# Trying to hit the ball too hard!!



## One Planer (Mar 26, 2014)

This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?


Mucho kudos in advance :thup:


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## virtuocity (Mar 26, 2014)

My recent good scores have been down to working very hard on the same thing.  It's ridiculous.  When I try to hit it too hard, I overswing (traditional problem), early extend and top or thin the ball.

Although I hate the idea of a pre-shot routine, I have started to tell myself before every shot that if I take it slow and smooth through transition, the ball will go high and straight.  

I have this as a swing thought but still have to work hard at the top of my backswing not to throw everything at the ball.  

It's one of these problems that will never really go away, I reckon.  I find it particularly bad when playing with big hitters.


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## Maninblack4612 (Mar 26, 2014)

Ben Hogan, in one of his books, said that, at times, *when he needed to&#8203;*, he hit the ball as hard as he could. Nothing wrong with that as long as you retain control. I tend to go over the top if I try to hit one hard so I concentrate on not doing it if I' going for a big one. I think to avoid doing it just slow it down a bit & wait for the club head. When you unintentionally lash at it you often hit from the top, rushing at it. Nothing wrong with hitting it firmly. It's worse to decelerate in an effort not to hit it too hard. Better to give it a good, controlled, whack.


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## lex! (Mar 26, 2014)

Another very interesting thread in this section. I think it's deadly to try and whip hard with the wrists as then I hit from the top. My focus recently is to try and use the big muscles in the pivot, in the back, and feel my stomach tighten and my right leg load. Then I can let it go more. Should we try and hit as hard as poss with the driver, but be more controlled as the clubs get shorter?


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## Rooter (Mar 26, 2014)

reduction of the back swing and trying to remain smooth worked for me, also breathing in on the back swing and out through the forward swing.


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## One Planer (Mar 26, 2014)

Rooter said:



			reduction of the back swing and trying to remain smooth worked for me, also breathing in on the back swing and out through the forward swing.
		
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Crikey! If I shorten my backswing anymore I wont get past half way back :smirk:

Let me re-phrase the question another way.

Should I swing to a speed where I have good technique and control, and no faster and accept that the distance I hit the ball is what it is?


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## Wabinez (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			Crikey! If I shorten my backswing anymore I wont get past half way back :smirk:

Let me re-phrase the question another way.

Should I swing to a speed where I have good technique and control, and no faster and accept that the distance I hit the ball is what it is?
		
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Yes to the latter part. If you can retain technique and control, and keep it there. You should always (in my opinion) have the ability to crank one a bit further when required, but it shouldn't be a case of swinging faster from the outset, it should be a case of swinging harder through the impact zone (or feeling as if you are) whilst retaining balance etc.


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## Deleted Member 1156 (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


*Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?*


Mucho kudos in advance :thup:
		
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Take more club*














Sounds obvious and facetious but it is genuine advice!!  :thup:


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## Doh (Mar 26, 2014)

When I try to hit the ball to hard I don't complete my backswing I have a jerky transition and I am off balance. What has helped me is to slow my backswing down only by thinking to my self 80% when I do this I have got time complete my backswing I have a smooth transition and I can accelerate from this point through the ball. The last few rounds this has helped hit the ball much better.


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## Odvan (Mar 26, 2014)

I hate replying to a thread in this section as I'm rather clueless on the technical aspects but I'm sure I've read somewhere that the power side of the shot should really be 'put in' when the club is around 3 feet away from the ball in the down swing, whilst coordinating this with weight transfer, allowing you to strike through?

If that comment means nothing, please do discount its existence


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## Region3 (Mar 26, 2014)

Every time you swing easy/controlled and hit a great shot it should confirm a little bit more that you don't need to try to hit the ball into next week.

I'm guilty as well, but not as much as I used to be. Controlled swing = hit the sweet spot more often = ball goes plenty far enough.

It doesn't stop you thinking "now if I do that but just hit a little bit harder the ball will go further", but it should do.
When I try to hit too hard, most of the time I turn my shoulders too quickly and my hands get left behind. The results aren't pretty.

My sole swing thought at the moment is to keep my hands in front of my chest through impact.


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## One Planer (Mar 26, 2014)

drive4show said:



			Take more club*














Sounds obvious and facetious but it is genuine advice!!  :thup:
		
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I totally agree with you D4S.

I need to get into the habit of making a smoother swing, with more club for sure.


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## sawtooth (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?




Mucho kudos in advance :thup:
		
Click to expand...

Its useful to remember that you don't hit the ball in the backswing so always take the club back slowly and smoothly.  Don't think about hitting the ball at all , just swing through with smooth acceleration. 

