Eaglebrooke December Newsletter Eaglebrooke December 2023 Member Newsletter | Page 8

LETTER FROM THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL
COMMIT TO MAKING CONTACT
Happy Holidays Eaglebrooke ! Crazy to think that we are now in the Christmas month with a new year right on the horizon . I would personally like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season , and a Merry Christmas ! This month we ’ re going to take some keys for consistent contact , and how to make the shot “ feel good ”.
So what does a great shot feel like off the club face ? Some say that a shot will feel “ solid ”, while others will say that it felt like the ball was compressed . So we are looking for a centered strike on the clubface , hitting the ball first and then the turf , and thus will produce a solid feeling golf shot at the point of impact .
It all sounds good , but how exactly do we make those things happen in the golf swing ? I am sure glad you asked , we are going to take a dive into some of these contributing factors .
Let ’ s start first with the ball position . Essentially if we think of the golf swing as an arc , the lowest point on the arc is where we should make contact with the ground , but if that low point moves , either behind the ball or in front in will cause us to hit behind the ball or “ fat ” or if the low point is in front of the ball to far it will cause us to roll the club over the top of the ball , or “ thin ”. So , making sure your ball position in relation to your stance is essential to good contact .
Your posture is also another vital piece for making that consistent contact . If the posture is poor and there is too much flex in the knees , or too much bend at the waist it can lead to all kinds of trouble . So , in an ideal swing we are rotating our bodies around one central point . In a poor postured golf swing we are changing where that point of rotation because we must adjust our posture during the swing , which causes us to change the low point on the swing arc once again .
The final piece to making consistent ball contact is the angle of attack . Angle of attack or AOA is simply a measurement in degrees from that club head comes down to the ball . If a ball is lying on the ground , ideally , we are looking for a negative angle of attack . So , we would be hitting down to get the ball to go up . If we are hitting off a tee with a driver , ideally , we are looking for a positive angle , the club would be ascending into the ball getting it to launch high . If you struggle with getting your ball in the air , we can
8 eaglebrooke newsletter