Struggling with shanks or fades is a common problem for many new golfers. There might be a lot of things at fault. While your best bet is to consult a PGA instructor to exactly find out where you’re going wrong and how you can fix the problem, getting ahead of the game is never a bad idea.
That’s why we’ve created this guide on how to hit inside the golf ball. In most cases, the culprit of your mishits or fades is that you hit the ball from outside to inside. That’s about to change.
In this post, you’re going to learn about some drills that will ultimately help you to figure out your problem by yourself and fix it.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
What Does Hitting Inside the Golf Ball Mean?
When you’re swinging your driver or long iron, you go through a full range of motion. In the middle of the swing, your club head hits the ball.
When the club face comes from the outside, or from right to left for right-handed players, it’s known as an outside shot. Or, many golfers call it the over the top.
So, hitting the golf ball from the inside is exactly the opposite. You swing your club in a way that you hit the ball from inside to outside. Or, from left to right.
An inside shot is always a better shot because it helps you get closer to your target easily. The initial flight path may look too much to the right. But the ball will eventually curve toward the left and land right near to your target, given that all the other variables are in your favor.
Why is Hitting the Ball from Inside Important?
If you can exactly pinpoint where you’re hitting the ball, you can fix a lot of swing issues like duck hooking, fading, slicing, and shanking.
Moreover, hitting the ball from the inside will allow you to shape your shots better. As a result, you’ll be able to score lower than before.
When you look at most PGA professionals or at least experienced amateurs, you will notice that all of them hit the ball from the inside.
It’s not necessary that all of them followed the same drills we’re going to share today. Because for many golf players, the in to out motion comes naturally. They may ruin their swing if they try to master any of our drills.
It’s safe to say that it’s not the case with you. The fact that you’re reading this post indicates that you’re struggling with your shots and you want to fix them.
Let’s learn how to exactly do it.
Resource: Golf Practice Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80
Things that Matter for a Killer Golf Swing
Before we actually work on your shots with the drills, there are certain things that you must ensure. A lot of your bodily functions may be stopping you from achieving the inside to outside swing.
Here is a list of things you need to keep in mind.
Depth of Your Club
In golf, depth is often a representation of distance. When you’re standing in your shot stance at the tee, the distance between your body and the top of your club grip is the depth.
In most cases, the initial depth is around 6-8 inches for drivers. It may change depending on whether you’re using a long iron, a wedge, or a putter.
For most players who are suffering from an over the top problem, the depth changes during the backswing. The lack of proper rotation of the shoulder and the hips are the culprits.
You need to keep the depth consistent and low through your entire swing.
It starts with measuring the depth at the start, at the top of the backswing, and during your downswing.
You need to start your club head about 1 foot behind the ball. That’s your address position. Keeping the depth the same, you need to raise your club and go to the top of the backswing position.
Here, your wrists should be just over your heels. And remember to keep your wrist flat. When your body is turned more toward the ball, you lose the depth you need.
You may feel an extra tension on your shoulders and your hips when you try to achieve the right form. But keeping at it is crucial for your success.
From the correct top backswing position, you need to begin your downswing. It doesn’t matter that much because the action is performed very quickly and there’s not much you can do other than responding to your natural instincts.
When you manage to fix your address position and your backswing, you’ll immediately notice a change in your shots. You’ll be hitting the ball from the inside before you even realize it.
The forward Movement of the Hips
Another very important aspect of a proper inside swing. When you’re bringing down your club with brute force, your hips should move toward the target.
And it should do it in a way that your head remains in the same place. As a result, your shoulders will create a downward movement to accelerate your swing.
When you combine the forward hip movement and the depth we’ve already talked about, you’ll notice that hitting the golf ball from the inside will start to feel natural.
With enough practice, it will be hard for you to hit the ball on the outside even if you want to!
The Position of the Ball on the Tee
Whether you’re taking the shot from the tee or the fairway, how you position your ball will have an impact and how your swing is executed.
To pinpoint your point of impact, you can simply use the logo on the golf ball. If your ball doesn’t have a logo, keep a sharpie handy to mark a dot big enough for you to see.
Now, from the top view, imagine a clock around your golf ball, the ball being in the center. If the 12 o’clock is right on top of the ball, you need to place your logo or your mark around the 4-5 o’clock.
This method is very useful when you’re trying to hit the ball from the inside. The position of the golf ball and your attention on the mark will automatically force your body to try and hit the right spot.
