catching the top and rolling the ball into the floor.
Full Answer
Why do golfers top the ball when they hit it?
They want to help the ball up in the air, and the most logical way to do that is to swing upward. Unless the ball is sitting up on thick grass, which would give you a chance to get under it, you'll either swing up on the ball (as with poor ball position) or stand up during your downswing. But most of the time, you'll still top the ball.
What does a golf ball do after impact?
Has an amount of backspin on the golf ball – The amount of backspin will determine what your golf ball does after impact as well. Backspin is the reason why you see the golf ball spin back after impact with the green, which we see many pro players do.
How to hit a golf ball from the same spot?
Place a club across your toes to aid with alignment, this will give a reference point for where to place the ball. You can go a step further by placing two clubs in a cross shape. Stand with your toes against the horizontal line and place the ball at the top of the vertical. This will guarantee you hit the ball from the same spot every time!
Why do I hit the ground first before the ball?
Your body is smart, so what it does instead is it tries to do its best for you as you flick your wrists and try to the face up to the ball at impact. As a by-product, you will likely hit the ground first before the ball, or you will top it or thin it.
Why am I hitting the golf ball into the ground?
Specifically, players who hit ground balls are leaving too much weight on their right foot as they come down into the ball. When your weight gets stuck on your foot in the downswing, the club will bottom out before the ball – meaning it will be on the way back up when it actually arrives at impact.
How do I stop hitting the golf ball into the ground?
The three things you need to do to correct the issue of topping the golf ball is:Keep your head still throughout the backswing. ... Next, you need to make sure you take a divot at impact. ... Finally, in order to create that divot, you'll need to shift your weight forward to your front side throughout the downswing.
Why does topspin bring the ball down?
In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see Magnus effect).
Is it possible to hit a golf ball with topspin?
He said it was also a misconception that professional golfers were hitting the ball further than ever before. Dr Otto said: “All too often, unfortunately, you hear commentators say 'he's hit that one with top spin'. I can hit a drive with top spin and it carries about an inch.
Why are my drives not getting off the ground?
If you are currently struggling to get sufficient height on your tee shots, it is likely because you have a launch angle and spin rate that are both too low. Raising either of these numbers should help your ball flight, and raising both of them (but not too much) should allow you to maximize your distance.
Why are my drives going along the ground?
Often times, a low drive is caused simply by teeing the ball up too low. A number of golfers, worried about teeing the ball up too high and hitting a high, looping drive, tee the ball up just off the ground.
Does topspin increase speed?
Furthermore, a ball hit with topspin is likely to reach a higher apex in its trajectory, so it will drop from a greater height, gain more speed, and hit at a steeper angle. Topspin balls will therefore bounce faster in the vertical direction and higher than will balls hit flat or with backspin.
Does topspin make a ball drop faster?
You know from experience that a ball with topspin will tend to drop faster than gravity requires. Now you see the downward force is caused by the air deflected upward from the ball's surface due to the spin.
What is the difference between topspin and backspin?
Topspin means the ball will continue rolling forward farther. Backspin means the ball will stop rolling sooner (and maybe even roll backward a little). You add topspin by double tapping the A button while setting a shot's power.
How do I stop topspin on my driver?
3:337:31How to Hit Up on the Driver - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipPositive angle of attack. Everything is getting this ball to go higher and higher and I'm going toMorePositive angle of attack. Everything is getting this ball to go higher and higher and I'm going to go ahead and take some loft off this driver. So that I have the sensation.
How do I stop top spin on my driver?
9:3512:04HOW TO HIT THE DRIVER LONGER BY REDUCING SPIN AND GET ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd you feel at the same time. Your lead wrist is bowing to reduce that spin loft. And if you canMoreAnd you feel at the same time. Your lead wrist is bowing to reduce that spin loft. And if you can hit some small shots. Making those swings feeling that you pushing off the ground.
Why do I hit the ground when putting?
0:181:43How to Avoid Hitting the Ground While Putting - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipNumber one is too much tension in the arms. What this cause is it causes the player to actually pushMoreNumber one is too much tension in the arms. What this cause is it causes the player to actually push the putter down into the green.
What does it mean when a golf ball is right sidespin?
Right Sidespin – When right sidespin is exerted onto a golf ball, it causes the golf ball to go to the right. How much right sidespin will determine if you have sliced your shot or you just hit a perfect fade.
What is the right side of a golf ball?
Golf ball sidespin is the right or left rotation of the golf ball after impact. After your golf club impacts your golf ball, sidespin causes your golf ball to go straight, right, or left. There are two types of sidespin: Left Sidespin – When left sidespin is exerting onto a golf ball, it causes the golf ball to go to the left.
