"Sweeper" to "Digger", plz help.

[shanx]

My granfather tought me how to hit a golf ball, and I been using those fundamentals for years. He never took divots, so I don't either. I played on sunbaked muni fairways, there were times when the "home course" had welcome mats for tees.

 

My ballstriking sux, I'm not consistent, my "sweep swing" is ok for longer irons, fairway woods and driver, but for mid to short irons, I'm terrible.

 

I'm 51, shoot mid to low 80s consistently (short game and putter keep me respectable).

 

I play with guys my age that can really "zip" the ball, they all take divots, every iron shot has the same trajectory. I hit more thin shots lately, or when I make clean contact, the ball shoots high and often lands short.

 

Any tips or drills to get me to hit down on it?

[MonteScheinblum]

No drills. You have to make the change in your swing that’s “missing.”

 

Could be any number of things.

 

Setup

Front shoulder popping up

Upper body getting forward and dumping right wrist angle

Staying on right side too long

 

Etc.

[shanx]

No drills. You have to make the change in your swing that's "missing."

 

Could be any number of things.

 

Setup

Front shoulder popping up

Upper body getting forward and dumping right wrist angle

Staying on right side too long

 

Etc.

 

Yeah. I think I just need to re-program to hit down.

[joedizzy1978]

Wouldn't incorporating a practice regimen where you hit low shots be the most beneficial and simple? It appears an acquisition of a skill may be enough for the OP to distinguish the difference between his current technique (shallow, which is great for less lofted clubs) versus something steeper. Find a practice area where you can hit shots under a specific target. Would his swing change? Yes, but psychologically he'll be attempting a different shot rather than focusing on a mechanic.

[Krt22]

No drills. You have to make the change in your swing that's "missing."

 

Could be any number of things.

 

Setup

Front shoulder popping up

Upper body getting forward and dumping right wrist angle

Staying on right side too long

 

Etc.

 

Yeah. I think I just need to re-program to hit down.

 

It's not that simple, it's a totally different swing really. If you just took the intent to hit down with your current mechanics it would be a disaster

 

And I say that as a sweeper who is currently working with Monte and had all of the issues he listed =D

[shanx]

No drills. You have to make the change in your swing that's "missing."

 

Could be any number of things.

 

Setup

Front shoulder popping up

Upper body getting forward and dumping right wrist angle

Staying on right side too long

 

Etc.

 

Yeah. I think I just need to re-program to hit down.

 

It's not that simple, it's a totally different swing really. If you just took the intent to hit down with your current mechanics it would be a disaster

 

And I say that as a sweeper who is currently working with Monte and had all of the issues he listed =D

 

Yeah, might try to find a pro to set me up correctly and go from that.

[Ghostwedge]

Playing on rock hard sun baked fairways can get you injured when trying to take divots.

Try this, pretend there is a ball in front of the ball youʻre trying to hit and hit the imaginary ball.

Your ball gets compressed, you shift to your front side and hopefully finiah nice and balanced.

Irʻs my only swing thought with the irons and i hit a lot of greens.

Now if i could only putt.....

 

 

[Range Pro]

Just move the ball back 1".

[RSinSG]

I rarely take a divot and always felt I wasn’t as cool as those who did. I gave up trying to hit one and instead work on making clean, center of the club contact. Having a pickers swing works for me.

[jjj912]

I don’t know that it is necessary to go to a digger type of swing if you want to improve ball striking.

 

I’d first see if your swing can be improved without making a fundamental change to it. Is the shaft lean at impact good, is the Ball position correct, etc. Do you have a ball flight issue? Shooting in low 80’s, you won’t have a hook or slice, but you could still have an issue that perhaps could be improved to give a few extra yards and better control.

[cwglum]

Put a half empty 20oz soda bottle about 12-15" behind your ball, can either re-route backswing slightly, or start from a 9 o'clock position ... hit the ball without hitting the bottle with 1/2 or 3/4 swings. Not going to fix everything but you will definitely pinch the ball and move some turf.

[shanx]

Great suggestions guys...

 

Gonna take some these thoughts to the range this weekend.

[Range Pro]

I remember Jack Nicklause talking about adjusting the ball position during his warm up. On days when his body felt more lethargic, he would moved the ball back 1/2" or 1" for the round.

[ef131313]

+1 for move the ball back

[shanx]

Played an outing last week, best ball format, so there really wasn't much pressure to play my best.

 

We have had a ton of rain, so the course was soft, perfect time for me to try taking some divots!

 

Warmed up on the grass range, hit a few short irons to start, dropped the ball back an inch or so and had ad it. First few were a little fat, but eventually I got used to hitting "down" on it.

 

Played the first few holes with no issues, took decent size divots, payed attention to ball position the whole round.

 

Then came a longer par 3. I was last to hit, the other three hit decent shots, but we were not on the green yet. Jacked up by my new ballstriking capability, I pulled a 5 iron out (hole was 190 yds. a little too long for my 5 iron, but I was feeling it).

 

I swung so hard, hit the ball so fat that you could have used the chunk of a divot to fill a crater. Pain shot up my arm from my wrist, I thought I broke something!!

 

Went on with the round, sweeping as I have been for years...lol!

 

It was a good try, and I will keep trying to improve ballstriking, but maybe will dial it back a little...

[Andrew M]

Do an online lesson with Monte. Dan (iteach) is great, too, but I just say Monte because I'm his student, and haven't been able to work with Dan.

 

As Monte would say often, it is the types of cliches and bandaids like "hit down on it," etc. that cause us all problems in the first place. No doubt you mechanically are doing something wrong. It's best to fix that before you actually hurt yourself, IMHO.

[Krt22]

+1 for the above. Understanding how and why your swing mechanics are preventing a proper divot is infinitely more powerful than simply just placing the ball back and trying to pound down on it.

 

I never used to take a divot , but took a nice uniformly thin dollar bill sized one yesterday on 18 hitting a flighted wedge to 6ft. The ball was in the middle of my stance and hitting down on it was not at all my intent.