It may not come suddenly. But with enough practice, you can definitely expect to hit the golf ball exactly where you want.
Resource: Golf Practice Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80
The Position of Your Right Elbow
You may be thinking, what does your elbow has to do anything with your golf shots? Believe it or not, the elbow placements play a major role in correcting your downswing.
When you initiate your downswing from the position we’ve described above, your focus should be to keep your elbow as close to your ribcage as possible. It’s the right elbow for the right-handed players and the left elbow for the left-handed players.
If you let your elbow wander away in the distance, it will automatically create an outside to inside swing. The elbow may not be an active body part for playing, but it definitely corresponds with your overall movement.
Some Drills to Master Hitting the Ball from the Inside
In this section of our post, we’re going to take a look at some of the swings you can practice to help you master the art of hitting the golf ball from the inside. You do not necessarily need a golf course for each of these. You may practice them at home or at your local driving range.
The Water Bottle Drill
You can also do it with your driver headcover if you want to. The idea here is to place the object just outside the ball and initiate your swing.
If you’re a player who hits the ball from the outside, there’s no way you can hit the ball without hitting the water bottle or the headcover.
The reason we wanted you to use a water bottle because it doesn’t cost anything. If you somehow damage your headcover, it will be an embarrassment. Let alone the cost that comes associated with it.
You may also change the position of the water bottle and place it in front of your left foot if you’re a right-handed player.
Wherever you put the bottle, it will force to you change your swing path. When the bottle is in front of your foot, you stand a chance to hit it after you hit the ball if you have a problem with your swing.
Here are the steps to perform the drill.
- Get into your usual stance.
- Place a water bottle either outside the ball or in front of your foot.
- Take your usual shot.
- Keep practicing until you miss the water bottle completely.
The Pause Drill
You may also call it the low-speed drill. That’s the beauty of golf drills. You may call it whatever you want because, at the end of the day, the action is all that matters.
For this drill, you need to cut your swing speed in half. Remember we said that the downswing doesn’t matter as much because you can’t control your instinct due to the high speed?
Well, it’s time to change that. When you take your swings at half the speed, you get a better idea about where you’re going wrong.
You can perform this drill either with your driver or your long iron.
- Get in your usual position to hit the ball.
- Take your normal swing, but at 50% speed.
- When you do, you’ll notice how your arms, shoulders, and hips move during your downswing. You’ll clearly notice that you’re coming way over the top that’s causing your ball to either duck hook or fade badly.
- Remember what we discussed on your swing position, hip movement, elbow position, and ball placement. Start to incorporate them one by one.
- Keep practicing at slower speeds until you achieve the club face angle you want for your shots.
Resource: Golf Practice Plan to Score Below 100, 90, 80
The Golf Glove Drill
Just as the name suggests, you want your golf glove to perform this drill. You may also use a small towel if you don’t have an unused glove lying around.
You need to roll the towel up and tuck it under your armpit, not all the way through. You can do the same with your glove where you fold it once or twice and tuck it under your arms.
It’s going to be the right arm if you’re a right-handed player and the left arm for the left-handed players.
The goal here is to keep the towel or the glove under your arms while you swing your club. If the glove or the towel falls to the ground, it means that your elbow placement is wrong. You’re going over the top during your downswing.
- Take an unused glove or a towel and tuck it just below your armpits.
- Start the swing while keeping the towel in place.
- Keep the depth of the shot the same throughout.
- If you’re struggling to keep the towel in place, keep practicing.
The Alignment Stick Drill
Alignment sticks are considered a rookie golfer’s best friend. They help you to decide your stance, your club face angle, your distance from the tee, and so on.
You can even use them for this drill we’re going to teach you so that you can learn how to hit the ball from the inside.
For this drill, you’re going to need a few alignment sticks and an extra golf club.
- Set one stick in from the ball, a little outside of your target line.
- Set the other stick about 10 feet in front of your hitting area, a little to the right.
- Now, come back to your old position and start hitting shots.
- Your target is to extend your arms while taking the downswing to follow through with the alignment sticks.
- As the faraway stick is a little right to the target, aligning your shot with it will enable you to hit the ball from inside to outside.
Final Words
Hitting the golf ball from inside consistently is a dream for many golfers. While some manage to do it from time to time, mastering the skill for life takes time and effort.
We have created this guide about how to hit inside the golf ball to help you get closer to your dream. Remember, no efforts show results overnight. You need to keep at it and be determined that things will change.
Now, get to your garage or head to your local driving range to start practicing.