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Name your best drill for this major fault of mine...

Weezel

Weezel

- Formerly @HighLevelHacker -
Albatross 2024 Club
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THPers!

I have a major problem thinning, skulling, hitting the equator of the ball, etc and 95% of the time, no divot to be had... Lol. Mainly with my irons and 3-wood. I've been fighting this issue for a long time and I realize what causes it but can't seem to get rid of it still.

I FEEL like I do everything right in my swing (stayed in posture, didn't thrust hips forward, smooth tempo, blah blah blah) but I still thin it either a little or a lot. It ruins an otherwise what would've been a good shot as I watch it hover 2 feet off the ground or roll out over the green...

Just seeing if you suffered from this in the past and what drill(s) really made a positive impact on your swing and contact that cured this disease for good or made your thinned shots few and far between. Lol.

Appreciate you guys and gals!
 
I fight the same problem. Some of mine I know is early extension. I really work on feeling like my butt is really stuck out and on brushing the grass in the swing. Lots of swings without a ball down. All I got.
 
Sounds to me like you're trying to "lift the ball" instead of letting your club to do it for you by standing up too early. Try to think about "staying in the chair". Hard to tell without seeing your swing and I'm not a pro, so take that with a grain of salt lol
 
I usually mash a tee in the ground a couple inches in front of the ball, then focus on that and try to make the tee the low point of my swing. Instead of trying to hit the ball, it should just get in the way as you swing through.
 
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Not a drill, but I got some flatball training aids and after a few backyard sessions I greatly reduced the tendency for thin shots.
 
Coloradomrg said:
Not a drill, but I got some flatball training aids and after a few backyard sessions I greatly reduced the tendency for thin shots.
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I have those but stopped using them and forgot about them. Lol. I need to go back to it.
 
Ball position could be an issue... but, if not... focus on the front of the ball (instead of the back). Also, think of swinging through the ball - and not just hitting it.
 
I have a routine now where at the top of my swing I kind of let my hands go "dead" and the only thought in my swing is to hit down on the ball and it has helped. I don't really have a drill through.
 
You are "standing up too soon" during the follow-through (as per my recent lesson here in town). Keep your right shoulder down as long as you can before finally rotating to look down the course to see your ball flight.
 
Tywithay said:
I usually mash a tee in the ground a couple inches in front of the ball, then focus on that and try to make the tee the low point of my swing. Instead of trying to hit the ball, it should just get in the way as you swing through.
Click to expand...
This is the drill my instructor gave me to help with ball striking. He put a piece of tape about 3-4” in front of the ball and told me to hit the tape. It seems to help me quite a bit, but the problem is once i remove that visual cue, I revert to old tendencies.
 
mson said:
This is the drill my instructor gave me to help with ball striking. He put a piece of tape about 3-4” in front of the ball and told me to hit the tape. It seems to help me quite a bit, but the problem is once i remove that visual cue, I revert to old tendencies.
Click to expand...
I've gotten to where I don't even look at the ball anymore when I am on the course. I still try to focus a couple inches in front of the ball, whether I have an aid or not. Has made a world of difference in my striking. Now I just need to fix all my other issues so I can hit it straighter as well.
 
pumbaa said:
I have a routine now where at the top of my swing I kind of let my hands go "dead" and the only thought in my swing is to hit down on the ball and it has helped. I don't really have a drill through.
Click to expand...
I was going to recommend that the problem is probably in the transition and not the actual impact. This sounds like what you’re trying to key in on.

The more I swing the more I think the golf course is like a chain. The first one I mess up is going to screw everything up after it so normally a problem at impact is caused way before impact. It could be setup, could be not getting the backswing to the right spot, could be not transitioning well, etc.
 
I think the best solution for that problem is a THP experience. Hey, good thing you're in the Budget Championship next week with @Hibs!

#wethepeople
 
Take some practice swings without a ball, make yourself take a divot. Put your ball just forward of that place and swing a normal swing, remembering to stay down through the swing.
 
BH 43 said:
Take some practice swings without a ball, make yourself take a divot. Put your ball just forward of that place and swing a normal swing, remembering to stay down through the swing.
Click to expand...

This is interesting and similar to one of my practice routines. When I’m not striking the ball well, I think “see the tee” which is not trying to keep the head down but to pivot around a relatively fixed spine angle. This causes my right shoulder to get underneath until after contact and if I can see the tee or divot or where the ball was, I know this is working. I’ve tested this on the range with my coach and he described the affect above to me. It feels like you are keeping your head down but the trail shoulder turn through is the real result.

As always…. YMMV

A


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I don't have any particular drill for you unfortunately. However not taking a divot is not necessarily a bad thing.
 
Try laying an alignment stick or even your driver across your shoulders, parallel to the ground. Take you address and make a back swing. Your left shoulder, alignment stick should point at the ball. Now make your down swing and the right shoulder, alignment stick should point at the ball. I find this a nice drill/warm up to ensure my shoulders are staying on plane and also that I'm getting a nice turn back and through and not just lifting the arms.
I find personally when I start getting inconsistent contact it's due to my shoulder angle getting out of whack especially on the down swing.
 
mson said:
This is the drill my instructor gave me to help with ball striking. He put a piece of tape about 3-4” in front of the ball and told me to hit the tape. It seems to help me quite a bit, but the problem is once i remove that visual cue, I revert to old tendencies.
Click to expand...
Yep! Same here... 🤦‍♂️
 
DataDude said:
I was going to recommend that the problem is probably in the transition and not the actual impact. This sounds like what you’re trying to key in on.

The more I swing the more I think the golf course is like a chain. The first one I mess up is going to screw everything up after it so normally a problem at impact is caused way before impact. It could be setup, could be not getting the backswing to the right spot, could be not transitioning well, etc.
Click to expand...
Agreed when I get quick in my transition it all goes to 💩
 
HighLevelHacker said:
THPers!

I have a major problem thinning, skulling, hitting the equator of the ball, etc and 95% of the time, no divot to be had... Lol. Mainly with my irons and 3-wood. I've been fighting this issue for a long time and I realize what causes it but can't seem to get rid of it still.

I FEEL like I do everything right in my swing (stayed in posture, didn't thrust hips forward, smooth tempo, blah blah blah) but I still thin it either a little or a lot. It ruins an otherwise what would've been a good shot as I watch it hover 2 feet off the ground or roll out over the green...

Just seeing if you suffered from this in the past and what drill(s) really made a positive impact on your swing and contact that cured this disease for good or made your thinned shots few and far between. Lol.

Appreciate you guys and gals!
Click to expand...
Look 2” in front of the ball and not at the ball when you swing for irons and fwy woods. Don’t focus on the ball. If you have to, break a wood tee and put it in that spot and try to take it out of the ground with your club when you swing.
 
Was looking for a thread on ball striking drills, and spotted this one.

No-one has mentioned the classic towel drill that my coach gave me to practice. It's an oldie but a goldie because it works. Simply lay a towel down a few inches behind the ball and work on making sure you don't touch it when you hit the ball.

Start with half/punch shots and focus on transitioning your weight left as you reach the top of the backswing. Weight shift in transition is the main thing which controls the low point of the swing so that should be the focus.
 
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One drill you could try is to practice is turning the left side onto the right side during the backswing. The right side will turn away by itself when the left side moves onto it. The focus needs to be on the left side and arm. The forward swing is leaving the right side in it's backswing position and pulling the left side away from the right side. Leave the right hip and shoulder in their backswing position during transition.
I suspect your swing has an aggressive right side that is getting involved too early in the forward swing.
 
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