Swing/ball contact accuracy aids & methods

[David-G]

Hello, Yesterday I was out on the course with a totally out of shape golfer that kicked my butt.... Where he was super strong was the contact with the ball was near perfect every time. Very frustrating for someone who has a decent swing speed and strives to stay in great health for golf & life. It became obvious to me where my game is struggling.

When I took Kendo marital arts with bamboo swords for years, we had a 2" wide rod essentially that was stood up to human head height. We hit this rod with the swing until we could hit it every time. We then moved down to 1", 1/2" then 1/4". At that point (about a year later.... ) accuracy was near perfect with strikes nearly every time. I would think a similar logic & method could be applied to golf as well.

Can you please post any practice aids and methods to increase ball contact accuracy.

I did see one called aid called the AcuStrike mat that shows direction of the club & location to where you strike the circle (ball) on the mat.

Any assistance would be helpful!

 

[Chasing72]

Hammer The Nail - The Adam Way

Have a look at this (a few other forums have links / talks about it, not sure on the etiquette of linking to them). Also discussed on several Episodes of Chasing Scratch
Season 2 Ep 4 being one I remember.

You could also maybe look at a Planemate but I think that is more to do with path than strike point.

 

[MonroeBob1955]

There may be aids available that can help you. For me,I’ve found a direct relationship between swing path and contact accuracy. A couple sessions with my pro focused on my swing path, particularly slotting the club at the top of the swing. Significant improvements in contacting center of face, and starting the ball on line.
If you have a good pro, I suggest paying them a visit.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[David-G]

Hammer The Nail - The Adam Way

Have a look at this (a few other forums have links / talks about it, not sure on the etiquette of linking to them). Also discussed on several Episodes of Chasing Scratch
Season 2 Ep 4 being one I remember.

You could also maybe look at a Planemate but I think that is more to do with path than strike point.

I've heard that one before: the nail analogy. Hit the center of the ball with the center of the club..... But how to gain that accuracy and consistancy is where I'm lacking.

Thank you!

 

[Chasing72]

I've heard that one before: the nail analogy. Hit the center of the ball with the center of the club..... But how to gain that accuracy and consistancy is where I'm lacking.

Thank you!

There are a few videos explaining it Drive & Hammer The Nail, Improve your ball striking with the Hammer Drill.

I literally took an old golf ball and put a nail through it to help visualize it.

There is also the other methodology (which I believe is the same guy) and that is to intentionally hit heel and toe shots as you are then learning the club path better there too.

 

[Chef23]

Try making a full swing with say a 6 iron and only hit the ball 100 yards with a half speed swing. This is a way harder drill than you think and it only works frankly if you deliver the club properly and hit the sweet spot. Full turn, full length swing but half speed. When I am doing this drill I hit 3 balls this way then step a way go through my full routine and hit a shot with my regular swing. I don't think about swinging faster just make the regular swing.

Whenever I do this the quality of my contact improves dramatically.

 

[RecGolfer]

Try making a full swing with say a 6 iron and only hit the ball 100 yards with a half speed swing. This is a way harder drill than you think and it only works frankly if you deliver the club properly and hit the sweet spot. Full turn, full length swing but half speed. When I am doing this drill I hit 3 balls this way then step a way go through my full routine and hit a shot with my regular swing. I don't think about swinging faster just make the regular swing.

Whenever I do this the quality of my contact improves dramatically.

Absolutely. Daniel Berger had a tip similar to this in the November 2018 Golf Digest. He said to take your 7-iron and swing it a 30% of your normal swing speed. When you connect on the center of the clubface consistently, move up to half speed, and later to 70% of full speed. If you try this, you will be surprised at how hard it is to swing at 30% initially, and also, once you get it, how far the ball goes even at that speed when you hit the center.

 

[David-G]

There are a few videos explaining it Drive & Hammer The Nail, Improve your ball striking with the Hammer Drill.

I literally took an old golf ball and put a nail through it to help visualize it.

There is also the other methodology (which I believe is the same guy) and that is to intentionally hit heel and toe shots as you are then learning the club path better there too.

Nice, so the strong "skip the rock" idea to get the hammer to hit the nail. I remember seeing this along time ago with a teacher from AJ Golf. He used a large nail through a ball as an example.

Thank you!

 

[David-G]

Absolutely. Daniel Berger had a tip similar to this in the November 2018 Golf Digest. He said to take your 7-iron and swing it a 30% of your normal swing speed. When you connect on the center of the clubface consistently, move up to half speed, and later to 70% of full speed. If you try this, you will be surprised at how hard it is to swing at 30% initially, and also, once you get it, how far the ball goes even at that speed when you hit the center.

Going to give this a try, Thank you!