What is the difference between left and right sidespin?
Left Sidespin – When left sidespin is exerting onto a golf ball, it causes the golf ball to go to the left. Just how much left sidespin will determine if you hooked your shot or put a little baby draw onto it. Right Sidespin – When right sidespin is exerted onto a golf ball, it causes the golf ball to go to the right.
What is backspin in golf?
Golf ball backspin is the backwards rotation of the golf ball impact. After your golf club impacts your golf ball, backspin causes your golf ball does two things: Flies into the air with some kind of trajectory – depending on how pure the golf ball is struck at impact, the loft of the golf club, and the amount of force applied to ...
What does spin rate mean in golf?
So let’s make it easier to understand: “Spin Rate – is how fast the golf ball spins after club face impact.”. As soon as your golf club impacts your golf ball, your golf ball IMMEDIATELY starts to spin, the only way to prevent your golf ball from spinning is if you completely miss your ball – meaning there is no golf club impact.
What happens when your club face is square?
Spuare club face – At impact if your club face is square, to your target, then your golf ball will go straight towards your target line. Closed club face – At impact if your golf club face is closed, to your target, then your golf ball will go left of your target line.
How to hit top shot golf?
One way to hit topped golf shots is to use only your arms as you swing the club back and through. If your legs aren't involved in the swing, you will have trouble transferring your weight onto your left foot, and you will be prone to hitting ground balls as a result.
Why is it important to get the ball in the air on each swing?
Golf becomes far more interesting when you can reliably get the ball in the air on each swing, because you will be able to start planning shot shapes, picking specific targets, and more. Put in the time now to learn how to get the ball in the air and your future on the golf course will be much more exciting.
How to get fear of the ground ball out of your mind?
Simply by seeing the ball get into the air on a consistent basis, you can take the fear of the ground ball out of your mind prior to your next round. Hitting topped shots on the golf course is never a fun experience. You may have to listen to a few jokes from your playing partners, and your score will suffer as well.
What is the difference between amateur golfers and professional golfers?
One of the big differences between amateur golfers and their professional counterparts is the way that the pros use their entire body in the golf swing. When you watch a professional swing the club, it is obvious that they are using their lower body and upper body together in harmony to hit powerful and accurate shots.
What happens if you don't hit down?
If you don't hit down, you will always run the risk of having the leading edge contact the ball first – leading to a topped shots. The problem is that hitting down through an iron shot requires plenty of confidence when you are actually out on the course.
What is poor balance in golf?
Poor balance. Many amateur golfers struggle with poor balance, and one of the side effects of that problem can be topped shots. You need to have your center of gravity in the correct place if you are going to strike the ball cleanly time after time.
Why is it important to stay on balance in golf?
Staying on balance will allow you to control the positioning of the bottom of your swing, which will allow you to avoid the dreaded ground ball. Arm-only swing. The whole body needs to be involved in a good golf swing – and when it isn't, bad things can happen.
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 ...
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.
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 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 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.
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.
Why do I hit the ground before hitting the golf ball?
Hitting the ground before the golf ball is mainly caused by an incorrect golf swing technique. There are many factors to consider, and some can compound others. These include hip slide, head movement, dipping the shoulder, bending your lead arm, releasing the club too early, and not distributing your weight through your swing correctly.
What happens when you downswing a golf ball?
During the downswing, many players tend to slide their heads or will want to look at where they hit the ball . Unfortunately, this prevents the player from watching the club strike the ball and, in turn, will cause the entire upper body to move forward once again and impede proper recoil.
How to get the perfect swing in golf?
To acquire the perfect golf swing technique will mean that you will hit the ball consistently with power and place it where you would like it to go. However, a lousy technique will reak havoc on your game, causing you to hit the ground before the ball and elevating your handicap. Let’s remedy this.
What does it mean when you swing a golf club?
To put it in another understandable way, you are trying to hit the ball with an upwards motion. A golf club (your swing) actually moves through the shape of a circle, meaning when you swing your club, you are swinging it in the form of a perfect circle.
Why do I have a shorter golf club shaft?
Using a shorter club means you drop the club too much, or your swing is inhibited because your posture is not correct (you have to hunch to get to the ball).
What foot is the golf ball on?
This is the foot that you distribute your weight onto through your swing. For right-handed players, it is the left foot, and for left-handed players, it is the right foot. This can be further compounded by using shorter clubs.
Where should the low point of a golf swing be?
