Links

When you are hitting on the top of the ball you are swinging the clubhead too high above the ground at the moment of impact, so that the leading edge of the clubhead contacts above the middle of the ball. For good contact the sole of the clubhead needs to contact the ground under the ball. It does not need to dig into the ground, but it does need to at least touch it, so that the leading edge of the club is at the same level as the bottom of the ball at impact, or slightly lower if the ball is sitting up on some grass.

Making practice swings making sure that your clubhead does make contact with the ground even with the ball, is a good way to get the feeling of what you will want to happen when you hit the ball.

The "grass cutting" drill is also excellent at making this a habit.
Here is the link to the drill. --> http://www.naturalgolf.com/magazine/02-1-Instruction1_Grass.htm

Kirk

Hitting Fat:

Hitting fat is a sign that you are too close to the ball. Try standing a bit farther from the ball at address. Your arms and club are extending farther away from your body at impact then they were at address causing the club to hit the ground before the ball.

Also make sure that your weight is evenly balanced from front to back on the feet as well. Weight on the heels at address could cause your body to move towards the ball during the swing in order to keep your body on balance. This would put you closer to the ball at impact then you were at address, which could then also cause a fat shot when your arms naturally extend through the shot.

Kirk Junge

Make sure that the back of your left hand is facing the target at address. Compare the back of your left hand to the face of the club. Both should be facing the same direction.

Try to get comfortable with this grip by swinging without golf balls first. Practice putting your hands on the club, inside in front of a mirror until you get comfortable with it.

I would like you to setup with the driver on a floor with intersecting straight lines. Like a tile floor. Setup and then make sure that the clubface is exactly perpendicular to your body. Then look at the face and see if that is how it normally looks when you are playing on the golf course. For most people that I have had do this test, they have said the face looks closed when it is actually perfectly square. It seems to be an optical problem in that most (right handed) people aim the clubface and their bodies to the right of the target. Then in order to get the ball to go to the target they must manipulate the club face and/or swingpath during the swing. This is a major reason why so many people have a slicing problem.

If you find that the clubface is square at address, and that the ball is starting to the left of your target and then slicing back towards or past the target, then it is clear that your swing path is what is causing the slicing problem. You would have what is called an outside to inside swing path. In other words your clubhead is swinging to the left of your target at impact.

To change this habit you will need to focus on swinging the club in the proper direction. Since it is your habit to swing from outside the targetline to inside, you need to create a new habit. Practice swinging the club from inside to out, or to the right of the target. Do not focus on what your body is doing during the swing, focus on the direction that your club is swinging. I recommend that you make sixty slow motion practice swings per day, making sure that your path is from inside to outside. While the actual path that we desire would be one that comes from inside to the ball, and then moves back inside, practicing from inside to out will get you there faster. I would not recommend thinking about the path too much on the golf course, just make the swings at home for next few weeks and your problem will be corrected.

Kirk Junge
Natural Golf Teaching Professional
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
naturalgolfpro@aol.com