Proctor Ford

Eric R

If you are serious about learning how to hit down on the ball then you need to do yourself a favor and get yourself a Tour Striker.  Best training aid to force you to hit down on the ball, otherwise you'll just roll the ball.
 

I got one of these last week and am really working with it. I realized I wasn't hitting down on it when I killed a bird with a worm burner... When I do hit this well it does wonders and it does force you to shift your weight a bit earlier. I highly recommend the tour striker. I got the 7 iron pro.

Ps: before tour striker I hit my 7 iron 150 and after tour striker I hit it 170 ... 20 yard gain...

 

told you bro, since I started going to Akins, my 150 club went from well struck 7 iron to light 8 or well struck 9 iron. Compression is the key to golf.

There is a lot of good advice here already. Like others have said the key to pinching the ball is proper weight shift and knowing where the bottom of your swing is. However, I don't like the term "hitting down" on the ball. I have seen more than a couple of good players ruin their swing from being obsessed over hitting down. The key, IMO, is to realize that you are merely pinching the ball between the clubface and turf for a very brief moment in time. . A visual cue that I use when practicing is picturing a long nail which goes through the ball, entering about 3 dimples below the equator and enters the ground a few inches ahead of the ball. If I were to use geometry to explain this I would say the angle of attack that is created is about 20 degrees. Here is a drill I use to groove my impact. I put a line down on the grass, yarn works pretty good. I place the ball directly on the line and hit shots until I hit 50 balls consecutively in which my club takes a divot in front of the line. If I either hit the line or fail to take a divot I start over at zero.

When u reach the peak of ur backswing make sure that the bottom side of ur left hand is driving down towards the ball. Almost like ur pulling down with ur left arm. Then the key is to continue this motion and stay down and steady through impact. Make sure after impact that those hands drive through towards ur target. Use ur wedge to practice on the range and ensure ur divot is straight or slightly outward to verify good swing plane

Hi Phillip,

I know just the cure! Choke up on your club down to the bottom of the grip (this drill is best done with a shorter club, it's easier to change your swing with a shorter club), then address the ball as you would. Make sure you are still in your same stance, and keep the club hovering in the air. When you hit a few balls, you'll understand the feeling of hitting down on the ball. Keep going until it's habitual. After you get good at that, hit a couple of balls with a normal grip. Many people may tell you to play the ball off your back toe and trap the ball with a huge divot. It's very inconsistent and will hurt you in the end. This drill will shave strokes off your rounds and you'll hold many more greens.

-Nunzio