Essentially, the low point of a perfect golf swing should be in front of the ball. This means that if you are hitting your irons, you should take a divot out of the ground that is situated in front of your ball. When you are striking the ball at a shallow angle, the low point of your swing is situated behind the ball, ...
What is it called when a ball is bouncing?
But many players make contact above the ball's equator, resulting in a low-flying or bouncing ball. This is called "topping" -- also "skulling" or "thinning" -- the ball, and there are several common reasons that it happens.
What happens if you swing too far forward?
If the ball is too far forward in your stance, it's easy to hit it fat. The clubhead reaches the bottom of its swing arc before it gets to the ball. If you adjust your swing so you don't hit the ground, the clubhead will be swinging upward by the time it reaches the ball. When that happens, you have no chance of hitting the bottom half of the ball.
How to get more clubhead speed?
Throwing the Clubhead. Sometimes you try to gain extra clubhead speed by flipping your wrists at impact, but all you do is straighten your wrists before the clubhead reaches the ball. That makes the club reach the bottom of its arc farther back in your stance, instead of in front of the ball. The clubhead then swings upward sooner ...
What happens when you lean toward the target?
If you lean toward the target at the top of your backswing, you'll tend to lean away from the target during your downswing. This changes the bottom of the swing arc. If you manage to avoid hitting the ground before you hit the ball (a fat shot), the clubhead will be swinging upward when it reaches the ball – and that's the recipe for a topped shot. ...
Is standing up bad for the ball?
The ball might be in a bad lie, lower than your feet. In any case, standing up increases the distance from you to the ball; if you hit the ball at all, you probably are going to hit the top half.
Can you swing up on a golf ball?
Unless the ball is sitting up on thick grass, which would give you a chance to get under it, you'll either swing up on the ball ( as with poor ball position) or stand up during your downswing. But most of the time, you'll still top the ball.
Helm Caminiti
I encountered a strange phenomenon last round I played, on about 6 drives I literally hit the ball straight into the ground. I don't believe I topped the ball as it felt like I hit the face clean. However, the ball left a 1-3 foot long shallow divot trail on the grass in front of my tee.
SunkTheBirdie
You are probably hitting down on it too much. I do exactly what you do sometimes.
Schnee
I had this issue too, and I've found that if I address the ball with a gap of about 6 inches (experiment with the distance) between the ball and my clubhead, I subconsciously hit it on the upswing. It's worked wonders for me
RJRJRJ
Maybe too far back in your stance? Youre obviously hitting it downward, so start from there.
nhowe
Everybody on here is saying prob hitting down on it too much. I think its the opposite- when this happens to me it seems that im hitting up on it too much (or standing up)
ksgolfcoach
Everybody on here is saying prob hitting down on it too much. I think its the opposite- when this happens to me it seems that im hitting up on it too much (or standing up)
Where can you hit the ball with the leading edge of the driver?
iacas said: You can hit the ball with the leading edge of the driver near to or even slightly beneath the equator of the golf ball, and if the clubhead is moving upwards, create a drive that isn't "topped" but which has topspin. I appreciate the fact that you can comprehend the physics.
How far does a ball go at impact?
Explain how a ball leaves the face of a driver at impact goes out 30 to 50 yards at about 10 to 20 feet in height and then dives straight down as if it were sucked into the ground. A ball only acts in this fashion when it has top spin, sick topspin.. ALSO bear this in mind.
How many degrees of loft do you flip a golf driver?
It's rare, and it takes a horrid looking swing to do it because the loft is the DYNAMIC loft, so if you flip at all your driver's actually got 20 degrees of loft, or more... the hands have to be forward AND rising A LOT... It's so rare I truly doubt these balls are hit "square on the face of the club.".
Is the golf ball hit square?
The ball is hit square on the face of the club, not the leading edge or bottom of the face. Its hard to imagine since its unlike anything that this board ever sees, the ball literally gets slapped and the club is lifted vertically at impact at extremely high speeds. No its not a top.
Should you hit a golf ball on the downswing or upswing?
you SHOULD be hitting it on the downswing, not upswing.#N #If your ball is nose diving, then I can only see one thing happening... you're topping (thinning the ball with the bottom lip of your club face) the ball with your driver...thus creating top spin.
Why is the lead hand the most powerful way to throw a ball?
Because the lead hand is ahead and it's the most powerful way to throw a ball and to generate speed - watch from 7 mins to see this exact drill. Get one of these as it will help you add speed and power to this motion. Now make some small swings with it, and toss the dog ball thrower into your practice net.
Does Danny Maude use a dog ball thrower?
One of his drills involves the use of a dog ball thrower. Yes, a dog ball thrower... ...