Delo’s Divots: I do believe the
”
drop kick
”
tee shot was named because, when it happens, it gives you the
same feeling as kicking a football drop-kick style.
I do believe the “drop kick” tee shot was named because, when it happens, it gives you the same feeling as kicking a football drop-kick style.
The tip of the football makes contact with the ground just a split-second before you kick it. The same is true with drop kicking your driver. It makes contact with the ground a few inches behind the ball and then bounces up into the ball making somewhat solid contact.
First of all, a drop kick does tell you one good thing: the bottom of your swing is in the right place. The bottom of the arc of a driver should be two to three inches behind the ball. Then, the club starts traveling upward to make contact with the ball on the slight upswing. However, when you make contact with the ground first, it slows the club head speed down and kicks the club head off line.
The drop kick is usually caused by two factors. One, you have too much weight on your back foot during the downswing, and that causes your right shoulder to drop too low. So if you are consistently hitting behind the ball, drive off your right side on the downswing and don’t try to lift the ball off the tee. The ball should be positioned off your left instep and that will take care of striking the ball on the upward arc. You don’t have to help it.
