Point of contact: With ball position just inside of my left foot, my point of contact is at the ball or sadly behind the ball. I'm hitting the ground first or just picking the ball clean. Never a divot in front of the ball. This is especially problematic with wedges. What is the mistake that causes this, and what is the fix?
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One thing about this game is that no matter what level we get to we're always searching for....... another three yards, better impact, a tighter shot disbursement, higher/lower ball flight, more spin, less spin, etc... It's healthy to pause every now and then to appreciate the fruits of our commitment to constant improvement and just say to ourselves, "Ya know what? I've really come a long way these past several months. I'm hitting the ball crispier and longer, I've eliminated the banana ball and am actually occasionally seeing that push-draw that I was never able to hit previously, and I'm having a lot more fun out on the course."
I'm very glad to see you recognizing and enjoying YOUR improvements to-date, Larry, which have resulted from nothing less than you embracing the process and putting in the necessary time and hard work. Well done!!
Tom
Thank you Tom.
Im working on the V1 Swing Video
By the way, despite that problem, Im playing the best golf I have in years thanks to you.
Larry
@lwerboff - Let's start with the simple possibility of ball position and go from there as it sounds like it may be a bit too far forward for most of your clubs with the exception of the long irons and woods.
You have some leeway with ball position. I personally like the simplicity of keeping it consistent - two balls inside of the lead heel and adjusting the stance width depending on the length of the club. This works well for me and others. Alternatively, the Stack & Tilt book prescribes a stock ball position that is in the middle of the stance for short irons, two balls inside the lead heel for middle irons, and incrementally more forward for the longer clubs - the farthest forward being even with the inside of the lead heel for the driver (again, with the stance width increasing as we move from shorter to longer clubs). It's very important to use alignment sticks when monitoring ball position - one on the foot line, a second one parallel to the first to mark the target line, and a third perpendicular to these to show ball position. Make incremental tweaks to see how different positions affect impact quality and shot shape.
My next thought after ball position is that we need to make sure that your weight is sufficiently forward throughout the swing. You start with your weight forward (55/45 on the front side; 60/40 for the longer clubs), increase that same weight forward to the top of the backswing (70/30), and further increase the forward weight during the downswing from halfway down (80/20) through impact (90/10) and to the finish at 95/5 forward. If we don't get enough weight moving forward on the downswing while keeping our swing center intact, the low point can shift backwards resulting in tops, chunks, thins, pulls, etc. Chapter 2 of the Golf Swing Simplified course can be very helpful in this regard, and the drill in Lesson 2.8 offers a great means of building in consistently crispy impact.
Remember we can always arrange for an online lesson or V1 Swing Video Analysis if you're still challenged with this issue after spending some time on the above, or if you just prefer that I put my eyes on your swing now.
Thanks,
Tom