If your downswing is out of sequence, it’s hard to strike the ball well. This pre-set drill from GM Top 25 coach Peter Finch will improve your ball striking
This is a great tip if you’re struggling with your ball-striking – very simple to understand; a little more difficult to do! But if you can execute the movements in this drill successfully, you’ll get a really good understanding of where everything needs to be at impact and really improve your ball striking. Take a 6-iron and tee it up just slightly, with ball position just forward of centre as usual.
Take the club up to the top then make a movement downwards, leading with the left hip, putting your weight onto your left side, driving your hips forward and turning. Then, rather than accelerating on into impact, pause the club when it’s almost parallel to the ground. One reason people struggle to strike the ball well is because they don’t get the downswing sequence correct.
Adding this pause to your downswing helps you to really feel where your body is at this point. Ideally, your hips should be clearing left, your weight should be on your left side and your sternum should be over the ball so that as you come through, you can really get your hands ahead.
The only difficulty with this drill is the stopping bit! So from the paused position, take the club back up a fraction, then go on to actually strike the ball. Mastering this drill is a great way to really hone your impact position and improve your ball striking.
More great tips from GM Top 25 coach Peter Finch
1. To the top as normal Tee the ball up just a little with a mid-iron, and from a normal set-up position swing to the top just as you would usually.
2. A pre-impact pause Start down leading with the left hip, moving on to the left side, driving the hips forward and turning, but then pause with the club parallel to the ground pre-impact.
3. Feel where your body is This pause clearly shows you where your body is at the crucial moment pre-impact, highlighting if things have got out of sequence on the way down.
