I have to stop scooping!

I'm revamping my swing and my BIGGEST problem is I get too wristy and I scoop the ball. Any drills or any help for helping me lead with my hands and not scoop the ball.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

I'd also like to hear any feedback. I fight this problem, especially with my short irons/wedges!

Don't move ball too forward in your stance.

Keep hands ahead

Attempt to keep your watch dial facing the ground at impact.

I have been having a similar problem, and I think the main problem for me was ball position. That also led to sometimes trying to force my way to the ball and hitting a few toppers. What helped me was moving the ball back a little and also trying to chase the ball down the line with my follow thorugh instead of lifting up and around.

Hi there,

you might wanna try sonething that helped me quite a bit. When i had a problem like that, my pro had me do a practice swing with only my left hand on the club. He recorded it and that shaft was leaning sharply forward where the ball would have been. Since then, i always do one small practice swing with my left hand only and then hit the ball. It's helping me quite a bit!

Thanks Constantin! Keep the drills coming, anything you feel like could help against the scooping motion please post cause I need everything I can get.

Look at these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fev4wqC6U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE_2-WSU6F4

Build that board he's using. You'll learn to put pressure on the ball very soon or you'll fell it in you hands =D

Wow never thought Youtube would help my golf game, but that surely seems like it'll help out. If you have a similar problem to what I am having please post how you're trying to deal with it.

Here's a great drill to fix this and help keep hands ahead of clubhead:

Put tee into ground at 45 degree angle with head of tee pointed to the right (for right handed golfers).

Now swing and drive to drive the tee into the ground. If you "scoop" you'll pop the tee out of the ground. This will really help your contact, gain distance, and create more lag.

Helps me anyways.

Nice drill! For everyone out there with similar problems how much of a ballstriking difference to you see when you really started to lead with your hands without scooping. Cause I feel like its gonna take me a while and it better be worth it!

OK here's what I have to say to that:

There is nothing, really nothing that can boost your ballstriking more than really getting the hands to lead. Especially with irons.

First of all, your shots will start feeling really powerful. You should see improvement in your trajectory and distance. Also, you get to stop the ball much quicker on the greens.

Retaining lag down into the ball is really the number one secret for ballstriking. At least for me.

Well boy o boy I cannot wait for those days to come because I couldn't tell you guys the last time I've hit a solid shot. Once this snow clears out I'll be out there 24/7!

You know what, I am having my final exams at school these days. I really want nothing more than hitting some balls...

I have had some flipping issues in the past, and, for the most part, have eliminated them. First, go out and buy an impact bag. It is one of the best devices for delivering the hands ahead of the clubhead.

Also, you might try this drill. Use a wedge and start the club back in a relaxed manner with little or no cocking of the wrists. When you get to a 3/4 position, start down and add all of your wrist **** on the downstroke. This is called float loading. If nothing else, it gets you to feel the lag pressure and gives you feedback on whether you are flipping. BTW, you need to be very relaxed, not tense or stiff, when you perform this drill.

Good luck!

I started scooping a little bit. I started scooping because my dad wouldn't let me take divots in my practice swing. I had to find a small area in my lawn that could get torn up when I swung or else I would start scooping. It got to the point I was taking a lesson and the pro said "for a million dollars take a divot" I couldn't take a divot!!!!

Work on ball position and and then go to an area that can get torn up and then just get comfortable with taking divots. The scooping will eventually go away if you work on taking divots.

I mentioned to someone today that I still want to address my left wist position at impact - I don't scoop as badly as I used to , but I feel its still there. He recommended the Leadbetter Swing setter. Now I never used one of those, but he did and said it really does help you hold your release ( your lag) until you get to the impact area. This - if it does work, would most likely help your problem.... I am strongly considering getting one...

Can anyone comment here? Would one of these help in this situation?

Here's a great drill to fix this and help keep hands ahead of clubhead:

 

Put tee into ground at 45 degree angle with head of tee pointed to the right (for right handed golfers).

Now swing and drive to drive the tee into the ground. If you "scoop" you'll pop the tee out of the ground. This will really help your contact, gain distance, and create more lag.

 

Helps me anyways.

can someone please explain this a bit more?

