Hitting it thin.....

[Tee'd Off]

When one hits the ball thin is it not because he finds himself lifting out of his stance or taking his eye off the ball? I belive the cause, for myself, is the tendancy for my right leg to straighten on the backswing. Does this sound right with any of you more seasoned vets?

[dorkman53]

My two most common flaws when I'm not "in the zone" are hitting it thin and hitting it fat (no great surprises there!) Both flaws are from the same cause for me: anxiety. Hitting it thin is usually due to looking up to see where the ball is going before the ball is hit (kind of like starting to run before you catch the football). Hitting it fat for me is caused by rushing the downswing and trying to "get a little extra" on the swing instead of trusting myself and the club to deliver the goods.

[BartendingLefty]

What about hand position at address? Is it true that the preferred hand position at address is always ahead of the ball, and then even with the ball for driver and long irons?

[Montagle]

So I am left to assume you have bailed on the whole "nose behind the ball at impact" school of thought, undercover?

[Montagle]

The author is a private course guy, so be very careful how you speak to him.

[ForgedRbest]

When one hits the ball thin is it not because he finds himself lifting out of his stance or taking his eye off the ball? I belive the cause, for myself, is the tendancy for my right leg to straighten on the backswing. Does this sound right with any of you more seasoned vets?

I would suspect that turning your head too soon is the cause of hitting it thin. The straightening of your right leg could cause it but more likely cause a fat shot since your mind knows your have stood up you would rush in the downswing to get back, i.e. the chili-dip. Turning your head prematurely affects the swing in the following way. Understand that the proper golf swing is based on the rotation of your body around a central point. That point being your spine and breast bone. If you turn your head before the club makes contact your breastbone is going to turn and move down range, effectively moving the bottom of your swing foward, or down range. This causes the club to strike the ball towards the bottom of the leading edge or thin. You could produce the same shot by moving the ball back in your stance and then try to hit it with your normal swing. In other words turning your head too soon changes the bottom of your swing. Biggest problem we all face since human nature makes us want to see how far we hit the ball.

[JeffGallo]

When one hits the ball thin is it not because he finds himself lifting out of his stance or taking his eye off the ball? I belive the cause, for myself, is the tendancy for my right leg to straighten on the backswing. Does this sound right with any of you more seasoned vets?

Granted such a diagnosis is difficult to make without a visual I feel obligated to correct one huge misconception which is being proliferated in this thread:

Hitting the ball thin is NEVER caused by LIFTING your body or standing up!!
A shot that is struck thin or topped is caused by the club moving up into the ball. what this means is that the club is reaching the bottom of it's arc too early and as the hands begin to roll over, the bottom hand closer to the target than the top hand, the club moves up. When this move occurs before the ball is struck it results in a thinly struck shot.

That said, you may be correct in suggesting the straightening of your right leg as a cause. Your leg straightening is not what causes the thin strike, but may indeed be the root of the problem. When your leg straightens you will lose your hitting posture and hence forth restrict the coil of your body, which means that when you start your downswing (with your leg already straight) your turn past the golfball will be extremely limited. For an example of this concept cross your arms over your chest with fingertips on opposite shoulders and, assuming a swinging posture, turn your shoulds back and through. Do this once with knees straight, and notice where your chest is pointed as you finish your turn, then repeat with knees bent (notice how much further you turned your chest). So, what happens is that eventhough your chest will be stopping it's turn near the ball the club (because of simple inertia) will keep moving, causing your hands to roll too early as described above.

So, in summary, do investigate you leg straightening as a possible cause for such a problem. However, do not believe that you are stiking the ball thin because when you "stand-up" your club doesnt reach the bottom of the golf ball.

If you have trouble with placing these concepts into your practice then try hitting a few shots on the driving range where you foocus on keeping your hips coiled and back out of your way. To do this, make your backswing and stop at the top, notice how your hips have turned away from the target. As you start your downswing (in a very slow practice swing) try to keep that coil in your hips from releasing until your hands are at waist height. Do this several times until you are comfortable enough with the feeling to take full swings remembering it. You should feel as if there is almost too much space between your arms and body, you will therefore have enough space to let your hands turn into the ball without restricting your body turning past the golf ball.

I suggest that you attempt to use the affore mentioned concepts before trying this drill.

I hope this helps. And good luck.

[dorkman53]

JeffGallo, it is perhaps stating your case a little vigorously to claim that a thin shot is NEVER caused by straightening up or looking up. "Always" and "Never" apply only in the theoretical world. If one starts to look up prematurely in self-conscious anxiety over where the ball is headed, it can result in an accompanying pulling back and up on the upper body which can cause the club either to never descend to the bottom of the arc properly, OR to start up out of the arc prematurely, as you state. The results are the same with either scenario; a thin, skulled shot.

[ForgedRbest]

Bottom line Tee'd is get a video lesson from a good teaching pro, that way you can see your swing exactly as everyone else see's it. The best thing about a video lesson is they can slow it way down and find your problem almost immediately. The biggest drawback is you may see too many swing faults

[victory]

I agree. I recently got a video lesson and it hepled my golf swing immensely. It's a great way to find your swing faults and after you identify them, you can take measures to fix exactly what you're doing wrong.

[ForgedRbest]

One drawback to a video lesson Victory, you might learn more about your swing then you want to know, LOL.