Hitting Woods

Question
I'm a rookie who has never had private lessons but am familiar with the basics. My question is, I can't hit my hybrids, driver or woods AT ALL. Some how I am able to hit my irons pretty consistant, far and straight, but if i pull out any club other then an iron i top it over and over and over. I've tried positioning the ball further up in my stance and i still top it. I've hit buckets and buckets of balls, trying different pointers but i still continue to top the ball. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Jon

Answer
Hi Jon:  No fun is it?  If you top it, the clubhead is coming up to soon.  Take out your hybrid, I am assuming you have a 19 or 22 degree hybrid, or a 5 or 7 wood.  Picture this.  Use your mind here first, then go to work.  Picture the clubhead as it approaches the ball, the clubhead bottoms out about 6 -8 inches behind the ball.  Instead of hitting the ground behind the ball (which I am sure you do some of as well), the club misses the ground.  If it bottoms out 6-8 inches behind the ball but misses the ground, where is it going next?  You guessed it, it's on the way up as it nears the ball.  As the cluhead is moving upward at the ball, the bottom of the clubface hits the top of the ball and you top it, rolling it along the fairway.  So, not knowing what to do, you will then try to "get under it" more and lift it up in the air.  The problem gets worse because that is not how a golf club is made.  Can you picture that Jon?  So what should the clubhead be doing and what direction should it be moving as it approaches the ball and about 6-8 inches on the other side of the ball?  To hit your hybrids or woods better and create better contact, the clubhead must be moving more level to the ball at impact.  So when you start changing how the club approaches the ball, use your hybrid like you would your 9 iron.  So make some swings and let's do the opposite.  I want you to picture your clubhead moving in a downward motion as it approaches the ball and moving a lot lower to the ground at and past the ball (say 6-8 inches past the ball) before the club starts to swing up to a finish.  Can you picture that Jon?  I usually place a tee in the ground about 5 inches in front of the ball and ask my students to make sure they swing the club FORWARD enough to hit the tee as well as the ball.  If your club is moving up at the ball, you'd miss the tee.  So the clubhead must be moving lower at and through the impact area.  You'll get it, but don't try to lift it.  Your job is to learn how to smash it, not lift it.  That is why the manufacturers put loft on the clubface.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member