When it comes to ball striking, there are thousands of different kinds of lies out on the golf course and throughout a round you have to find the best way to hit each and every one of them in hopes of success. There are some techniques however which are pretty much universal from any lie. The most important of which is ball first contact.

One of the best lie to practice off of to improve your ball striking is hard pan. Hitting from hard pan leaves little room for error; because of this, the negative result alone encourages you to make a better swing. Hitting from a lie board achieves the same type of ‘hard pan’ feeling - you can use a wooden board too if you don’t have a lie board.

If you really want to develop a better feel for your irons, set up your lie board on a fluffy, grassy lie. Since the board will move up and down on this type of lie, fat shots will be magnified. Only solidly hit, ball-first shots will work on this drill.

This will teach you to make ball first contact in a hurry. You’ll develop a swing that is steep into the ball with your irons and you’re divots will begin to appear ahead of the ball on normal shots. These are both ‘must haves’ to improve your ball striking and consistency.

Ball first contact ensures you will never hit it fat again. Trust me; this drill is very effective at improving your ball striking. Don’t be afraid to try it around the greens as well. That 50 yard pitch shots will get a lot easier with this type of practice.

Give it a try!

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• Line Drill — Cure your Fat Shots -08/07/2008
• Horizontal Baseball Swing Drill - Stop Hitting it Fat -06/05/2008
• Hit Down on It Drill - Stop Hitting it Fat! -05/03/2008
• Stable Spine Angle Drill - Stop Hitting it Thin or Fat -16/07/2006