Just the Thought can DO IT!
John Walowac asked a question concerning hitting down on the ball, mentioning that all the pros take divots.
I have been told by hundreds of golfers, men and women, kids and seniors, that when they began playing golf and an iron was put into their hands, the first thing they were taught was to 'HIT DOWN ON THE BALL.' Some tell me they were told to pound the ball into the ground. Before I make any comments on hitting down or swinging up, the following responses from readers of the Daily Lesson to John's question/comment are really great and informative and merit being reviewed here in the starting position.
To John Walowac :
They do 'hit down' ' the question is really – -how much down? If you read SURGE's teachings carefully, he is advocating 'less down' (almost flat at impact) than is the current vogue on tour.
IF you have well manicured, well tended fairways, and IF you are YOUNG and STRONG, the 'big divot' will work. However, creating the divot wastes energy that could be better employed in moving the ball.
However, IF your fairways are 'less than pristine' then you must hit a shallow divot.. I learned to play on fairways with very thin turf (about 1/4 inch) over a hard pan clay base ' almost like concrete!
Take two to three 'big divots' on those fairways and your next stop was the hospital for new wrists, elbows or shoulders ' perhaps all three. One soon learned to play iron shots more like most instructors teach for fairway woods ' that is to 'just nip' the ball from the grass.
Noel says:
The shallow divot is taken after the ball is on its trajectory to the target. It does not impede the follow through. The only way anyone is going to master this is by practice, practice, and more practice. Sure, pros take divots all the time, but they're always following through aren't they? They finish 'up.'
Barry says:
Man! Where were you, when I needed you? When I first started to swing a club, I would never take a divot. I couldn't for some reason. Yet, I was able to eventually break 90. When golf became a popular TV pastime, I saw divots galore, and I felt I had to get me some of those divots. Well, with instruction, I learned how to take divots, sometimes deep divots you could park a truck in. Do you know what happened? Right! My shoulders, elbows and wrists, individually or in various combinations, hurt, and my score went south. These days, it is unusual for me to break 100. Then, you come along and I learn that I was doing just fine in the beginning, probably should have stayed with it. I feel reborn, thanks to you, Rev Surge.
Louis says:
Re hitting down on the ball – anyone who learned the game in countries that suffer frost in winter would
be well aware that that is the incorrect & very painful way to hit a ball!
The Surge says:
Great observations and input of personal experiences from students really add more meaning to any discussion. The teacher teaches. The key is what do the students learn and how do they learn it and relate to it. Student feedback tells the teacher the success of the lesson. Their comments are powerful learning messages for the teacher and other students.
The PPGS principle of 'Swing UP to the T ' Finish' versus hitting down on the ball is, for many golfers, a radical thought to wrap their mind and game around. After all, hitting down is such a mandated and necessary part to impact has been taught for so long. But saying, teaching and doing something for a real long time doesn't necessarily mean it is best or correct. It is just doable. The key to getting better, improving and learning, is keeping an open mind and learning new concepts and adjusting when they are correct and or better. Swinging up is one of these new, revolutionary concepts. Swinging up is simply based on two points.
The first is gravity, which is defined as, 'The pull on all bodies in the earth's sphere toward the earth's center.' Simply put, everything on this earth is constantly being pulled downward. 'What goes up, must come back down.' DOWN IS FREE. UP IS NOT. We must concentrate on the up since it is not free. We better be placing and putting our emphasis where more energy is needed to complete the task. Impact is described as on-on-on. The club approaches ON the aiming line, hits the ball while ON the aiming line and is square to it 'and leaves ON the aiming line'¦accelerating.
The key is accelerating. Acceleration after the DOWN of impact (which is free because of gravity helping) now needs extra energy and effort. The forward upswing is now going up and gravity is no longer a free helping buddy, but now a' bad buddy,' hindering us. The energy only comes from the golfer. The thought of swinging up, initiates a better lower body-leading transition and a shallower divot at impact. Both of these results aid acceleration to and through impact to 'swing up' explosively to a balanced T – Finish.
The second concept is simply based on mental thinking and imagery. What we think, imagine and see in our minds eye changes our actions. In the case of 'swinging up, that changes our golf swing. Yes, it can be that simple. The mind is a powerful tool. Change your thought process and imagery and you can change your golf swing and improve your ball striking. The comments above from fellow readers attest to that. Thanks to all of them for taking the time to share with all of us.
The Surge!