Trying to hit the ball too hard!!

[One Planer]

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

I like that :thup:

 

[One Planer]

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:

 

[Deleted member 15344]

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:

Hopefully it could be a eureka moment for you mate - good luck :thup:

 

[Alex1975]

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.

 

[MadAdey]

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.

 

[Evesdad]

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.

 

[SocketRocket]

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.

 

[Foxholer]

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.

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!

 

[G_Mulligan]

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?

 

[bobmac]

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

 

[chrisd]

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

 

[One Planer]

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

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:

 

[MadAdey]

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.