Tom James is a PGA Professional and Operations Manager at Leicester Golf Centre
Coming from winter into summer, you may find you have adapted your swing to strike the ball off sodden muddy lies by taking less ground (slightly thin) and getting less compression. Hey, nobody likes a face full of divot!!
Using the cheapest training aid ever (a piece of chalk) I will show you how we can strike the ball much better in any condition.
Picture 1 (above) – Here we have two lines drawn onto a practice mat. They are around 6” long and roughly a club head’s width apart. The first line will be drawn at your normal ball position with the line going towards you. The second line will be parallel but a club head width in front, nearer the target.
Picture 2 – As you can see in this picture, if your upper body stays behind the ball, then the low point (impact point) will be too far back. It will ultimately hit the ground well before the ball or thin the shot, as you have not shifted your weight back onto the front foot!
Picture 3 – Firstly, get a feeling for shifting the weight and moving the low point (impact point) forward. To achieve this you are going to address the club at the first chalk line and then swing with the intention of only hitting the second chalk line.
Picture 4 – Once the feeling is achieved, try placing a ball on the first chalk line and striking through the shot still focusing on erasing the second chalk line off the mat with your club head. This creates that ball turf sensation, the holy grail of ball striking!!
If you can master this you will be able to strike the ball better from any lie and potentially even gain a few yards from better weight distribution and compression. I hope this helps your 2022 season!!
Contact Tom with any lesson enquiries – tjames63@hotmail.co.uk
