Long club troubles

Question
Eddie,

I am a 51 year old playing to about a 17 index.  My predominate problem is an over the top move which creates a negative angle of attack, causing broken tees, pop ups, very high ball flight, inconsistent shots, fat shots that bounce into the club high on the face and less than acceptable distance off the tee.  I have virtually given up on the driver, now relying on a 2I hybrid I can hit about 210 yards.

I know what I am doing wrong ... just can't seem to fix it.  A slice has always been a problem off the tee.  Straight shots only come rarely, and often as a result of a drop kick - fat shot bouncing into the ball which squares the clubface.

I tried one of your suggestions (5-6" foot spread with right foot pulled back.)  I hit one good one, followed by a half dozen chunks.  Why do I have so much trouble making center face contact?  Everything from sand wedge to 2I generally work fine - just nothing any longer.

How do I stop hitting behind my tee shots?  There has to be some drill or swing thought to get me swinging on a more level plane.

Thanks,

Curt

Answer
Hi Curt:

You fit the mold perfectly for having the symptoms to what you describe perfectly.  If you were here in Phoenix, Arizona, I would have you out of that problem forever within a month, but I am not sure where you are.  I will tell you how to fix it.  I take all my over the top, steep, chopping down and across the ball (by the way, this is why you can't make center face contact) students to "THE HILL".  The hill is nothing more than the big mounding that borders our driving range.  I have them bring a 6 or 7 iron and their driver.  They will stand on the hill with the ball way above their feet......the ball is literally between their knees and their belt.  The first couple of swings are usually DISASTEROUS.  A big, over the top, chop down swing does not work on a sidehill lie with the ball pretty far above your feet.  The first few swings are stuck in the ground about a foot behind the ball and they probably hurt.  Basically at that point, I ask my students to figure it out.  I say "Don't touch the grass".  As I have them make practice swing after practice swing, they begin to figure out that if their swing shape is still up and down, it doesn't work.  But if their swing shape gets more rounded, they no longer hit into the turf behind the ball.  I constantly coach them to not hit the grass.  I say "more rounded on both sides of the ball........like a baseball swing".  "More rounded, don't touch the grass, just pick it off the tops of the grass".  I keep reminding them every time they stick it in the ground it's too steep, too vertical.  A golf swing is not vertical.  It is rounded to the tilt of the body.  So if you hit enough balls with the ball about waist high, pretty soon the shape of your swing changes to a more rounded, flatter type angle of attack.  Pretty soon, you start hitting the ball real solid off that lie.  The ball should fly pretty straight and then curve to the left.  Because of the angle of the hill (ball above your feet), the clubface closes easier producing a right to left flight).  Once the student is hitting the 6 iron pretty cleanly, I then do the same thing WITH A DRIVER!  Same angle, same everything.  If you have a Driver in your hands and decide (on the hill) to swing this like your old swing, you will now hit about 2 feet behind the ball and it will hurt your hands and wrists.  Instead, where should you swing your club?  More rounded, don't touch the grass on both sides of the ball".  Once again, pretty soon, you will start ripping the ball right off the tee without touching the tee.  If you hit the ground, the swing shape is too vertical.  Make it more rounded and stand there until you can get it.  Once you start to hit that with not much problem, go half way down the hill and tee up more balls.  Make the swing rounded on both sides of the ball.  Keep hitting balls.  Leave the tee alone and keep swinging.  Once that becomes no big deal, move down to flat ground and keep swinging.  You will notice a big change..........something called center face contact.  It may take you a few swings to groove your new swing on flat ground, but just keep going.  Until you do enough repetitions (I don't know how many that is for you), you cannot change the direction in which you swing the club.  But if you hit enough balls off the hill, you will automatically route the club on the proper path.  Once you do this enough, your swing shape begins to change.  Once that starts changing, your contact improves, your clubface is squarer at impact and you reduce the sidespin you put on the ball.  At that point, your close!!!  Now get to work and fix your issues, you can do it.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member