# Hitting down to compress!



## Morecambe hacker (Oct 16, 2012)

Hi all

I'm wanting to learn in the colder months ready for next year to be able to hit more down on the ball to fully compress also to transfer more weight onto the left side to get the most from my iron play and hopefully start to make a divot as I tend to stay to central and scoop 9/10! Direction wise I'm happy either straight or a slight draw so my question is if I learn to transfer my weight more will the correct compression of ball and divot follow? I understand that when you transfer weight properly the club will shallow out after the ball so am I right to believe weight transfer correctly and the divot/full compression of ball will follow? Obviously with correct ball placement???

Many thanks for advice in advance


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## Piece (Oct 16, 2012)

Be mindful of two things: swaying and getting stuck on the downswing! I have a best friend trying to do this now and it has affected his ball striking (in a bad way) for a good few months now. It will improve, but be warned it may take time....


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## G1BB0 (Oct 16, 2012)

Bobby Clampett wrote a book called the Impact Zone (if I remember rightly)

my old pro had me working on this, its easier to work on taking a divot 1st, get some spray or scrape a line in the grass then practice taking a divot after the line, 2-4 inches is about right I believe, maybe do 2 or 3 then line a ball up and do the same. I didnt stick to it and scoop the ball still but its a drill I am going back to over the Winter.

Also, before James (JustOne) gets here, stack and tilt also promotes this (something I am going to incorporate as get my weight stuck on the back foot)

I might have to book James for a morning lol.


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## bobmac (Oct 16, 2012)

One way to achieve this is to increase the angle of attack. That will have the affect of moving the bottom of the arc further forward helping you to take the divot after the ball.
I'd suggest you try the following drill with your wedges to start with and then moving up to your 9,8 and 7 as you progress.
Set up 2 balls as in the video below and hit your target ball without hitting the back ball.

[video=youtube;bJ2oBmW37eY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ2oBmW37eY&amp;feature=BFa&amp;list=PL7Uf2W3sfvqY  BJ3OUldKvQT7ZWYEmPOyW[/video]


That will help you get the feel of moving your weight onto your front foot without getting too bogged down with the technicalities of what you are trying to do.


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## CMAC (Oct 16, 2012)

The tour striker club seems to be popular to promote that kind of a strike- never tried it myself


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## Birchy (Oct 16, 2012)

I dont take much of a divot with my shots really. Is this something that could hold me back in the future? Ive never really thought it was a problem.


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## G1BB0 (Oct 16, 2012)

Bobmac I have a feeling that was one of the drills the pro gave me when we started working on my ball striking... didnt work for me cos I am a lazy git and didnt put the practice in.

thanks for the vid, will use that myself :thup:


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## Oddsocks (Oct 16, 2012)

as a fellow scooper with a poor ball flight, this is exactly what i was working on in my lesson last week. as a drill the pro suggested:

Placing 2 tee pegs in a line about 8 inches apart, 

image a line between these tee pegs would be where the ball is sitting.

hitting down steeply should mean that the balls is hit on the down stroke, with the club contacting the floor about 3-4 inches infront as suggested by gibbo, but i have gone to the real extreme of 5/6 inches.

Ive been working on the 5-6 inch extreme as a way of ingraining the downward positive impact position, but out on the course it ends up more like 3-4 inches. 

it also turned out that as a rule i was letting my hips get aheads of the houlders at impact, as a drill he had me address the ball, move the shoulders towards the target until the training foot started to lift, square the clubface to the target line and hit 1/2 punch shots from this position.  it amazed me that a 1/2 punch 7i from this position would go as far as a pured 7i from the weaker original position. yes its a work in progress but distances are already well up and striking is alot more consistent.  the only thing i have to watch is still letting the hips get in front from this position... it gets bloody interesting from there :thup:


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## SocketRocket (Oct 16, 2012)

G1BB0;  Clampetts book was 'Hit Down Dammit'

OP;  Bob's two ball drill is a good one.   I also like a two ball drill where you place a ball around four inches infront of the addressed ball and make sure you hit both balls. This encourages you to hit down and forward which will improve ball compression.  When practising on grass you can place a short tee pushed down in the grass infront of the ball and try to hit the tee out.


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## G1BB0 (Oct 16, 2012)

lol


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## Oddsocks (Oct 16, 2012)

not wanting to complicate thing but ive found this also helps. i find with my own habbit of scooping, comes from letting my hips get ahead meaning compression is near on impossible, if you look at the finish of this video, hes shoulders are over the top of the hips, this is something im working on ATM, when its right, the power gain is massive, 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySwyKwsWL0k


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## G1BB0 (Oct 16, 2012)

the power loss is very true, I have lost a club at least since I went back to scooping.

lesson booked for end of the month, must sort out this iffy swing and sha...


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## Morecambe hacker (Oct 16, 2012)

Thanks for all your input peeps, very much appreciated.

Will try all the mentioned drills when next at the range


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## Oddsocks (Oct 16, 2012)

Mr S&M also forwarded these links by pm which im finding really helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2VKacwXr_w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WheTnQixPXY


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## Foxholer (Oct 16, 2012)

Transfer of weight and good ball-striking - the ball gets compressed however you hit it, so I avoid that expression, though it can be a useful thought - are two independent activities in my book.

Indeed, the advocates of Stack and Tilt would (pretty convincingly imo) argue that better ball-striking happens if you don't transfer weight (much anyway)! It certainly promotes a downward strike/steeper (angle of) attack.

