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Hitting Behind the Ball

BRISTOL86

BRISTOL86

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Hi Guys

I feel like I've been making a little bit of progress recently with my striking consistency, although I still have a long way to go!

But one thing I've noticed is that when I tee up an iron shot, my consistency is not bad, but as soon as I start hitting off the mat, every other shot I end up hitting behind the ball, striking the mat first which throws the contact all over the place.

Any idea why I am doing this? Not sure why it should be that way just because the ball is not on a tee!

Thanks
 
Could be a simple as weight shift because without the tee you are trying to help the ball in the air. I try to focus my eyes on the front of the ball vice the back so that i make contact with the ball first. do you feel like you lean back when not hitting with a tee?
 
emart2173 said:
Could be a simple as weight shift because without the tee you are trying to help the ball in the air. I try to focus my eyes on the front of the ball vice the back so that i make contact with the ball first. do you feel like you lean back when not hitting with a tee?
Click to expand...

Thanks - you mean you look at the front of the ball instead of the back? I must say I've never given a second thought as to which part of the ball I look at, I always look at the front edge, hadn't considered it could make a difference!

I think balance is an issue for me in general, so it wouldn't surprise me if I was leaning back!
 
You are coming up and out of your swing. Changing the plane of the swing and hitting short or fat. Go back to the other post I've made in your threads and follow the advise
 
Tadashi70 said:
You are coming up and out of your swing. Changing the plane of the swing and hitting short or fat. Go back to the other post I've made in your threads and follow the advise
Click to expand...

Thanks Freddie. I've seen a pro since then and she's had me working on a drill to get me turning a lot more in my takeaway - this is what's given me a lot more consistency off the tee. Instead of 2 shots out of 10 being a nice contact it's now 5 or 6 out of 10, so an immediate improvement has been noticed.

I then hit a few off the mat whilst trying to do the same basic things, but end up hitting behind the ball on the majority of them. I'm of course not trying to/feeling like I'm doing anything different, but I obviously am!
 
Tadashi70 said:
You are coming up and out of your swing. Changing the plane of the swing and hitting short or fat. Go back to the other post I've made in your threads and follow the advise
Click to expand...
i have developed the same issue my coach said the same thing to me today
 
BRISTOL86 said:
Thanks Freddie. I've seen a pro since then and she's had me working on a drill to get me turning a lot more in my takeaway - this is what's given me a lot more consistency off the tee. Instead of 2 shots out of 10 being a nice contact it's now 5 or 6 out of 10, so an immediate improvement has been noticed.

I then hit a few off the mat whilst trying to do the same basic things, but end up hitting behind the ball on the majority of them. I'm of course not trying to/feeling like I'm doing anything different, but I obviously am!
Click to expand...

There are a couple reasons you could be hitting it fat. Both have to do with changing the angle of descent of the club.
1. Sliding forward as the club comes into the ball
2. Standing tall on the down swing
3. Casting the club from the top instead of holding that angle on the down swing.

I think #2 and #3 are what plague you. Getting longer in your swing will just make this issue worse. Why? Because it takes longer for the swing to develop. Since your tendency is to stand on your down swing, the longer swing may not be the way to go. Until you fix the spine angle issue. Maintain your spine angle from your address position through out the swing.
 
Tadashi70 said:
There are a couple reasons you could be hitting it fat. Both have to do with changing the angle of descent of the club.
1. Sliding forward as the club comes into the ball
2. Standing tall on the down swing
3. Casting the club from the top instead of holding that angle on the down swing.

I think #2 and #3 are what plague you. Getting longer in your swing will just make this issue worse. Why? Because it takes longer for the swing to develop. Since your tendency is to stand on your down swing, the longer swing may not be the way to go. Until you fix the spine angle issue. Maintain your spine angle from your address position through out the swing.
Click to expand...

Thanks Freddie, very helpful stuff.

I think it's probably a combination of all three to be honest, I definitely slide my left leg too far over towards the target through impact, I'm working on that.

And I think definitely number three....I need to work on keeping those angles and letting the club drop to the ball rather than trying to use the hands to guide the club down to the ball.

Thanks for the tips!
 
Tadashi70 said:
There are a couple reasons you could be hitting it fat. Both have to do with changing the angle of descent of the club.
1. Sliding forward as the club comes into the ball
2. Standing tall on the down swing
3. Casting the club from the top instead of holding that angle on the down swing.

I think #2 and #3 are what plague you. Getting longer in your swing will just make this issue worse. Why? Because it takes longer for the swing to develop. Since your tendency is to stand on your down swing, the longer swing may not be the way to go. Until you fix the spine angle issue. Maintain your spine angle from your address position through out the swing.
Click to expand...

Awesome advice! This is exactly why I hit so many fat shots however my screwed up knee makes it near impossible to stay in my spine angle. It takes consistency out of my equation. It really sucks. :angry: Sometimes I wonder it I should have longer clubs so I won't rise up out of the proper angle. If I stay in the same setup throughout the swing it would hopefully take away the chunks. Stay tall the entire swing so I will already be up if that makes any sense.
 
Oh and I'm definitely working on the feel of making the swing shorter to ingrain that feeling of the left arm not breaking down.

Bit by bit.....
 
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