Stop Topping The Ball

Golf lesson summary (Andrea / 7-iron focus) Student profile • ~17 handicap, typically shoots high 80s–low 90s. • Plays 1–2 times a week when possible; limited by school, work, weather (Missouri fall leaves making ball-finding harder). • Favorite clubs: 3-hybrid (more control than 3-wood) and 7-iron (comfortable 130–140 yd range). • Main miss with the 7-iron: tops (ball goes ~4 yards). She feels that trying to “swing hard” while thinking she’s staying down actually causes her to stand up. • Also wants help with putting. Setup & initial observationSimulator set to 130 yards with 7-iron. Pre-shot focus: pick the flag and swing without over-thinking the ball. Early shots showed: • Open face (~3°) • Path from the inside • Low contact / tops Takeaway issue noted: clubhead was getting inside the hands early, making a clean return to the ball harder. Cue given: on the backswing, let the clubhead “disappear” into the hands so it starts more on plane. Key drill & conceptInstructor placed a tee a couple of inches in front of the ball and instructed Andrea to swing through the ball and “smash the tee into the mat.” Purpose: create a negative angle of attack (hitting down) so the ball rides up the clubface and launches properly instead of being swept or scooped. Once the physical tee was removed, she was told to keep the same visualization (“there’s still a tee there that I have to hammer down”). Result: contact improved, height increased noticeably (examples cited: apexes moving from the 20–50 ft range into the 80+ ft range on better strikes). Path and face still needed some attention, but the solid, higher-launching strikes were the clear win. Main teaching points reinforced • Irons reward hitting down, not trying to help the ball up. A descending blow + loft of the club = proper trajectory and carry. • Over-swinging / trying to force distance often produces the stand-up and the top. • A simple external focus (flag + imaginary tee in front of the ball) keeps the brain from over-thinking and lets the body deliver a better attack angle. • Same visualization works for virtually every club except the driver. Andrea left understanding the concept and confident she could take the “hit the tee in front of the ball” feel to the course. The session closed on a positive, actionable note with clear numbers supporting the change in height and contact.