Swing bottoming out and hitting ground before the ball

[jrsharp21]

All of a sudden I am having issues with my swing where I am bottoming out and hitting the ground behind the ball before hitting the ball.

This started on the course the other day. I went to the range to try to correct this. The result was me snapping the driver head off the shaft.

Any suggestions would be very very welcome.

[300Yards]

Are you keeping your head still?

[Bigvivec]

Originally Posted by jrsharp21

All of a sudden I am having issues with my swing where I am bottoming out and hitting the ground behind the ball before hitting the ball.

This started on the course the other day. I went to the range to try to correct this. The result was me snapping the driver head off the shaft.

Any suggestions would be very very welcome.

I suggest that you don't swing full power while working on swing changes until you see the plane...OUCH!!! Sorry about the shaft...you'll probably go through 3 months of topping the ball now pulling up out of the shot so as not to hit the ground...

Seriously though, my guess would be that it is a weight shift issue and to remedy that google golf weight shift for endless opinions on what you ought to be doing...bracing the right knee and focusing the weight on the inside edge of the right foot when shifting is a good way to start...

But then again I shot 105 today so what do I know...

[deronsizemore]

If you're hitting the ground before the ball there are usually two things that cause it.

1. You've got a reverse pivot and you have your weight on your back leg/foot on the downswing. With your weight there, you have no choice but to either hit behind it, or top it.

2. The ball may be to far forward in your stance. Your swing is bottoming out before it gets to the ball, so simply moving the ball back in your stance a little, maybe just left of your chin (for a right hander) will be better.

Or...it could be a combo of the two things.

As always with golf, there could be a million things that are causing this, but these are the most common

[jrsharp21]

Thanks guys. I may try to hit up a range that you hit off actuall grass than a mat today and see if I cant try to correct some things. I think I am done hitting off mats for a long long time.

[deronsizemore]

Mats are TERRIBLE. They really hide your flaws. If you're hitting behind the ball on mats, as you are, the club will hit the mat and then bounce up and hit the ball still giving the impression that you hit a good shot. When you're on the course, the club doesn't bounce, it just digs into the ground. I almost never hit off of mats. It takes pretty good feel to determine the shot you just hit was actually good or not from mats.

[huskyhater]

VERY true about hitting off of mats. I put a net up so I could hit off a mat in my basement and guess what-my game all of a sudden *****! 104, 87, 83, 85 are my last four scores. And I'm all of a sudden hitting behind the ball too. I found out that I was overswinging, smoothed it out and yesterday (the 85 score) I hit the ball better than I scored. Also I talked to the pro at the course I played yesterday and he said to never hit off of mats-they will make bad swings into decent shots. I think I might take the 'driving range' out of the basement.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by deronsizemore

Mats are TERRIBLE. They really hide your flaws. If you're hitting behind the ball on mats, as you are, the club will hit the mat and then bounce up and hit the ball still giving the impression that you hit a good shot. When you're on the course, the club doesn't bounce, it just digs into the ground. I almost never hit off of mats. It takes pretty good feel to determine the shot you just hit was actually good or not from mats.

I used to think the same way but with the new mats that are out there today, I actually PREFER them to a grass range.

Now the old mats which were just cheap indoor/outdoor carpet on top of what seemed like a 1/4-inch of rubber were truly garbage and they could actually damage your clubs or your body. But the new mats actually look and feel like real grass.

The mats at the range I frquent are very plush but also very firm. They have thousands (millions?) of synthetic grass blades and when I stike an iron shot they "give" just like real turf and the only thing missing is the divot. The rest of the range, (the fake greens) is just your standard-issue lime green astroturf but even with Srixon range balls, I have "backed up" many a wedge shot on those "faux greens" hitting from the new mats.

The feedback is the same as real turf and I can tell in a nanosecond whether or not I've struck the ball properly. I have no trouble whatsoever transitioning from mats to turf either. In fact, prior to my Texas trip, all I ever hit from was mats but in Texas, just about every course has a grass range and I adjusted to grass in literally three swings. I'm hitting my irons more crisply than I ever have before and I believe that the mats at my local range have a lot to do with that (along with working on my turn and weight shift).

Don't get me wrong, I love to hit off real turf, but there are really only two natural grass ranges near me and both are at least a half-hour's drive from my house so they're not usually my first choice when I want to nip out to the range for a quick bucket. Also, many grass ranges are so sandy that after a few swings I begin to dig myself in and actually start to have problems with footing. With mats, the footing is always the same and I'm free to really work on my swing rather than spend time looking for more level ground.

Mats used to be a real pain to deal with, but technology once again comes to the rescue!


-JP

[tour_insider]

Is it your driver you're bottoming out with before you hit the ball? If that's the case, the ball could be too far back in your stance.

Tons of amateurs play the ball with their driver in the same place they play their irons - the middle of their stance. Problem is, in order to hit the ball there with a driver, you will have to reverse pivot and/or come wicked steep into the ball. Result: pop-ups or hitting the ground before the ball.

If it's your driver, check to see that the ball is off the inside of your left heel.

[jrsharp21]

Originally Posted by tour_insider

Is it your driver you're bottoming out with before you hit the ball? If that's the case, the ball could be too far back in your stance.

Tons of amateurs play the ball with their driver in the same place they play their irons - the middle of their stance. Problem is, in order to hit the ball there with a driver, you will have to reverse pivot and/or come wicked steep into the ball. Result: pop-ups or hitting the ground before the ball.

If it's your driver, check to see that the ball is off the inside of your left heel.

I do play my ball up with the inside of my left foot.

[tour_insider]

It could also be from standing too close to the ball, but I'm just guessing at this point.

[titaniummd]

I find that with maintaining the spine angle to help with my swing plane which has virtually eliminated the fat shots. When I deviate from setting it up the same way every time, it is fat.