Hit Down on It Drill – Stop Hitting it Fat!

As a kid, I heard the saying ‘hit down on the ball to make it get airborne’ many times. I’m sure many of you have heard it yourselves. The whole concept of hitting down on the ball was quite a difficult thing to understand. I’m sure that to this day many of you think that …

headcover drill fix fat shots

As a kid, I heard the saying ‘hit down on the ball to make it get airborne’ many times. I’m sure many of you have heard it yourselves. The whole concept of hitting down on the ball was quite a difficult thing to understand. I’m sure that to this day many of you think that scooping your wrists is the best way to get the ball airborne. The truth is scooping your wrists creates inconsistency and a lack of distance.

After many years of teaching the game, I can relate to my students who have problems with this concept. They key to getting the ball airborne (not to mention, with spin) when using your irons is to trap it between the club and the ground at impact. The loft of the club will do the work getting the ball into the air.

To try and encourage more of a downward blow into impact, try this headcover drill. Place a headcover a foot or so back of your ball at address. Force yourself to make your swing a little more upright on the backswing and downswing, and you will get into a better position at impact.

You will learn very quickly what it takes to get your golf ball airborne with proper technique.

5 thoughts on “Hit Down on It Drill – Stop Hitting it Fat!”

  1. Gotta give that drill a try – thanks for posting it. I still have a lot of trouble hitting down on the ball if it’s on the ground – I do much better off of a tee. This looks like it’s worth a try.

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  2. Bad Swing Thought: “Hitting down on the ball” Rather one swings through the ball. The low point of the swing happens to be after impact, which leads to a process of hitting down. But the mental image of hitting down encourages the idea of hitting the ball like a hammer, which causes an excessive use of the right hand at impact hitting down. Rather the right hand sweeps through the lower part of the swing, and the ball happens to get in the way. Would you agree with this latter image?

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  3. I find that being aware of the butt of the club and trying to hit the ball with the butt as the shaft returns on the downswing helps me to hit down on the ball.

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