FORE! (If you yell this a lot, try a lesson!) Can you hit this thing right every time?

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Golf Swing

 
THREE TEES TO STOP TOPPING (Jason Carbone)
One of the biggest problems in golf is that most problems cannot be solved logically. For instance, when the ball curves to the right, why can't we swing more to the left to fix it?  When we pop up a drive, why shouldn't we just tee the ball lower?  Those fixes seem logical, but actually, they are exactly opposite of the correct cure. Topped shots, balls that just roll along the ground and never get in the air, can be cured in the same
counter-intuitive manner as all the other faults. WHEN THE BALL STAYS DOWN ON THE GROUND, WE NEED TO SWING THE CLUB ON A MORE DESCENDING PATH. Seems illogical, but typically true. Most people that hit the top of the ball, do so because they are trying to lift or scoop the ball off the turf.  If this
seems like a problem that you occasionally run into, try this simple exercise, and you will begin to see that ball fly higher and higher.

The people that make golf grips are very smart. They leave that little hole in the top of the grip just so we can do this simple drill. Start out with tees. Place one in that hole on top of the grip of you seven iron so 1/2
of it sticks out. Place a ball on a tee and put it in the ground so only 1/4 to 1/2 inch is above the ground.  Finally pick out a target in the distance. This is important because we need to establish a target line.  A
target line is an imaginary line that extends from our target back through our golf ball (or tee in this case).  Once you have selected a target, picture an imaginary line running from the target back through the golf
ball, and extending 6 feet behind the ball or tee. Place a third tee in the ground 6 feet behind the ball directly on this imaginary target line.

Once you have the ball on a tee, another tee 6 feet behind the ball and in line with your target, and a final tee in the hole on top of the grip, you are ready to begin. Set up to the ball on the ground and make 5 practice
back swings trying to get the tee in your grip to point down to the tee 6 feet behind the ball. Your back swing will only be 3/4 in length, and the club will be be held at a slight angle. THE CLUB SHOULD NOT POINT
VERTICALLY DOWN TOWARD YOUR SHOES, NOR SHOULD IT POINT HORIZONTALLY OUT AT
THE HORIZON.  If done correctly, when the tee in the club points to the tee on the ground, the club will automatically be in a perfect position to attack the golf ball.

Now for the hard part. After you have made 5 practice back swings, go ahead and make another 3/4 swing, but this time continue forward and try contacting the ball. YOUR ONLY GOAL IN THE DOWNSWING IS TO CHOP THAT TEE UNDER THE BALL IN HALF, OR MAKE IT JUMP OUT OF THE GROUND. If you clip the
tee that is under the ball, the ball will go in the air. If you swing and miss the tee that the ball is resting on, most likely you are still making a swing that would produce topped shots.

This concept of swing down to make the ball go up is not always easy to grasp. If you are unable to clip the tee out of the ground when a ball is on top, back down to a more manageable task. Take the ball away and just practice making a simple swing that allows you to clip only the tee out of the ground. Once you can knock 7-10 tees out in a row, then place a ball on top and resume the exercise. Before you know it, more and more balls will get airborne, and the gophers and squirrels will no longer be in danger. If you continue having trouble, feel free to send me an email, and we can discuss ways to get you back to enjoying this great game.