The Secrets of Great Golf Ball Strikers
Each generation has had great ball strikers. Players that come to mind from the distant past would be Bryan Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. More recently Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player and today we have Tiger Woods, Angel Caberra and Ernie Els. I’m sure there are many more that I haven’t mentioned. Ball striking is completely different for the average amateur/club golfer but what produces a great ball strike?
For me it’s hitting your pitching wedge the same height as your 3 iron or vice versa as standard and then changing the height of the shot if needed. Think about it imagine hitting your pitching wedge the same height as your six iron.
The first secret that needs to be addressed is that every great ball striker knows that the golf ball must be compressed at impact. Compression of the golf ball occurs when the club head traps the golf ball against the turf at impact. The combination of club head, ball and turf together is a big part of the ball strike and that’s how divots are created and a divot is a short shallow piece of turf not a 3 feet piece of earth that might involve three people to carry it back and then the services of a professional landscape gardener to put it all right!!!!
Seriously though at impact the golf ball is compressed to almost a third of its size original size and that also pushes the golf ball into the grooves of the club head and turf which as well as creating a more manageable divot size it also produces that elusive backspin that many of you dream about. That sequence ultimately flights the golf ball.
The secret to create this result is:
Never the club swing head past the hands until after impact!!!!
Never let the club head swing past the hands until after impact. Think about it. If the club head overtakes the hands before striking the golf ball the leverage that has already been produced through the golf swing is lost and the ability to compress the golf ball against the turf is lost. Once the golf ball is struck the momentum of the swing almost forces the club head past the hands!!!
To help you understand imagine raking up leafs in your garden. The rake is in front of you and you pull the rake towards you. The rake trap’s leafs against the rake head and the lawn. Its similar concept using a broom if you push the broom it tends to spread the debris but if you pull the broom it again trap the debris. I don’t want this to be a lesson on how to tidy your garden but the effect is similar in the downswing for a great ball striker.
How do I stop the club head swinging past the hands before impact?
This information is dynamite for your golf swing but to correctly achieve all that I have described you must follow the simple downswing equation
Weight moves down into Left knee + Left shoulder moves up and away from the chin + Chest and lower Body rotates towards the target + Hands will be at the golf ball yet the club head will have to catch up to strike the golf ball
Golf ball is now compressed!
Some of you Compass Readers might be thinking wow that’s technical but the equation produces the sequence of events that eventually compress the golf ball. When you watch professional golfers downswing its this chain of events that you see.
maybe not a simple equation. I suggest you read this a few times because you have seen that equation in action many times but understood what you have seen. If you have any questions pleas feel free to contact me.