Let’s Get the Golf ball in the air!
After a swing, everyone likes to watch the ball fly high, far and fairly straight. At least I hope you do!
Getting the ball in the air requires fairly solid contact. You can mishit your shot and still get some height on the ball but there are two major benefits to striking the ball in the center of the face:
1. DISTANCE – The ball goes further when it runs into the center of the club face. You can lose quite a bit of distance when the ball strikes the toe, heel or bottom of the club face.
The objective is NOT to hit the ball far but to hit the ball consistently so that distance is predictable.
If a solid 7 iron goes 100 yards, a thin 7 iron will go 80-90 yards (or shorter). That difference in yardage results in a MUCH longer putt, a ball in the bunker or a chip onto the green. And all of that adds up to extra shots.
2. HEIGHT – Thin shots (those hit on the bottom couple grooves of the club face instead of the center) go lower than solid shots. You want your ball to fly pretty high, particularly on your approach shots. A high shot stops when it lands on the green. A low shot runs off the back of the green. If you habitually hit low shots then you want to adjust and land the ball short of the green so that it stops rolling on the putting surface. Rolling or bouncing the ball onto the green works but is limited and dependent on good bounces, dry conditions in front of the green, course design that leaves an opening for the ball to roll, and straight shots.
Keep in mind that ball height is great as long as you are not losing distance.
There is a point where the ball goes TOO high. If your ball flies super high but not far, that is a sign of an impact issue that needs to be addressed. But…that is for another day.
So let’s get the ball in the air…easier said than done, right?
There can be a number of different reasons WHY you struggle to get the ball in the air consistently.
BUT it all starts with having ONE OBJECTIVE over the ball. If you focus on this one thought, you will have much more success, consistency and solid shots.
What is it?
Check out the video below.
You can do this!
Kathy Hart Wood
Do you top the ball a lot?
Download this infographic on 5 Reasons Why You Top the Ball and how to fix it.