If you’re an avid watcher of the PGA Tour you’ve likely heard the phrase “cover the golf ball”. Though, if you’re like most golfers you have no idea what it means. We thought we would help answer that question. And teach golfers like you exactly how they can introduce covering the ball into their golf game.
What does it mean to cover the golf ball?
The simplest way to describe covering the golf ball is to imagine that your sternum remains covered over top of the golf ball throughout your swing.
In broader terms covering the golf ball means maintaining posture and spine angle throughout your impact with the ball. This means no lifting or dipping of the upper body as you swing your club.
When a golfer is successfully covering the golf ball. You’ll find that their spine angle imposter stays the same throughout their swing. And their sternum stays covered over top of the ball. All the way until impact is made.
How to make sure you have proper posture and spine angle
In order to make sure you were covering the golf ball properly you need to make sure you’re in the right stance. The main point purpose of covering the golf ball is to ensure that your stance is correct at impact.
In order to make sure that your stance is correct you must be sure to have the proper posture and spine angle. Especially when starting your swing.
Here are a few key tips to make sure that you’re in the right stance. First off make sure that your back is straight. If your back is bent or slouched then your posture is not in the correct position.
Second make sure that your upper body is over the ball. As we mentioned earlier your sternum should be above the ball. This should be true all the way through your swing until impact is made.
Next you should be bending at the hips. In order to ensure that your sternum is covering over the top of your ball you must be bent at the hips. To the point where your upper body resting over the ball.
Next you must be sure to have your knees flexed. a slight flex of the knees ensures that you’re in an athletic stance. Making it easier for you to generate power with your swing. As long as you follow all the steps you should find yourself in the proper posture and spine angle.
Beginner mistakes when covering the golf ball
The reason most golfers don’t cover the golf ball is that they make several mistakes during their swing. These mistakes leave their upper body no longer covering the ball.
One of the most common mistakes is moving your hips before you make contact with the ball. As your hips move forward closer to the ball your sternum then moves back in order to keep balance.
This brings your sternum up. At this point it no longer covers the ball. And therefore forces you to flip your hands in order to reach the ball. By doing this you make it much more difficult to make consistent contact. As you will find you’re reaching for the ball with the majority of your swings.
Another common mistake when trying to cover the bar is moving of the pelvis. Much like the hips often times the pelvis moves forward which causes the head to move back.
This is the same sort of issue as moving your hips early. It will result in you losing your spine angle as well as your proper posture.
It is incredibly important that you keep your upper body and hips in the same spine angle as you come through your downswing. This is the essence of keeping the ball covered.
Covering the golf ball drill
When we you are sure that you’re covering the golf ball properly it’s time for a practice golf ball covering drill. This one drill will ensure that you’re making contact with the ball while your sternum still sits over the top. And your spine angle stays consistent.
To do this drill you’re going to want to stop your club halfway through your downswing. This means your club will be perpendicular to the ground. At this point you wanna make sure that your sternum sits directly above the golf ball. You want to ensure that your upper body is locked in place and that it is bent over on top of the ball keeping it covered.
The next part of the drill consists of you pumping your club as if you’re going to swing three times. You’re going to take your club from that half downswing position you started at. and pump it as close to the ball as you can.
Each time you do this you want to ensure that you were transferring your weight on to your front heel. This pumping motion will get you used to swing on the ball as your upper body is above it.
This drill should get you comfortable sitting in the proper posture and spine angle as you may contact the bar. This portion of the swing is a lot of work as golfers tend to move their hips or pelvis forward throwing off their spine angle. When practising this portion of the swing with the proper posture you’ll find you’ll make much more consistent ball contact. and will be able to cover the ball each time you swing.
Conclusion how to cover the golf ball
We hope you enjoyed our guide on how to cover the golf ball. If you have any questions regarding covering the golf ball or any of the trails we covered on this list be sure to reach out in the comments below. If you did enjoy this guide be sure to check out some of our other guides. Such as how to change your ball flight trajectory.