 

[uitar99]

I'm not a long hitter but do stay in the fairway and usually out of trouble. I try to always have a wet towel and clean my driver face before each shot. (my other clubs are so beaten , this doesn't work). If I have a mis hit, I check the face to see where contact was made. I find my mis hits are often setup. Standing too close to the ball or tee height. Its cheap and seems to work for me. The other issue I seem to have solved is aiming. Taking dead aim, as I read in some red book. went to the range and spent some time with one or two clubs and figured out where the ball goes versus where I originally thought I was aiming. Slow motion swings are another helpful tool for me. No ball. Really helped see where the club face was at impact position (that spot on the carpet or blade of grass.) What I thought was a level club face was actually open at impact.

Golf is a b*tch. There are so many variables. And I hate to say it, but it's all physics and I failed physics three times

 

[-CRW-]

Use two tees or golf balls on either side of the ball you are hitting (on the range) to improve center point contact and path. Like this:



For irons/hybrid/fairways, use a towel about a club grips length behind the ball to help with low point control/flush contact. Like this:



You can use both ideas at the same time and it won’t cost you anything assuming you have a towel and some tees/extra golf balls.

You can also use alignment sticks to help line your feet parallel to your target line and to indicate ball position. If you don’t have alignment rods, the $2-4 fiberglass driveway markers at hardware stores are nearly identical to them. Use them like this:

 

[David-G]

Use two tees or golf balls on either side of the ball you are hitting (on the range) to improve center point contact and path. Like this:

View attachment 8951438

For irons/hybrid/fairways, use a towel about a club grips length behind the ball to help with low point control/flush contact. Like this:

View attachment 8951439

You can use both ideas at the same time and it won’t cost you anything assuming you have a towel and some tees/extra golf balls.

You can also use alignment sticks to help line your feet parallel to your target line and to indicate ball position. If you don’t have alignment rods, the $2-4 fiberglass driveway markers at hardware stores are nearly identical to them. Use them like this:

View attachment 8951440

Thank you! I will try all 3 together. This looks to be a very good and easy way to see all of this and honing in on center contact. I know some of my issue currently is alignment as the previous post stated as well.

 

[-CRW-]

Thank you! I will try all 3 together. This looks to be a very good and easy way to see all of this and honing in on center contact. I know some of my issue currently is alignment as the previous post stated as well.

The guys at AMG Golf on YouTube call setups like that a “mouse trap” as it forces your brain to find the right way through it.

As you get more comfortable you can try alignment sticks at angles in the ground to assist with plane angle.

 

[Luchnia]

Hello, Yesterday I was out on the course with a totally out of shape golfer that kicked my butt.... Where he was super strong was the contact with the ball was near perfect every time. Very frustrating for someone who has a decent swing speed and strives to stay in great health for golf & life. It became obvious to me where my game is struggling.

When I took Kendo marital arts with bamboo swords for years, we had a 2" wide rod essentially that was stood up to human head height. We hit this rod with the swing until we could hit it every time. We then moved down to 1", 1/2" then 1/4". At that point (about a year later.... ) accuracy was near perfect with strikes nearly every time. I would think a similar logic & method could be applied to golf as well.

Can you please post any practice aids and methods to increase ball contact accuracy.

I did see one called aid called the AcuStrike mat that shows direction of the club & location to where you strike the circle (ball) on the mat.

Any assistance would be helpful!

I play with some league golfers and one thing that better golfers do is repeat the same consistent swing and strike over and over again whit great temp and rythym. I stand and watch them and it is like taking a video and playing it over and over again when they strike the ball. If you did not know they were playing a different hole you would say it was identical as the last swing they made.

Hard to say what swing aid might help you as each of us is different. For example, I need to control my aggressiveness and swing pattern and keep my focus on swinging through and keep that repeatable. When I do that I play well. When I pick my left shoulder up too soon, or I take too wide and deep back swings my strikes suffer as it affects my arc and my balance is off.

If you are having problems with center strikes get you some simple foot powder and spray it on the club and see where you hits are. Sometimes you can video tape yourself and then analyze it to determine what you are doing that needs changing.

 

[uitar99]

one of those high end instructors said something on pga radio that struck me...work on one fix at a time...and that fix needs to be ball flight, not swing.

That didn't make sense 3 years ago. It makes sense now. I need to get the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible.

I work on flexibility, strength but I can't turn back the clock or change my basic body type. Gotta work with what I have. I have to reduce doubles and triples, any way I can. A birdie here and there ain't gonna help much. Eliminating two triples will. Avoiding trouble and staying in the short grass may seem boring to some. Not me. I try to Eliminate a stupid shot after a bad shot.

 

[David-G]

one of those high end instructors said something on pga radio that struck me...work on one fix at a time...and that fix needs to be ball flight, not swing.

That didn't make sense 3 years ago. It makes sense now. I need to get the ball in the hole in the fewest strokes possible.

I work on flexibility, strength but I can't turn back the clock or change my basic body type. Gotta work with what I have. I have to reduce doubles and triples, any way I can. A birdie here and there ain't gonna help much. Eliminating two triples will. Avoiding trouble and staying in the short grass may seem boring to some. Not me. I try to Eliminate a stupid shot after a bad shot.

Understand what you mean! One bad whole last week shooting a 10 on a par 5 (ouch) kept me from my lowest score to date :-(