Stop the Scoop

Are you tired of putting everything you have into your game, only to see the ball literally limp off the club face after each swing? There’s just no return on the energy you’re putting in. Today I’m going to show you how to get the sizzle back into your ball striking. Watch this video first…

I often ask my students which club imparts the most energy into the ball relative to club speed. The answer? Putter. Why? It has the least loft at impact and delivers the least oblique strike to the ball. Learn to reduce the loft coming into impact in order to start compressing the ball off the club face.

  1. Get the club face in place early in the downswing. This is done by bowing/flexing the lead wrist which in turn will de-loft and strengthen the club face by the time impact occurs.

  2. Try the Preset Club Face Drill. Using a 7 iron, take the club back so that the shaft is parallel to the ground making sure the lead wrist and leading edge are tilted down towards the ground slightly. Wind the arms back 1 foot and rotate through, working to maintain the face and wrist angles. The ball flight should be low and penetrating with a slight draw.

  3. Make sure that the low point of the swing arc is forward of where impact occurs. This can be rehearsed by making two practice swings between each shot you hit on the range where the sole of the club bottoms out well in front of where it was resting on the ground. The handle and weight must be forward at impact in order for this to occur.

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If you’re a scooper you owe it to yourself to give these ideas a try. My 30 years of teaching golf say that they truly do work and with a little patience and persistence you’ll significantly improve the quality of your ball striking.

Remember - there is no magic, only hard work and a good solid plan. Get to it!

Hands Forward at Impact

One of the most important parts of a great impact is getting the hands in front of the clubhead or ball. This position encourages a delofted clubface and increased ball compression. Additionally, I have found that the hands appear to line up up with the lead thigh at impact for the vast majority of the top players in the game. There are a few factors that play a big role in your ability to get the hands forward at impact and compress the golf ball.

If you are tired of scooping at impact or a weak inconsistent strike then read on..... The primary factor is the quality of your grip.  The weaker the grip the further back the hands tend to start at address and the further back they are required to be at impact. I don't ever recall seeing a golfer with a weak grip (other than Ben Hogan) getting the hands far enough in front of the ball at impact. Think about it: if the grip is weak and the more forward the hands are, then the more open the face will be at impact.  Take a look how many Tour golfers have grips that appear to be stronger vs. weaker and they all have forward shaft lean at impact. Essentially a weak grip necessitates that the hands be further back than they should at impact (they must be back in order to square the clubface), and the more back the hands are, the poorer the strike and the weaker the trajectory will tend to be.

If you are currently the owner of a weak, or even neutral, grip try this:

  • As you prepare to take your grip, rotate the face 20-30 degrees closed
  • Now take your regular grip
  • At address make sure the face is square (this will rotate your hands and arms into a stronger position)

For some reason this method of strengthening your grip does not seem to be as uncomfortable as merely just rotating your hands on the club. Move the club instead. Give it a try.

A proper strong grip will enable you to lead the clubhead with the handle while maintaining a square clubface at impact and compress the ball - isn't that what we're after?

Here is a gallery containing almost 30 PGA Tour golfers from past and present. Take a look at where their hands are at impact:

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Impact Drill: How to Stop Scooping

The Impact "Drag" Drill

An Athletic Impact Drill

Drive the Hips into Impact