Divot Behind the Ball

I have noticed that my divot is behind the ball. Its not point to the left, but square/straight or out a little to the right. Still trying to get a consistant I/O swing.

I have been reading so much about having the divot start AT or IN FRONT of the ball. That gives you the "ball contact then ground" swing which promotes distance and a higher trajectory.

What are some of the common mistakes made if you are hitting BEHIND the ball?

Your swing plane might be too horizantal. Turn the hips, don't slide them, and swing down and through the ball. Making sure I turn my hips and not slide was the biggest improvement I've every made to my swing.

Hmmmmm.....to clarify so I understand

Instead of just "sliding" my hips towards the target make sure to "rotate" them towards the target?

Let me ask you this....how do you start your downswing? Some say they "bump" their hip towards the target.

Thank you

From previous lessons, I would think that you may want to work on your ball position, i.e. middle of stance for pw to 7, more forward for 6 to 3 etc. hope this helps

You want very little hip movement towards your target. You want to imagine a large rubber band tied to your left hip that is tied to an imaginary wall directly behind you. At the top of your backswing you want to feel like the rubber band is snapping back. You want to think about your hips rotating on your tailbone (spine-center of your body) axis. You will naturally have some movement forward but you do not want it a pronounced shift forward. The times where I focus on thinking of the rubberband is when I seem to swing the best.

__________________
Taylor Made 580 Driver
Ping 3 wood
Callaway x-14 2 iron
3-pw TM ICW 11 irons, just can't find something I like better

Alien mallet putter, ugly but makes a ton of putts.

HOOK'EM HORNS
National Champs!!

I might have missed something, but not knowing what your ball position is, or how far behind the ball you are contacting the ground, I might try a narrower stance as a quick fix. You might just be too close to the ground for your swing mechanics. By narrowing your stance a little you will gain a little height, moving the low point of your swing farther foreward. a narrower stance will also help you rotate your hips easier, with little swaying taking place.

Other issues might be poor weight transfer, dipping the foreward knee during the back swing, dropping the right shoulder during the down swing, or at address position. A poor one piece take away, and/or maybe you might be dropping your head a little. If you drop your head, your shoulder will usually drop also. The hip turn was discussed above, which helps prevent hitting from the top. Probably a few other reasons that I don't know about or have forgotten.

As for starting the down swing, as long as I can remember, the dropping of the rear elbow down towards the rear hip, just before the turning of the hips hips, helps to get the club into the slot. Once in the slot you are going to have a decent swing, and ball flight. GJS

I actually saw a pro today for the 2nd time. I spoke with him briefly the other day and had my 1st ever lesson today. Went very well. 3 pretty major changes he wants me to work on are.....

1) He showed me what you just said regarding the start of the downswing. Get that elbow in the "slot."

2) A_Hornsfan mentioned "very little hip movement towards the target." The other major swing change the pro went over with me today was eliminating the laterial movement back and front in my swing. Wants me to be more rotational. With that came a narrower stance. So another nice point brought up in this post.

3) And yet another point brought up in this post was ball position. He would like to see wedges thru 7 in the middle. And then SLIGHT movement forward from there on up.


Great feedback and info guys. I am one of those people who will try anything if its supported by others who have had success. So it looks like I am on the right track to better ball striking!

Thank you!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

Another thing to try that really helps me hit my short irons crisply

Take shorter backswings and really try to feel like you are going to smash the inside quarter of the ball into the ground, like striking a match. Its more of a punchy feeling with the shorter irons than it is with the longer clubs where it is more of a swing through. You'll also notice with this method that you'll also have a slightly truncated followthrough but this is OK

You get a lovely crisp noise off the face and excellent height/distance this way and you'll see a good divot right in front of the ball

I would say though that this may not work for everyone so give it a try for a few balls on the range and if it doesnt work as a feeling for you then so be it!

Sweet, glad too see my tips working. I used to teach a little back in the day, so it is fun to help others out.

I see my rating here increasing.

Maintaining the spine angle throughout the swing is improtant. I don't know what your address is like, but may be too upright. this tends to promote more up and then down movement of the spine. Try more spine tilt at address. this may seem counterintuitive becuase you will feel closer to the ball and it seems like you will hit it fat. However, more spine angle promote more upper body rotation and less vertical movement.

pnearn..... My pro said the same thing, limit the movement with shorter backswing and smash that lower right quad of the ball. Great tips!

msklar92.... He did have me tilt forward just a little more. But he make it very clear that I cannot push forward towards the ball during the downswing, either with my head, shoulders or hips.

The bottom line - I had way too much excess movement in my swing. From all the tips here and the instruction, that became pretty clear.

Thank you all again. Great thread here

grass is hard to hit through