A golf ball drill is easier said than done. You’ll never realize the swiftness and elegance required for the game until you try hitting a golf ball on the field.
Indeed, it’s frustrating when we can’t mimic the precise hits of professional golfers. So, why do I hit behind the golf ball?
Although a golf game is no rocket science, there’s still science to it. In this article, we’ll break down the moment of hitting the golf ball. Once you know where to focus your weight you’ll hit that golf ball right on the spot.
Table of Contents
Why Do I Hit Behind the Golf Ball?
You might hit behind the golf ball if your body isn’t centered around the ball. Try to prevent your body from swaying to the side. Besides, to avoid hitting behind the golf ball, you’ll need to perfect the impact and maintain rotation around the left side.
5 Reasons Why You Hit Behind the Golf Ball
Professional golfers hone a subtle balance between movements and weight shifts, which makes all the difference from amateurish players. Here are some less known reasons why you might hit behind the golf ball.
How Do I Stop Hitting Behind the Golf Ball?
If you’re trying to avoid hitting behind the ball, it might turn into too much of an obsession that you forget the real goal. There’s no doubt you need to focus on hitting the ball, but the game’s goal is to send the ball towards the target in the green fields.
When you’re focused on the ball, you might be restraining your body from moving swiftly. Thus, your weight gets stuck on the back leg.
Remember, a successful golf hit requires you to naturally transfer your weight through the body to the golf club. The body and golf club work as a team in this game.
So, just work on letting your body free on the golf course. Think about your body movements if you were to hold the ball with your hands and throw it in the air towards the target.
How to Stay Centered During a Golf Swing?
To stop hitting behind the golf ball, you need to stay centered. When we say centered we’re pointing out to the golf ball. In fact, the golf ball is the center and reference point for your body movements.
To accurately center the body around the golf ball, you might find it helpful to use an alignment stick.
First, place the stick between the golf ball and your standing position. Then, set your feet apart to gain balance while keeping your sternum aligned with the stick underneath.
As you swing your arms to the right for the back swing, make sure your body remains centered. Your body shouldn’t move left or right, but rather remain centered throughout the drill.
To assess your performance, we recommend shooting a video from the front view. This is an easy way to make sure your arms are doing the backswing and not the body. When the body is centered, the club will more likely land right in front of your eyes and hit the golf ball.
How Should I Rotate My Golf Swing?
Hitting a golf ball requires trained rotation. An imbalanced rotation movement can make you hit behind the ball, or even cause back pain in the worst-case scenario.
To train rotation, place a thin towel or sponge two to three inches behind the golf ball. In all cases, the goal is to avoid the towel and focus on the ball in front.
You’ll need to train rotating around the left-hand side. If you nail the move, you should hit the ball first and then the turf afterward.
Ideally, after hitting, the towel should be intact and you should find a small divot right before the ball spot. The towel will give you instant feedback if it’s moved, which means you’ve swayed and lost consistency.
How Can I Improve the Impact in My Golf Swing?
If you’ve been around the golf community for a while, you’ve probably come across the term “impact.” This might be why you’re hitting behind the golf ball.
The impact is the sequence leading from the downswing to the point of hitting the ball. It’s this critical point in time where you come in contact with the ball, directing it towards the fields.
Let’s set aimless shots aside and focus on hitting the ball first. At this point, we want to focus on wrist movement. Your wrist shouldn’t be flicky, otherwise, the golf club will hit the ground behind the ball.
Instead, you should press your hands forward at impact, slightly delofting the clubhead. It’s not right if you put too much weight on the back leg. Try to visualize yourself striking the ball lower and you’ll hit the ball then the turf.
How To Stop Leaning Back On Golf Drive?
As we mentioned earlier, you should shift your weight around the left-hand side. The problem is that many players lean back, so they hit the ground behind the golf.
Here’s a fun trick that’ll fix this problem. After centering your body around the ball, roll the ball two to three inches in front. Then, return the golf club to the starting position.
You might need to use an alignment stick to keep your body centered around the initial ball position. Now that the ball is in front of the default position, your body will be tempted to lean forward to reach the ball.
At first, this setup might feel weird as the ball seems too far ahead for beginners. However, over time, you’ll get used to how the body weight feels when it leans towards the front.
Once you get the feel of this movement, you can roll the ball back to its original position. Still, keep the imaginary ball in mind and aim to hit two to three inches in front of the real ball.
Wrap Up
Finally, why do I hit behind the golf ball?
You’re hitting behind the golf ball because your body isn’t centered or your weight shifts around the wrong spot.
Indeed, what many beginner golfers might not realize is that an accurate hit doesn’t solely depend on the hands. The game on golf courses is a total body performance.
However, the good news is that once you nail the drill, you’ll be proud of the sophisticated skill that many amateurs don’t know about.
