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Hit Down Dammit

Dear Golfer,

Since my specialty is mental toughness in golf, I rarely send out technical golf swing tips that come my way via pros and instructors.

But, I particularly like this golf swing tip from teaching professional Clive Scarff. I like it because a) it’s simple, and b) he shows that your mind must thoroughly understand a golf shot before you can execute it properly.

Getting A Golf Ball to Go Up Requires Hitting Down On It

Golf is a puzzling game because you can’t help but wonder, “Why is it so difficult?”

The objective is to strike a ball…that is just sitting there.

It’s not like tennis, where the ball is moving when you try to hit it. It’s not like hockey, where someone is trying to knock you down.

Why, then, is a stationary ball so difficult to hit? Why do we miss it completely at times?

Golf is difficult in part because of our perception of how to get the ball airborne.

We want the ball to go up, so our natural inclination is to hit up at it. However, we need to hit down.

Most golfers assume the goal is to slide the club head under the ball, striking its lower half on the upswing, and thus driving—or lifting—the ball into the air. So, when you swing, the vision in your mind is to hit the ball up into the air.

But, the golf club has not been designed to get under the ball to lift it. It has been designed to strike the ball as the club head is descending—on the downswing.

Why the Ball Goes Up If You Hit Down On It

When you strike the ball on the downswing, the face of the club contacts the surface of the golf ball just prior to reaching the bottom of the swing arc.

The ball becomes trapped between the descending clubface and the ground. Because the face of the club head is lofted, the ball—rather than being driven into the ground as a downward hit might imply—will spin backwards up the clubface, decompress (add energy to its escape) and climb into the air.

The angle at which the ball climbs into the air will be directly related to the loft of the club you have chosen for the shot.

But, if you do not understand the mechanics of hitting down on the ball, hitting up seems logical. If we want something to go up, it makes sense to hit it up.

If you had a tennis ball and a racket and wanted to hit the ball into the air, what would you do?

You’d lower your racket and strike up at the tennis ball.

Now that you understand that you must hit down on the ball, you’ll want to master the mechanics of hitting down in your golf swing and program this motion into your muscle memory.

Good muscle memory in golf is essential so you can stop worrying about your golf swing and concentrate on the game itself.*

If you’re reading this right now and wondering how you can quickly and easily shave several strokes off your golf score using tips just like this one, then please listen up.

I have spent several years working with and learning from many of the world’s best athletes on staying relaxed and performing their best under pressure…I then refined these ideas, tested the techniques, and put them together in one place…

If you want to dramatically improve your short game, bomb long drives, and retain your composure, then I recommend you get a copy of my ebook, “Breakthrough Golf! Lower You Score Now Using the Mental Secrets of Professional Athletes.”

It will take you step-by-step from where you are to where you want to be on the course. I promise it.

In fact, you can check the program out at my risk… You have nothing to lose.

All the details are here:

www.golfgamesecrets.com/sales/

I’ll talk to you again soon.

Your friend,
Lisa Brown

* Scarff, Clive. Getting a Golf Ball To Go Up Requires Hitting Down On It, 2006. Reprinted with permission.

For information and instruction on hitting down on the ball
and Clive’s services, go to:

www.hitdowndammit.com
www.bowengolf.com
www.bowenislandgolf.com