Hitting Down on a Golf Ball: Methods + Drills to Practice

It’s one thing to know that you should be hitting down on the golf ball, but it’s another to be able to do it with ease. There are many factors that influence a descending blow, including ball position, balance, and weight transfer throughout the swing.

Practice these two simple drills to ensure you hit down on the ball, and enjoy crisper iron shots and lower scores.

One common flaw among players who fail to consistently strike the ball cleanly is that they have too much weight on their trail leg through impact. Ideally, top ball-strikers will have about 80% of their weight on their lead leg at impact. With your weight moving toward the target, you’ll move the bottom of your downswing slightly forward, just past the ball. That will result in hitting the little ball first, then the big ball.

To practice this move, use Christopher Toulsen’s Active Trail Knee drill. Simply take your normal backswing, then begin your downswing by having your trail knee fire at the target. This will push your weight to your front leg and pull your momentum forward, leading to a crisper strike. Practice this feeling a few times, then start hitting shots and feel the difference.

Another common cause of poor contact is early extension, when a player stands up during the downswing before impact, extending their hips towards the ball. This move causes anything from fat to thin shots, but rarely results in a crisp strike.

To fix this move, Laird Small demonstrates his Toes Up drill for better balance. Use a 2x4 that’s slightly wider than the width of your stance. Take your stance so your heels are on the ground and your toes are off the ground, with the middle of your feet on the 2x4. Now set up to the ball and begin your swing. You’ll notice this forces you to shift more weight into your trailing hip on the backswing, and forces you to move your hips back during the downswing and through the strike.

Practicing this drill will train you to stay in your posture with your weight back through the strike. As an added bonus, it will help you increase club-head speed, and therefore distance. That’s because by shifting weight back with your lead hip, you’ll simultaneously pull the club towards the ball quicker.

If you want to engrain and repeatable, downward strike on the ball, and build some consistency in your iron play, give these drills a try. You’ll find that feeling of a perfectly struck shot more often, and will likely add some distance to your game.

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