I second the impact bag...a very underrated training aid...

Here's my piece of advice although I hate giving it online. At impact, try to avoid having your left shoulder come up. That'll make for a "driving toward the ground" type move, thus eliminating scooping, but rather driving down on the ball. I hope that makes sense.

Here's a great drill to fix this and help keep hands ahead of clubhead:

 

Put tee into ground at 45 degree angle with head of tee pointed to the right (for right handed golfers).

Now swing and drive to drive the tee into the ground. If you "scoop" you'll pop the tee out of the ground. This will really help your contact, gain distance, and create more lag.

 

Helps me anyways.

 

 

 

can someone please explain this a bit more?

I think he means the head of the tee should point to your right foot at a 45 degree angle from the ground.

Impact Drill...

1. From a normal address position.

2. Lean into your front side.

3. Allow right heel to come off ground and kick back knee in towards the ball.

4. Proceed to swing the club with no transfer of weight to your back leg.

You will notice a very restricted backswing.

Due to being set up on your front side, it will enable you to get an idea what it is like to strike the ball with more weight forward and hands leading.

This is pretty much like setting up for a chip shot, think about it.

Exactly. Thanks.

All this does is get you to hold your wrist angles longer. Impact bag does same thing.

I was estimating 45* .....it's probably more like 30*.

I hate that I can't watch YouTube videos @ work! I really want to check 'em out and see what board he is using.

he uses a simple wooden board maybe half an inch thick. on one side he just cut out a quadrat. Therefore the board prevents you from coming to far from the inside or outside and from scooping. I might give it a try myself.

i have to say that the plywood cut out maybe the best swing tool on the market and the markets at home depot! I think personally getting better contact with my irons is an issue so I'll be going to the "depot" and looking the scrap bin to cut up some wood! GReat idea!

Thanks for the vid links very informative, just another thing for me to piss more time away on youtube!

SiD

I'm a pretty big fan of Rick Smith's swing glove. You can break the wrist so it helps keep that pesky right hand out of the swing.

I think it was Tiger who said he like to keep his glove logo going at the target as a long as possible through impact. This has been a good swing thought for me too.

I've got some spare plywood under the carport...my wife is going to think I'm nuts but I can't wait to try it out.

How can I make a "Checkpoint Charlie"?

I've got some spare plywood under the carport...my wife is going to think I'm nuts but I can't wait to try it out.

 

How can I make a "Checkpoint Charlie"?

You could probably use some 1/4" pvc and the joints that go with it from Home Depot.. You'll have to secure it with some washers around the shaft though... or just use and old club. just my .02

SiD

 

You could probably use some 1/4" pvc and the joints that go with it from Home Depot.. You'll have to secure it with some washers around the shaft though... or just use and old club. just my .02

 

SiD

Good point...I'm at Home Depot (or Lowes) every weekend anyway because my house is on the market and I'm doing lots of touch up jobs. I'll browse the plumbing aisle and see what I can find.

I'm revamping my swing and my BIGGEST problem is I get too wristy and I scoop the ball. Any drills or any help for helping me lead with my hands and not scoop the ball.

 

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!

I've been studying this problem for a little while because I have a good friend who flips/scoops and he can't seem to stop. Here's what I've found:

The flip/scoop move is an effect that has two causes that come together to produce it:

1. The right arm straightens too early in the downswing in an attempt to square the face up so that you don't hit a slice and/or block. the straightening right arm is the direct cause of the scoop.

2. You straighten the right arm out too early because your shoulders stop turning too early in the downswing. The shoulders should not be "square" at impact, they must be open. Average of tour pro's is 26deg. open at impact. The lack of shoulder rotation through the impact zone is the root cause of the scoop.

3. Lack of shoulder rotation through impact could be the result of too upright a backswing - need to check this on video

How to fix:

1. The golf channel videos of Martin Hall that someone posted were great. Certainly would help to use these tools

2. Need to work on getting more rotation into your swing. Do this by feeling that you are swinging left as hard as you can after impact

3. Start with a short swing or chipping move and slowly lengthen that short swing while keeping the hand position firm throught impact with a right wrist that is bent back as far as you can (dorsi-flexed)