Why my woods keep hitting the grass before it reachs the ball?

Question

ive been playing about a year and rarely even touch my woods or driver...a problem i have is that occassionaly i hit the ground before the ball...sometimes pretty far away from the ball...were talkin like 4-5 inches for a 3 wood...im been giving it a lot of thought and was wondering other than real bad hand and eye coordination, could it be that im uncocking my wrists way too early? If so, could this also be a problem with my slicing and pushing...maybe because i uncock my wrist early on irons, my body is forced/or thinks it should finish up the swing by pulling it across my body? been workin alot lately and havent had a chance to go to the range to test out this thought. what do you guys think? just one note...ive officially entered a mental maze in my swing and im struggling to find the cheese.

Answer 1

Work on the position of your body to the ball.  Your stance is too far ahead and that is why you drop-kick the ball.

I did that when I started playing but i corrected that by positioning my body center-left to left.

Answer 2

Ya...it's called hitting the ball "FAT"!  You lose yardage, sometimes 100 yds, AND it physically hurts your hands and arms!

It's a common problem that ALL golfers go through!  So, it's not a unique swing problem to just you!

That being said, you shouldn't have THAT problem off the tee!

When hitting off the tee, you should be contacting the ball on the UPSWING of your swing arc.  So, in that case, the bottom of you swing arc is BEHIND the ball (as it should be).  That SAME swing in the fairway WOULD be a "FAT" shot, as the bottom of your swing would be behind the ball...i.e. the ground.

So, theoretically, all you need do on the fairway, is make sure the ball is in the middle of your stance so that "ball contact" is at the BOTTOM of your swing arc!  Simple, right?  

Well, easier said than done.

The final answer is practice!  Practice on grass (versus mats).  Remember, these points and practice them.

1. Keep your head fairly still (cuz, if your head moves up, your body will too). This helps ensure the club face will be at the relatively same position on your downswing.

2. To start your downswing, ALWAYS start with your hips. This will give you momentum, power, and rhythm/tempo.

3. Follow through with your swing keeping your swing on the plane (imagine yourself in the center of a tilted disk; the disk would be your "plane").

I don't want to ramble, it gets to be boring.  Another Answerer may be able to provide better & simpler instructions for you.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I think you have a handle on the problem.  The early release causes the fat shots.  You also may not be shifting your weight to your front(left) side on the swing. If you fall back it moves your center behind the ball.  If these suggestions do not work go see an instructor for a quick tuneup.

Answer 4

When hitting your driving make sure (if you're right handed) that your left foot is pointing at your ball. Make sure that you look at your ball the whole time until you hit it. I couldn't ever get my ball in the air with my fairway woods because i wasn't dropping my shoulder and as soon as i started doing that now everything is good. Hope that helps

Answer 5

You may be too close to the ball at address and the shafts may be a bit too long for you.

Lol mental maze... it doesnt hurt to get lessons or advice from someone who knows their stuff. Make sure you get advice from a pro and not just from any golfer... coz what works for them might not work for you.

Answer 6

I understand your frustration.  I went through something similar.  Could hardly even swing my club I was so confused.

I'd strongly suggest you revisit your fundamentals.  Stance grip, address position.  Slow backswing, keep your body still, feel a nice weight transfer, get to a good feeling top position and let it go.

If that doesn't work.  Maybe go chip and putt for a while to get your mind off it.  Sometimes a little break works wonders.

Other thoughts would be to imagine your swing.  What does it feel like?  What does it look like?  Maybe you can see a kink in your swing that's causing you to swing too steep, which might be why you're hitting too much ground.  Another common reason is your alignment.  Make sure your body is square to your club face and your club face is square to your target line.  Shoulders slightly tilted back.  Ball position is also important.  Little things like that add up.

Go back to the basics until you're making solid with the ball.

As Julius said, work on your balance.  Fundamental.

Answer 7

It seem you dont hit the ball solid... I'm not a pro or good golfer... as I know.. to have better contact, you must have good balance... if you hit fat... maybe your body collapse...

Try do this... everytime you swing your club... hold your finish until the ball stop.... do this every time including your bad shots... this will help you to improve your balance.