2-MINUTE CLINICS

HOW TO COMPRESS A GOLF BALL

Good players "pinch" or compress the ball against the grass, and that sends it out powerfully, with that great "pfffff" sound. If you want that sound more often, follow these steps to compress the ball off the turf. —Michael Kolar, one of Golf Digest's Best Young Teachers in America

  • Play the ball no farther up than center in your stance
  • Favor your lead leg a bit
  • Set your hands above the target side of the ball (above)
  • Feel like your chest is on top of it
  • Don't sway off the ball as you swing back (left)
  • Feel like you coil, but don't shift
  • Get your lead ear ahead of the ball at the top (right)
  • Pre impact, resist the urge to lift up (left)
  • Let your hands pass over the ball before the strike
  • Stay down even after the ball is struck for crisp contact (right)
  • Stick stick a tee in the ground and make swings (left)
  • Let your hands pass over the tee's position before the club clips it out
  • Or, stick an alignment rod in the ground to simulate ball position
  • Make swings next to the rod
  • Get your hands ahead of the rod but the club reaches it (right)