At this point, I'm not really happy about it. I hate having to go behind a green to look for my ball. It's one thing to add ten yards at a time or to slowly gain ten years over the course of a few months, but this last week has seen me add 20 yards to my irons and wedges. I'm hitting my Pi 140, and my 8i is good for 160. I've heard that this is normal, and I should be shotting for 150 with my Pi. We'll have to see because it is adding one detrimental element to my game. Inside 100 is not comfortable for me right now at all.

What have I changed? Well, the added distance was not what I intended. I was trying to get my approach shots to check a bit when they landed. So I tried hitting down more on the ball. I accomplished this by actually imagining a second ball in front of my ball, and this imaginary second ball was the one I try to hit with my swing. The result? I honestly couldn't tell you if my shots are checking more or not because they are going too dang far. But I will say that the courses I play regularly are starting to seem a heck of a lot shorter these days.

Sounds like your ball contact is better, hopefully more pure now. The sweet spot gives you the most distance hands down. Is your ball flight/trajectory and different when hitting down on it?

The interesting thing is, I always knew to hit down on the ball with my irons. I guess I wasn't hitting down enough.

My biggest problem right now is that the clubs I'm using aren't designed to take a divot. They have a ton of bounce, which gives them a lot of forgiveness when I hit them fat. But now that I'm hitting them a bit fatter than I'm used to, that margin for error isn't there. If I take my divot just a hair too early, the club will bounce up and strike the ball at an awkward angle. If I take the divot a bit too late, I still get pretty decent results. So the impetus on learning how to hit consistently like this is the understanding the fact that a perfect hit with these clubs will be just a hair short of being too fat.

Now, I am getting a lot more trajectory than I used to. The ball just keeps rising after I hit it. It's really a beautiful thing. And they are checking up more. I used to be used to landing my ball in front of the green to get a good roll. Now, I get maybe 10 to 15 feet of roll after landing on the green, and that's exactly what I want.

But the most important difference (besides the extra distance) is the fact that I'm hitting them consistently straight. I really can't believe it, but when I miss to the sides, it's at most 5* to the right or left. The only problem is...I seem to have forgotten how to hit my driver.

wow man, that's amazing!! i can't even hit my PW close to 150. i max at 135 if i draw it. very nice.

That's golf for ya though, get one thing working and another goes crazy. I'm kinda at the same point now. If i find anything in particular with the driver, i'll let you know. maybe we have the same problem, because i seem to be absolutely killing the iron game.

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The only problem is...I seem to have forgotten how to hit my driver.

Doh!

lol....I can't seem to hit my driver and my irons both well on the same round. A week ago, I was killing my driver while I was hitting all of my irons very thin. Right now, I look forward to any chance I can get with my irons:)

I started on the course today using this method of creating clean contact with the ball. I noticed a lot crisper, cleaner contact and that the ball was flying a better trajectory. I was also trying to focus on my grip and choking down on the clubs (because I think they are too long for me) and keeping my body connected so I didn't always get the focus like I wanted on the ball. I don't know if my distance increased but I was liking the results. I should be out on the course again soon...will let you know if anything changes...


Side note....I sunk a 32ft put for birdie....that was awesome!

There are a lot of infomercials these days advertising the Tour Striker to help you learn how to hit down on the ball -- http://www.tourstriker.com/

I've never tried one, but seems like a good training aid. I'd only worry that it's not the same shaft or swingweight as your normal irons.

As I mentioned before, another (cheaper, but more time consuming drill) is to put a tee 1" in front of your ball and sticking up 1/2" inch. Then hit your ball and also hit the tee as you swing through.

I use a simple little mental key when I address the ball. I focus on a spot in FRONT of the ball as my theoretical contact point with the ground. For longer irons, that spot may be an inch or so in front. For short irons, it may only be 1/2 inch. I stay focused on that spot until I start my backswing, at which point, I change focus to the back of the ball. It may sound crazy but it works great for me. I always take a divot and it usually starts just under or in front of the ball. If I'm too steep coming in, the divot will be too deep and typically aimed left of target. (I'm right-handed.) I then know to swing slightly more inside-out on my next shot. When my divot is thin and always aimed at the target, I'm usually having a nice round.

The other day, when I caught up to the group in front of me on the next tee, one of the guys asked what I hit on approach. He saw it land on the green as he was leaving and said to me "I wish I could make it back up like that. How do you do that?" "Hit down on it" was my answer. It doesn't take as much swing speed as you might think. And I can't always make it back up, but can usually make my short irons check quickly. In addition to the mental key stated above, I keep a lot of weight on my front foot throughout the swing, which promotes a more downward strike of the ball. It is part of the Stack & Tilt swing method, of which I do not totally employ in my swing, but that part of it works for me.

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I use a simple little mental key when I address the ball. I focus on a spot in FRONT of the ball as my theoretical contact point with the ground.

I like it, I use that trick (mid/scoring irons only) also except that I maintain the point of focus in front of the ball through the swing. I am fairly sure that "pointing" my eyes ahead leads the rest of my body forward into the ball, therefore moves the bottom of the swing arc forward of the ball for downward impact.

Couldnt resist an illustration -

sepfeiff wrote:

Quote: I use a simple little mental key when I address the ball. I focus on a spot in FRONT of the ball as my theoretical contact point with the ground. I like it, I use that trick (mid/scoring irons only) also except that I maintain the point of focus in front of the ball through the swing. I am fairly sure that "pointing" my eyes ahead leads the rest of my body forward into the ball, therefore moves the bottom of the swing arc forward of the ball for downward impact. Couldnt resist an illustration -

Actually, I often maintain the focus point in front of the ball throughout the swing, but sometimes I'm more comfortable moving my focus back to the ball when I start my backswing. Depends on how I'm swinging that day. Even then though, I still THINK about the focus point in front of the ball. Also, as you do, I only use this method with mid irons and scoring clubs. However, with hybrids and fairway woods I pick a point to aim at for the club to ground in front of the ball (without a divot) and then focus on the back of the ball. Driver, my focus is back of ball, just inside of center to help promote inside-out path in my head.