However, if you are a weight-shift swinger, as most of us are, then it's the timing of the weight shift and of the strike that are the key to good ball-striking imo. Even those of us prone to swaying can get success by getting everything in sync timing-wise.

Check out Pete Cowen's 'Spiral Staircase' swing method for how to do things more powerfully and better - with 'coil' rather than 'weight transfer'.


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## JustOne (Oct 16, 2012)

Without getting into any intricacies of the swing (or even remotely referring to Stack & Tilt) if you look at the video below (which Oddsocks posted) the guy doesn't transfer any weight onto his right leg, he can't, his feet are together. The backswing is a COIL. All the action comes from the downswing and getting into the left side... preferably with the hands leading (some forward shaft lean) as per the other video Oddsocks posted with the impact bag.... this is the BASICS of a golf swing and *everyone* should start from here.

[video=youtube;WheTnQixPXY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WheTnQixPXY[/video]

Some good vids posted in this thread, covering the ball is also a good one as it makes you understand what is happening when you fall backwards off the ball or try to scoop it.. same for the impact bag drill :thup:


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## bobmac (Oct 17, 2012)

this is the BASICS of a golf swing and *everyone* should start from here.
		
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At impact my 5 iron shaft is virtually straight up and down and I managed to get a respectable handicap
Having the shaft leaning forward at impact is not essential to play good golf
Those of you who teach yourself should be very careful when trying to increase the shaft angle as it often results in the swing becoming more out to in causing the slice/pull/duff


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## Oddsocks (Oct 17, 2012)

bobmac said:



			At impact my 5 iron shaft is virtually straight up and down and I managed to get a respectable handicap
Having the shaft leaning forward at impact is not essential to play good golf
*Those of you who teach yourself should be very careful when trying to increase the shaft angle as it often results in the swing becoming more out to in causing the slice/pull/duff*

Click to expand...


It's funny you say that, I notice the ones I effectively get right all have left pointing divots


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## socky (Oct 17, 2012)

DarthVega said:



			The tour striker club seems to be popular to promote that kind of a strike- never tried it myself
		
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These are really good, very disconcerting watching your ball scuttle along the ground. Great feeling when you manage to start hitting the ball properly.

For me the thought that gets me hitting down, is feel like im leading the club with the back of my left hand in to impact. Might not help you but it helps me.


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## JustOne (Oct 17, 2012)

Oddsocks said:



			It's funny you say that, I notice the ones I effectively get right all have left pointing divots
		
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Your divots are MEANT TO point a little left, you've already hit the ball and the club impacts the ground afterwards when it's returning to the inside :thup: If your divots are pointing to the right then typically you are singing out too much. Straight/a little left would be considered roughly ideal.


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## JustOne (Oct 17, 2012)

bobmac said:



			At impact my 5 iron shaft is virtually straight up and down and I managed to get a respectable handicap
		
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Well done you! :clap:





bobmac said:



			Having the shaft leaning forward at impact is not essential to play good golf
		
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Having the shaft leaning forwards even 1 degree is preferable to having it leaning backwards. I 'heard' that 7 degrees forward shaft lean is optimal... I'll pretend that it wasn't Robert Rock who I wasn't discussing that with


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## SocketRocket (Oct 17, 2012)

Some of the golf videos on the web explain that we need a forward leaning shaft at impact and demonstrate an impact position with the shaft leaning at something like 20/30 degrees.  This is not correct and gives gofers the wrong impression of what they should be doing.

The shaft has a natural forward lean built into it's design when the sole is grounded and the angle gets less as the club gets longer.   If you allow your hands to get too far ahead it has the effect of opening the clubface (try it) and also makes it more likely that you will hit fat and thin shots.

Here is a typical one:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0s6zjfszww&feature=related


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## Slime (Oct 22, 2012)

G1BB0 said:



			Get some spray or scrape a line in the grass then practice taking a divot after the line.

 Stack and Tilt also promotes this.
		
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Watch this, I'm sure it will help,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5UAZHeoDc

It is a video of Mike Bennett who co-wrote this book with Andy Plummer.






*The Stack and Tilt Swing: The Definitive Guide to the Swing That Is Remaking Golf.*

I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

*Slime*.


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## JustOne (Oct 22, 2012)

Tommy Gainey at impact.... [click picture to enlarge]





Apparently he just won a few quid  ...... and had a putt for a 59!!!!



(note the angle between his right forearm and the clubshaft)


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## SocketRocket (Oct 22, 2012)

JustOne said:



			Tommy Gainey at impact.... [click picture to enlarge]

View attachment 3206



Apparently he just won a few quid  ...... and had a putt for a 59!!!!



(note the angle between his right forearm and the clubshaft)
		
Click to expand...

His club shaft is not leaning that far forward, it's more the way his spine tilts back that makes it look that way.  You did suggest that 7 deg was optimal a few posts ago James.

I still suggest that the forward lean designed with each club is the way it's meant to be used.


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## JustOne (Oct 22, 2012)

SocketRocket said:



			You did suggest that 7 deg was optimal a few posts ago James.
		
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And I stand by that 



I lined up Gainey at address and impact with the tee marker... see how much his knee gets close to it, and his hands at impact...[click picture to enlarge].... they both move a pretty impressive distance.





As bizarre as his swing looks he's still following all the basic principles of a decent golf swing. His hands are forward, the club is descending (with amazing lag), his head remains back and his spine angle (away from the target) is a result of the hips moving laterally towards the target. He also has amazing extension through the ball to the finish.


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