You might have seen in a recent Rick Shiels video where Bryson shows Rick Shiels how to improve his impact by doing a bunker exercise. Bryson recognised that Rick doesn't quite have the same impact each time. Meaning sometimes he strikes the ball really well but other times, too 'thin' or too 'fat'. He recognised the main reason for this was Rick's entry point into the turf.
When you see an elite player, you will notice that their divots start slightly ahead of the ball at impact. This means to achieve great consistency, the ball gets hits first followed by the grass. Most amateurs though tend to hit the grass then the ball which can cause these 'fat' and thin' shots. What Bryson did for Rick was draw a line in the bunker and have him do practice swings whereby he would attempt to hit as close to the front part of the line as possible.
As seen in the video Rick would hit one perfect one, then one slightly back and another slightly forward. Although it doesn't seem like much, this amount of variance will affect how consistent a ball striker he can be. When Bryson attempted this drill you could really see the difference in that he would have the same divot each time with the entry point starting at the front part of the line.
Now is this drill effective for every level of golfer? I would say if you're more a beginner to intermediate level ball striker, I would say this drill would be very difficult. The reason why is that you need to understand how to deliver the club in the right position down the bottom first. The reasons for you not to be consistent will mainly come down to head stability, swing path, wrist angles and weight transfer.
Now if you're someone like Rick who has quite a good knowledge of the swing and is a decent golfer then this drill can be very good. As more of an advanced player you can make the adjustment if you realise that you're not hitting the sand the same way each time. But as you can see even for Rick, it's not the easiest drill. This drill is more of a confirmation of what you've been working on is correct as the divots will show up consistent at the point of impact.
If you'd like any further help in improving your impact position, just book in for a lesson with myself at David Waters Golf.
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