I’ve been all over the place this last year with my contact consistency. Recently, it’s been “feeling” like I’ve been getting “good” contact (ball first, then turf and center of the face when using tape). Of course, it may be a misguided feel. But, I’ve noticed my distance has decreased dramatically even on these “well-struck” shots. I used to hit 8-iron ~150 and now it is going 125 at best. My driver is barely carrying 200. I have developed a fade ball flight recently which I know decreases distance but this much?
I know there’s probably a lot to work on, but just wondering if there’s anything in this swing that’s obvious that may be killing my distance?
Thanks in advance!
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@Sagar Patel - Nice to hear from you again!
Without getting into an actual review, which I reserve for my V1 Swing Video Analysis service, I would suggest a couple of possibilities:
1) The hitting mats are masking an impact condition that is less than ideal. Here are two tricks that can help you discern between crispy and soggy impact:
Get yourself an old hand towel and fold it in half. Place it no more than 2 inches behind your ball, thereby requiring you to miss the towel and make ball first contact on your downswing. As you improve, move the towel closer to the ball. The small thickness of a one-half folded towel will not impede your backswing takeaway.
If you can, put down a thick chalk line or some inexpensive spray foot powder on the mat about an inch in front of the ball. Try to hit the ball first and then the chalk or powder. The mark on the mat - or lack thereof - will give you instant visual feedback.
(Of course, the DivotBoard is a nifty training aid that is specifically designed for this.)
2) Something is amiss or has gotten loose in the basic mechanics of your swing. Your finish position indicates that you may have lost structure at some point. Compare your finish to the "stock" S&T finish in the pictures below. Revisiting Chapter 2 and then working and mastering Drill 2.8 can do wonders in this regard.
TS