Don’t want to read? … listen
This will help many of you understand the geometry of a solid shot. What?? Geometry?? Yes, solid golf shots are about angles.
Trying to “Hit Down” on the ball is counter productive. Using the hands at impact ruins the golf swing*. If someone says to you, “hit down”, they may not understand that, if you have the correct mechanics, working in the correct sequence, the ball is AUTOMATICALLY HIT DOWN UPON. In other words, a solid golf shot that creates a divot after the ball, happens as a “side effect” of a correct golf swing. You don’t have to try to do it, it HAPPENS when things are right. So… if you’re not experiencing this automatic, solid shot with your swing, what is wrong and how do you fix it.
Now for the angles. Your swing may be missing one or more of these essentials for a “Solid Shot”.
If you look at a great, solid golf shot at impact, this is what you’d see:
1. Shaft of club absolutely in line with the front arm with flat or bowed front wrist. (Most golfers have a bent front wrist – Flipped )
2. The shaft slightly leading the club face of the golf club. (This creates the Hit Down automatically )
3. The knees, hips, torso, and shoulders, (all 4) STILL unwinding, trapping the ball and moving it forward. (Not stopped to support throwing the club head into the ball.)
4. The head still centered at or behind the ball. (The head can easily stay still when you unwind the downswing, instead sliding **)
5. Elbows close together, in front of your body and in line with the hips. (Not back elbow behind back hip or elbows out ahead pulling the body to the finish)
Now how can you get into this powerful impact position without trying to manufacture yourself into it? Well, it is not really hard. Actually, very natural… like throwing a ball. If you learn to start your backswing winding up from top down (the shoulders first, then the hips later)… you create a lot of potential. Then on the downswing unwind from ground up (the knees, move the hips, move the shoulders as the arms and club come along for the ride – hands are passive). Again, like throwing a ball (you step forward then your knee, moves your hips, move your shoulders to throw your arm and ball)… it is the same move in golf… ATHLETIC.
Hint:
* If you use your hands to hit at the ball, the body stops rotating, the radius is cut in half, the club face closes, you miss hit, you lose all the power of the whole body turn, not solid, not repeatable… the list goes on.
** If you don’t slide towards your back foot on the takeaway, you don’t have to slide back. If you learn to wind up restricting the lower body, then you can just unwind on the downswing.
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