How To Get Into The Proper Golf Impact Position

The golf swing is a complicated thing. It’s not always easy to know what you should be doing to get the ball in the hole, and it can take hours of practice just to figure out how your body needs to move for that perfect shot. But one thing is for sure: if you’re not hitting the ball on the center of your clubface, then all other things are irrelevant. This article will discuss how to get into the proper golf impact position with all clubs and become more consistent.

Key Elements of a Proper Impact Position

If you take a look at the best golfers in the world, they all have one thing in common: their impact position. For those of us who aren’t as skilled and talented – what can we do? How can we improve our game without having to read books on biomechanics or hire a PGA coach?

To get into the proper impact position, there are three major moves that you will need to perform:

Supination of the Wrists

In order to get into the proper impact position, you have to rotate your forearms so that your palms are facing up.

This is known as supination of the wrists and it’s a very important part of creating speed through impact.

In fact, power derives from using both forearms and wrists in rotation – not just one arm pushing off at a time.

Wrist Bowing or Flexion

Another part of the impact position is wrist bowing or flexion.

This means that you want to bend your wrists in the direction of the target.

This move is necessary for creating speed because it allows you to get rid of any tension in your forearms and focus on pure power through impact.

Ulnar Deviation

What is ulnar deviation? It’s the last part of perfecting your impact position.

Ulnar Deviation keeps the thumbs pointing down at impact – which allows you to create speed through hitting towards the target.

People who use too much wrist action or don’t keep their wrists bent enough tend to lift their thumbs up during this move, so it can be hard for them to aim correctly and control how far they hit each shot.

So make sure that you practice keeping those fingers pointed right at the ball when you’re practicing on your own time before heading out onto a course with other players.

This will help improve accuracy immensely because then there are no “accidental” hooks or slices. Just pure power coming from both arms swinging in unison.

Common Impact Position Mistakes

Let’s talk about common impact position mistakes that many golfers make.

One mistake I see all the time is players who have their wrists cupped as they approach impact – which produces too much hand action and kills power through hitting towards the target.

In order to fix this, you’ll need to practice forearm supination drills so your palms are facing up at impact. That way there isn’t any tension in the forearms when you hit those shots towards the pin.

Another big problem is players who keep their arms and hands straight during impact (or close) instead of having them bent as I talked about earlier with ulnar deviation.

This one can be fixed by practicing bending both elbows 90 degrees right before contact with each shot so you can get rid of any tension in the forearms and focus on pure power through impact.

Another issue that I see a lot is players not rotating their shoulders enough during different parts of their swing.

This lack of rotation will cause those arms to push towards the target instead of swinging away from it – which causes less distance because there’s no speed coming from both arms working together as one unit.

Make sure you rotate your right shoulder back behind yourself for more power by practicing both drills mentioned earlier (supination with the wrists & ulnar deviation) before heading out onto the course with other players so each shot comes off exactly how you want it to every time.

Then all you have left to do after this point is aim correctly and control how far each shot goes.

Club Face Angle of Attack and Low Point of Impact

Good golfers have a good understanding of the angle at which they strike the ball and know that it will affect their shot.

The low point of impact may not be as obvious but is equally important to understand. Poor choices of swing mechanics can lead to poor shots so knowing where you’re impacting helps maintain your consistency.

In order to know where you impact the ball, it’s important that your clubface is square at impact.

Many players assume their irons will point right by default and therefore make a compensating swing through in an attempt to hit left of the target. If this method works for you then great.

However if not, take some time on the range or practice green working out what angle works best for you as every player has a different ideal contact point depending on how they strike each shot.

Swing Path and Clubface Angle

The swing path and clubface angle are both important in understanding how you strike the ball.

As I discussed in a previous post, there’s a certain contact point that works best for each player depending on their preferred grip style however it isn’t always necessary to make major changes when working out your desired impact spot.

It’s more important to understand what path you need to take the ball there on each shot.

So if your normal contact point is on a descending angle down into the ground, then it makes sense that for maximum distance this needs to be maintained upon impact so adjust your swing accordingly.

If you hit too high of an approach or come off flat, you won’t get as much power and will therefore lose some yardage compared with shots where the clubhead strikes first through impact.

Players who struggle with trajectory often have their low points of impact far from ideal which forces them to make compensating swings in order to achieve their desired outcome – which can lead players astray when trying out new things.

Understanding how different angles work best for a player is a great way to maintain consistency as you won’t have to think about changing your swing path for different shots, just aim and let the club do the work.

Centeredness of Strike

The centeredness of strike is another important factor for good shots. If you want a solid and consistent contact then the ball needs to be struck dead center on the clubface otherwise it will result in an inconsistent or even off-center hit.

Golf Impact Position for Iron Shots, Chipping, and Pitching

The impact position for iron shots is different from other clubs because you’re trying to make the lowest point of contact possible with your shot.

When chipping, I often see golfers who are hitting high approach shots which can easily lead them astray if they don’t understand how different angles work best for them

Remembering what angle worked well last time could help prevent unneeded frustration when working on new things so aim at a spot just over the top of whatever target area you’d like to hit every time before taking your golf swing.

Finally, pitching is very similar to chipping yet the ball needs to be struck lower in relation to the clubhead and height of shot desired which can make it difficult for some players who struggle with their footwork or distance control (or even both).

Again, I’d recommend practicing by aiming at a spot just over the top of your target area before swinging as this will allow you better consistency during practice sessions rather than trying out new things every time you play.

Golf Impact Position for Greenside Bunkers and Flop Shots

Finally, when trying to hit a green-side bunker or flop shot the ball needs to be struck high towards the catch area of your wedge.

This can throw off players who are used to striking their shots low because it will require the opposite swing path in order for these types of shots to gain maximum distance and control depending on how far away from you they land.

Remember, there is no ‘one size fits all’ impact position so do some research about what works best for each club before taking your next practice session out onto the course as this should result in much better consistency overall which will lead toward fewer mistakes during game time.

What Can You Do To Improve Your Impact Position?

It’s easy to tell you what you must do to get into the correct impact position for your shots, however, it can be difficult to perform a great impact position.

What I would suggest and recommend is using the Impact Snap Device during your practice session or whenever you’re at home.

Also, I would suggest watching this video from Clay Ballard when it comes to improving your impact position.

It will help you to perform the proper sequence of a golf impact position to where it becomes natural and requires no thought.

Final Take on Getting into the Proper Golf Impact Position

Getting into the proper impact position requires effort and practice, but once it becomes natural you won’t have to think about what you need to do before or during your golf swing.

Again, the best way I’ve found is using the Impact Snap Device whenever I’m practicing at home as this will allow me to work on my technique without having to constantly re-adjust myself which would result in something that’s ‘good enough’, not great. I believe that this can certainly work for you.