So many issues are down to fast snatchy take away due to trying to hit too hard. Slow and smooth is the way.


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## One Planer (Mar 26, 2014)

sawtooth said:



			Its useful to remember that you don't hit the ball in the backswing so always take the club back slowly and smoothly.  Don't think about hitting the ball at all , just swing through with smooth acceleration. 

So many issues are down to fast snatchy take away due to trying to hit too hard. Slow and smooth is the way.
		
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That is one part of my swing (Takeaway and backswing) I know is in good order 

It's the crazy lunge from the top that ruins it :rofl:


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## golfdub (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?


Mucho kudos in advance :thup:
		
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I heard Poulter say that most amateurs tense up during set up if they plan on smashing the living day lights out of the ball and we all know once your tensed up it all goes wrong so maybe if your planning to give it some wellie just remember to feel loose and relaxed


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## the_coach (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?


Mucho kudos in advance :thup:
		
Click to expand...

Research with handicap golfers has shown, focusing the effort on hit, & hard, means the club head reaches it's fastest speed just before the club reaches the delivery position some few feet before impact. 
So from that point the club is slowing down over that final few feet towards impact.

The 'hit hard' intent makes the brain send out signals to tense the fingers & this particularly leads to the forearms tensing which then moves up to the shoulders, so before you even take the club away, in effect even before you move, you're already done, & the club head will be slowing well before impact. 

This hit hard instinct is effectively telling the brian once you've made contact with the ball, thats it job done, which is why there's no club head acceleration through impact, so as well as no optimum speed often the 'slower speed' is most often accompanied with a strike that's not centered. (Off centered strike with either bottom of face, heel or toe will lose you anywhere between 20 to 30 yards even from a club head that's accelerating)

True importance to distance with any swing, is being able to swing at a speed that the correct swing sequence can work correctly in order, & in 'time'.

Best way to distance is with soft hands, soft arms as this will give you not only relaxed shoulders (hugely important to be able to get a complete 'body turn' in the backswing, but also retain all the muscles 'elasticity' their ability to contract & expand at speed necessary to move the club at the optimum speed possible to you. You really need a relaxed top half over a solid bottom half to be able to make a real good swing motion.

The swing importantly needs really to be thought of as the backswing being the part that puts you in a position to then fluidly swing down through impact collecting the ball on the face through to the swings real end, _a fully in balanced finish position_, that way you can accelerate the club head at the fastest speed your swing motion allows you to.
Club head speed, not hit hard, transfers through a centered connection to optimum ball speed, so distance.


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## Deleted Member 1156 (Mar 26, 2014)

There are in fact only 2 clubs that you should be hitting hard. Driver off the tee and 3 wood off the deck when maximum distance is required. In EVERY other situation, take more club and swing smoothly. Concentrate on hitting the ball BETTER, not HARDER.


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## Liverpoolphil (Mar 26, 2014)

I always find a smoother cleaner strike will go further than trying to knock the spots of the ball - more control and a better strike on the ball.


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## SGC001 (Mar 26, 2014)

Gareth said:



			This is a habit I, and I'm sure others fall into from time to time, trying to smash the cover off the ball!

When I start to do this, I, nearly always, question technique as opposed to the real issue of trying to hit the ball too hard.


Does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice as to how to remedy this?


Mucho kudos in advance :thup:
		
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I think it was Davis Love who would at times warm up starting at say 20% and then increasing perceived effort by about 10% at a time until he got to a level he could make good contact without sacrificing consistency / accuracy (whatever that perceived value was) and then play at that level. It's not a bad warm up routine, a lot struggle at the lower levels of effort due to flaws in the swing and as a bonus it's also considered a good way of making swing changes (divorcing the previously learned habit from it's natural tempo whilst forming a new one).

Hitting balls with feet together may also help with this issue as it places a premium on balance.

I think I can remember Nicklaus saying something along the lines as you can hit it as hard as you like as you pour the power on form the right spot (make your transition first), the top is a point of low momentum and it's a place people can go wrong and if you do it's hard to get back.

I always liked the quotes of something like effort is not power and you can only hit is as hard as you can turn (Edit found it: No amount of effort will produce more velocity than a player's maximum turning speed - Hebron). People who try and hit it hard often lose sequence.


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## CMAC (Mar 26, 2014)

Hal Sutton advocates taking a club that will get you to the back of the green, then it's easier to swing smoother.


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## One Planer (Mar 26, 2014)

CMAC said:



			Hal Sutton advocates taking a club that will get you to the back of the green, then it's easier to swing smoother.
		
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I like that :thup:


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## One Planer (Mar 27, 2014)

Not long back from the range.

