golfrewind.com

Okay so I am new to golf basically. Some goofing around before, but that wasn't much. When I play I cannot get my iron shoots off the ground or top it. I am not familiar with all the speak as of yet. Some of the guys I have been playing with are rather good. They keep telling me to hit down into the ball. This feels unatural body wise to me I guess you could say.

I would go take some lessons here, but they are rather expensive (40 dollars for 30 minutes) and I just don't have the kind of money. Any clues to help me with these shots. After I get this on fixed I will talk to you about my drivers. Boy now that is a whole nother story in itself.

Sink a tee about a ball and a half behind the ball slightly protruding from the ground, maybe closer, just use your judgement. Hit the ball, not the tee...divot should be past the ball.

Shade

Take your 9-iron ('hitting down effects' are stronger for the higher numbered irons) and set the clubhead on the ground with the flat sole flat on the ground. The grip end will lean towards the target, so your hands will be ahead of the clubhead. Now put a ball just in front of the clubface. When the club swings through the clubhead will reach the bottom of its trajectory not at the moment of impact with the ball, but after impact, taking a bite (divot) out of the turf. If you learn to setup and use the clubs the way they were designed, you don't have to do anything special to hit down on the ball.

This article is an introduction on setup:

Golf Setup Position - Step by Step Guide to Proper Golf Setup

I hope this helps.

I will give it a shot at the driving range tomorrow and let you know how everything goes. Thanks guys.

Hitting down on the ball is the most confusing thing for beginners and leads to the over the top swing from trying to chop down onto the ball.

It has to do with the natural arc of the swing. If you are properly set up, the bottom of your swind arc will be just inside your left instep of the leading foot. You simple play the ball just an inch or twon behind that point so you hit the ball while the club is still travelling downward to the bottom of the natural swing arc. When done properly you impact the ball just before the swing bottoms out and takes a divot in front of the ball.

Here is my only swing thought: I look at the area just an inch ahead of the ball, not the ball itself, and aim for that point and take a divot. The ball just happens to get in the way of a good swing.

There's some great advice and tips here, but I always remember what I heard Lee Trevino say once. I can't remember the exact quote, but he said that he just always thought about hitting down on the top of the ball and trying to mash the ball into the ground.

- Bama

Thank everyone for the help. I went and played today with a buddy and tried to concentrate on improving my hits rather than how far I could hit it. I did do much better and was not frustrated when I came home. Now keep in mind not everything I hit was perfect but, I did have some nice shots. I will continue to work on this as everyone has said. Thanks again.

For me my swing thought is to hit the ball forward and down, instead of pinching it immediately down. After awhile it will become second nature.

Think of: When hitting your irons, you're trying to hit the ball out of a teacup. = Steeper

When hitting your woods, you're trying to hit the ball out of a saucer. = Flatter

straightshooter is so right when he directs you to work on your setup. Understanding the setup will make it much easier for you to "hit down" on the ball. All aspects of the setup are important but ball position and posture may be the two things to look at more closely to help your problem. In setup your higher irons 7 through the wedges should noticeably lean forward putting your hands ahead of the ball at the end of the grip. When you make contact with the ball, the club should come back to that exact same position. Keep those hands ahead of the club head. Look at the "spine line" of the side view of the posture in the link that straightshooter gave you. Try to keep the spine line constant throughout your swing. Don't raise up or dip down. Good luck.