Those players who are new to the game will immediately encounter problems with ball striking. General help is available in the section entitled "ball gathering" in Faults & Fixes an extract of which is reproduced below. Following the extract you will find some specific hints in relation to topping or hitting behind the ball.

Extracted from, "Faults & Fixes" The ability to find the ball with each club, hitting woods on the up and irons before the bottom of the downswing (so as to take a divot) is mainly a matter of spatial orientation. That is the ability to locate an object with a golf clubhead travelling at speed using your hands and eyes. It takes a lot of repetitive practice before this can be achieved. The first four fix suggestions deal with ball gathering.

(1) Ball Gathering:-

Third Fix: Check swing speed Try and keep the speed sensation in mind during the swing. Swinging too fast will definitely make ball striking difficult. As a practice drill the player should make several different swing speeds. The optimum swing speed is the one that retains control whilst developing aggression. Having determined the optimum swing speed the player needs to recapture that speed sensation during each swing. This is expounded under the repeatability section at the foot of this page. 

Fourth Fix: Angle of Attack 

The Angle of the swing will have a bearing on ball gathering, if you have a swing with a very steep V shape it will require especially good hand/ball eye co-ordination and spatial awareness to locate the ball. For those players where consistency of strike is an issue, the shallower arc as a flat bottomed U shaped will be a much better swing option.

Think of the problem as being similar to that facing a pilot landing a plane. The plane must be brought down onto the runway at an angle where the plane can stay on the wheels without bouncing or digging into the runway. A pilot using the V approach would probably only make the one landing!

Specific tips 

It is very easy to for the beginner to look too closely at ball gathering problems. By that it is meant that over analysis can have a detrimental effect. The core skill required for good ball gathering is spatial awareness. That is the ability to locate objects using your primary senses of hand and eye. These are things that we learn from very early on without analysis. When teaching a small child to pick up a cup you don't issue instructions about the right arm position or where to focus on the cup. It's the same with ball gathering. Learn to "feel" the ball and adjust the next swing when you have either hit too low or too high on the previous shot. The key is to try and avoid making the same mistake several times on the run. That is, if you hit the top of the ball for the first 3 shots, make sure the next shot hits below the ball. By constantly making the adjustment eventually, the degree of error will narrow to an acceptable level. If a pattern emerges then the following fixes could also help to fix:- 

Topping the ball: 

Expansion. At address the club is either resting on the ground just behind the ball or the player may prefer to hold the club off the ground. At impact the club must be returned to the bottom of the ball and for an iron shot the club must then travel below the ball to take out a divot. In order for this to happen, the player must during the swing, overcome the natural tendency of the hands and arms to retract toward the swing centre and instead must expand the hands and arms outwards toward the ground. It may be that the player also needs to develop a slight knee bend at impact to achieve the necessary depth. N.B. different players will develop a different method of ensuring the strike is made on the ball at the appropriate depth and naturally, providing this individuality fits in with the chosen swing preferences (see the rest of the site for definitions etc.) this is desirable. 

Hitting behind the ball: 

Left hand development. If poor spatial orientation, (see above for definition) or excessive speed is not to blame, then a common cause of "heavy" hitting is lack of strength of the left hand. Practice swinging with the left hand only for 5 swings and then take a normal two handed swing for the next 3 swings. When the player is confident that power has been achieved using this drill progress to hitting balls with the left hand only. When the left hand shots can be played at a consistent rate, then the player should concentrate on two handed shots paying particular attention to "feel" the ball and avoid taking large divots. 

Suggested depth of strike:- