There are three keys to improve your ball striking in golf:
- Be able to control the low point of your swing.
- Have a predictable club path and club face relationship.
- Have enough speed to play the game and strike the ball solid.
Golf can be a complicated game. One day you are feeling great, the next day you may shoot 10-15 shots higher and chunk several shots into the water.
What leads to the inconsistency in golf?
The many variables that are required to come together to produce a golf shot may seem overwhelming. The club must strike the ball and ground at the appropriate time, with the proper angle and path with the right amount of speed to hit the ball the distance you need!
Sounds easy, right?
We know the struggles you face, but are here to help.
Our goal is to make the process simple, provide some brief oversight and leave you with some drills you can start today to improve and get better everyday!
A brief overview of the 3 simple fundamentals of golf (probably different than you think) will provide the framework to help you become a better ball striker.
We then get into some wonderful drills that can help you strike the ball solid, crisp and in the direction you want. Building speed in this game is vital and we even provide a tip to help you increase your speed!
Update: Low point control is so important! Make sure you master the ability to strike the ball solid by controlling the low point of your swing. Did you know that Tiger has been known to stand at a driving range, hit for an hour and never appear to have taken a divot. He often worked on this club head control prior to playing the British Open each summer.
How To Improve Ball Striking in Golf
These three keys are built off of the Stack and Tilt fundamentals of the game. Most people will talk about grip, posture, knee bend, angle of your shoulders, etc.
When the focus should be on drilling to ensure you are working to master these three fundamentals which will help make you a golfer with enough skill to dominate your opponent or simply shoot better scores!
Interested in the ultimate ball striking game improvement tool? Check out this post!
The reality is that different groups, both strong and weak are used. Different postures, both tall and bent over are used. The head movement in a golf swing varies amongst the greats.
However, the key is that they are all able to master these three fundamentals.
What are these very important fundamentals?
The Stack and Tilt Instructors laid out three fundamentals and they make a ton of sense. Here we go:
- Fundamental #1: The golfer must be able to control the low spot in the golf swing.
- Fundamental #2: The golfer must be able to control the start line and the curve of the ball.
- Fundamental #3: The golfer must have enough speed to play the course.
Now let’s dive into these three fundamentals and will provide a drill after each one, so that you can start getting better today and improving your ball striking.
Could you imagine a round where you hit every shot clean, hit every shot that started on the proper line with the curve you anticipated and then you have enough speed to play the game? Well, follow these drills below and you will be moving closer and closer to this ideal round of golf!
Improved Ball Striking – Key #1: Be Able To Control The Low Point
The golfer must be able to control the low point. The best golfers are able to control this low point 99% of the time, while the highest handicap golfers might not even be able to control the low point 50% of the time.
Oftentimes when a golfer is struggling to do this, they have an improper weight shift, move their head too much and the sequencing breaks down.
Resource: How to build your perfect golf swing!
Instead of trying to hit too many positions in the swing, we would recommend this drill to actual practice striking the ground in the proper spot and controlling that low point.
Drill: Low Point Control
- Take some yard paint and patina a 1-2 yard long line.
- Setup with 55% of your weight on your front side.
- Try to hit the target side of the line and see how many times out of 10 you can do this successfully!
- Repeat this drill every day for a month, tracking your progress and your ability to to this successfully in trials of ten.
- You may need to start with half swing and progress to full swings.
If you are struggling, put more weight forward and work on keeping your head still to help control the low point in the swing. We know that solid contact is vital in our development of a golfer.
When you are hitting a shot from 150 yards over water, your last worry should be about the water in front or making solid contact. Instead, your focus should be on the target and the shape shot that you want to hit!
This drill can get you to this point in your journey. Stay with this drill and work on until you can strike the ground where you need to 99 times out 100.
Improved Ball Striking – Key #2: Have A Predictable Club Path and Club Face Relation
The perfect match up for a stock shot in golf for many golfers is a path that is 3-4 degrees to the right with a club race that is 1-2 degree open. This will start the ball to the right of the target line and have a slight draw back towards the target.
When you play with quality golfers they will hit a slight draw or a slight fade all day and have complete control over their ball. The best golfers have a predictable shot pattern and can make adjustments when they are struggling.
