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What is the best way to make solid contact, that is to ensure the ball is hit by the sweet spot as often as possible? I have had problems throughout my years of playing golf with toe and heel hits. When I hit it pure, there is no way to describe how good it feels but that does not happen often enough.

ace, not to sound too flip about it, but that's pretty much what everyone wants. No one intentionally is hitting shanks or toe hits or tops or fats.

If it was as simple as posting something on an Internet forum, then I think that everyone would know how to do it, and then this game wouldn't be as hard as it is (and probably not as much fun, either!).

The best answer is probably practice. More practice and smarter practice. Other than that, I don't think that there is any real answer to this question. This question is basically the entire game of golf... certainly everything until you get to the green, anyway.

edited for spelling

He's right, we all want that, but I'll go a bit deeper. First, make sure that your left arm is striaght at impact, this is crucial for solid contact. Let your, in fact force, your left arm and club to make one striaght line to the ball. Keep a slight forward press with you irons and even or slighty behind on your driver, but still a straight line from shoulder to clubhead. And grip it tightly too, I know you have probably been told the opposite many times, but try a tighter grip and see what happens. Remember that the game of golf is much more about geometry and angles than most people even think about. So instead for constant practice, and some experimentation to your routine. experiment, learn, and impliment.

I agree with Bignose. He is right. The only addition I might add would be, if you really swing hard at the ball, say from 80-100% of your capability slow it down and you will make more consistent contact on the sweet spot. You know...like those lay ups that always go further than you expect.

Just grip it and rip it.

and hope for the best

- John Daly

I really disagree with this. The reason you don't want a tight grip is because a tight grip increases tension in the hands and arms and tension absolutely kills speed. If you are tense, there is very little flow and "allowing" of the club and arms and hands to release.

Now, that's not to say that a tight grip cannot work for some people. Like a lot of things in golf, there are no absolutes. It is worth a try, but there is a very, very good reason why so many teachers advocate loose grips. I wouldn't expect this to fix a lot of the problems and may lead to other issues.

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Now that I've thought on it some more, to answer the OP, the best way is probably to take a lesson and pay for the professional guidance and advice. For almost everybody, it is the quickest way to the most significant improvement.

One dependable aspect of the golf swing is you will always get a variety of answers to a question such as yours. Here's mine: Start square, keep it square, and return it square. Assign to the hands/arms the function of maintaining position, not powering the swing, using the large muscles of the torso to swing the club. The primary cause of inconsistant hits as you describe is attempting to manipulate the hands/arms into some predetermined position. The small muscles in the arms cannot possibly hit the ball consistently unless they are driven by the large core muscles of the torso. It may help to read the "wrist hinge" thread posted by Ehien.

There is not one possible right answer to this question...it's like asking how do I become a scratch player...

Pick up a golf book and do everything exactly as written...then you have it...

To pick out one thing while leaving out the rest is useless...the only answer that holds water is that you need to practice, and practice, and practice some more...then you need to hit chips and pitches until you wear out two sets of similar wedges, and then you need to practice some more...and just practicing isn't enough...you will need the guidance of a professional from time to time, and you will experience setbacks...golf isn't a progressive learning curve...just look at David Duval...it is a funny game that really is more about the journey than the destination, since it will always seem that once you have something down, something else disappears in your game...my advice to you is to develop solid fundamentals with the help of a professional...stance, posture, preshot routine, balance, takeaway, top position, tempo, grip, ball position determination and then when things go funny you will have a foundation to fall back on...the rest; uneven lies, bunkers, uphill, downhill, sidehill, rough of different heights and textures, distance control, trajectory control, knockdowns, punches, cuts, hooks, bump n runs, hop and stop pitches and flops that land like a butterfly with sore feet are just some of the areas to work on outside of the basics...it is a complex and frustrating game which is part of the attraction, but the short answer to your question is that there is no short answer...

I second this post. If you hadn't written this, I would have!

Obviously, there is no single way to master solid contact and taking lessons is an obvious way to achieve it. I did not ask the question in the right way. What is your personal secret for better contact?
I recently found one, which is to align my hands directly under my chin at address. This recently enabled me to make purer contact. If they are more towards my Adam's apple, I hit more towards the heel. Thought it would be an interesting question to solicit individual preferences.

I don't understand the skepticism here ... consistent pure contact is very simple.

All you need is ...

Perfect balance, a pure swing plane, good timing and club release, a consistent spine angle, and a good follow through.

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