Turns out my 80% perceived effort is more like 180% 

Made a conscious effort to swing smoother. Distance was down a little, but I felt much, much more control through the swing.

Onwards and upwards from here :thup:


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## Liverpoolphil (Mar 27, 2014)

Gareth said:



			Not long back from the range.

Turns out my 80% perceived effort is more like 180% 

Made a conscious effort to swing smoother. Distance was down a little, but I felt much, much more control through the swing.

Onwards and upwards from here :thup:
		
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Hopefully it could be a eureka moment for you mate - good luck :thup:


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## Alex1975 (Mar 27, 2014)

14 clubs, one target.... Just be target focused and you don't need to rip it.

I do tell my bro though, if you not ripping it are you really playing golf... however I am trying to win when I tell him so.


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## MadAdey (Mar 27, 2014)

Had a lesson last year and we used the trackman while doing it to look at different things. We spoke about optimizing my swing to get the balance between control and distance with my driver. He got me to hit 3 drives with a nice smooth steady swing and told me to rip the other 3. Obviously the 3 smooth ones had a tighter dispersal, but what I did not expect was the longest drive to be a smooth one, not a big old rip. 

When we looked at the video footage and the trackman to see the position of the club head at impact, my impact position was far better on the smooth swing, rather than the rip. What it showed was getting a good strike on the ball is more important than a getting a hard strike. I wish I could remember the figures, but the ripped shots average something like only 5 yards further, but none would have been on the fairway.


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## Evesdad (Mar 28, 2014)

This is what my pro has had me doing this year. So far so good, stopping the over swing on the way back and a smoother controlled swing on the way down. Distances have actually gone up and that's in winter conditions too. I've also consciously clubbed up to help.


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## SocketRocket (Mar 28, 2014)

Hitting the ball hard is always a mistake IMO.   Speed is important but hitting hard does not create optimum speed.

Trying to HIT the ball tends to create a casting motion that loses speed early in the downswing.  If you apply the clubhead speed towards the bottom of the downswing so that the club is speeding up as it sweeps through the ball then you will get better results. It's a bit like pushing a child on a swing, you increase the speed towards thelow point of the arc, if you pushed the swing from the top the swing would become unstable.

Forcing the motion also gets the kinematic sequence out of order which will leak swing speed.


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## Foxholer (Mar 28, 2014)

MadAdey said:



			Had a lesson last year and we used the trackman while doing it to look at different things. We spoke about optimizing my swing to get the balance between control and distance with my driver. He got me to hit 3 drives with a nice smooth steady swing and told me to rip the other 3. Obviously the 3 smooth ones had a tighter dispersal, but what I did not expect was the longest drive to be a smooth one, not a big old rip. 

When we looked at the video footage and the trackman to see the position of the club head at impact, my impact position was far better on the smooth swing, rather than the rip. What it showed was getting a good strike on the ball is more important than a getting a hard strike. I wish I could remember the figures, but the ripped shots average something like only 5 yards further, but none would have been on the fairway.
		
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Exactly what I found 10 years ago - and been my excuse for wafting ever since. Trackman/Flightscope et al are great for giving instant feedback. At my Driver fitting I swung 'optimallly' with a smooth flow (low 90s). At end of session decided to lay into one and all it was was a sub 90 heave with Smash Factor significantly less too! Lesson learned - swing better, not harder!


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## G_Mulligan (Mar 28, 2014)

I heard a quote from the SAS when they talk about changing magazines, clearing weapon jams etc.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. 

Wonder if they play much golf?


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## bobmac (Mar 28, 2014)

Make the first 18in of the downswing the same speed as the last 18in of the backswing


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## chrisd (Mar 28, 2014)

I spent the first 6 months of last year taking one club more to force a slower transition and it worked really well. Eventually I had to club correctly, as the smoother swing increased the distance hit, and the handicap reduced as a result


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## One Planer (Mar 28, 2014)

bobmac said:



			Make the first 18in of the downswing the same speed as the last 18in of the backswing
		
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Which is probably why I'm struggling of late as I'm trying to 'hit' the ball from the top. 

Better sequencing, along with better movement from the top will probably cure my ills.

Thanks for the replies :thup:


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## MadAdey (Mar 28, 2014)

Regarding swinging harder to hit if further. I have always just looked at the tour pros, if it was that simple then people like Luke Donald would just learn to swing harder, hit the ball and be untouchable. 

I think one of the realities you have to accept in golf is that everyone has an optimal they can hit the ball and keep control of it. Once you get there then that is it. Embrace it and move on and focus on the part of the game that actually gets you good scores.


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