The goal is to be able to stand over a shot from 150 yards with water guarding the left side of the green and know with some good certainty that your shot will start slightly to the right and draw back towards the target. I prefer the stock draw shot as a go to shot.
I believe that once you have developed the stock draw shot, you can learn to play a fade from a similar swing slot.
Here is an excellent drill to develop a stock shot in your game.
Drill: Stock Shot
- At the driving range, set up an alignment stick about 6-8 yards in front of you, straight down your target line.
- If you have a second alignment stick, set the stick 3-4 yards right of the first stick (for a draw) or left of the first stick (for a fade).
- Complete your initial assessment and see how many times out of 10 you can start the ball to the right or left of your target. Pick one side and measure your game at this point.
- The goal is to eventually get 7 out of 10 shots to start to the correct side and draw back towards the target.
Here is the drill being explained by Kyle Morris:
Improved Ball Striking – Key #3: Have Enough Speed To Play the Course
A golf swing that hits the ball on a consistent pattern is all fine and dandy, but if you don’t have enough speed to play the course, you will get frustrated and get out of your routine of managing your game.
The golfer who doesn’t have enough speed will often feel defeated before they hit their first tee shot. Add some tough conditions like wind, cold or rain and the game plan disappears quickly.
The good news is there are plenty of ways to train for speed and to increase your current swing speed. You don’t have to settle for the 180-210 yard drive. With this training system below you can gain 20-40 yards of distance or 5-8% increase in swing speed as early as the first training sessions.
Ready to take your game to the next level?
Drill: OverSpeed Training
- Buy the SuperSpeed Training System
- Train every other day for at least several months
- The routine consistent of swinging speed sticks of three different weights.
- The golfer can expect a 5-8% increase as early as the first training session.
- After 4-6 weeks this increase will become more permanent and the golfer can expect more gains, but at a slower rate with continued training.
- Hit longer drives, leaving shorter irons into the greens and then have more makeable putts.
See the connection here? Hit your driver farther, leave shorter distance into greens, hit the ball slower on your approach shot, make more putts! The combination is there, but it starts with the proper training! Stop settling for a slower swing speed and finally get where you want.
Just yesterday, after many years at the 98-101 miles per swing speed, I was recorded swinging 112 with one of my drivers I hit during a round! The overall training with SuperSpeed and training to swing faster has been a game changer!
What we have learned is that overspeed training with lighter clubs can help train the mind and body to be able to swing faster. My example is that I used to swing between 98-101 miles per hour. After training with the SuperSpeed program I am now between 105 and 108 miles per hour on average, capping out at 112 most recently.
In order to swing faster, you have to train by swing faster. With the lightest club in the protocol by SuperSpeed, I am swinging between 122 and 129 miles per hour. This than coverts to between 105-108 miles per hour with my actual driver when playing golfer.
The difference of 20-30 yards is important and one of the fastest ways to get better at golf. Would you rather be hitting a 7 iron from 155 or a PW from 125 after your drive?
If you give yourself the shorter shot over the course of 18 holes, you are going to hit more greens in regulation, hit the ball closer to the hole, which then gives you a better chance of making the putt.
The formula is simple. The important part is to start training for speed using SuperSpeed Golf and improve your speed and gain 20-40 yards. It will make a massive difference!
Here is the training drill at the first protocol level:
Improve Ball Striking in Golf: Putting This All Together
The combination of the three drills is powerful and a game changer. They are my 3 favorite drills to carry out and work at. One ensures better contact, the next helps me control start lines and the curve of the ball and the other is the most fun because it means more distance.
All three lead to more enjoyable rounds where ball striking is taking place and it often comes down to making enough putts and avoiding the big miss! The joys of playing a round where 80% of shots have clean, crisp hit and end up close to your intended target is rather satisfying!
Improve Ball Striking in Golf: Final Thoughts
The first two cost no money at all, but can make you better. The truly get your game to the next level though you will want to consider the SuperSpeed System and go all in to reaching your goals and having more fun with this wonderful game. We are all on a journey, join us in getting better and loving every moment of playing this game.
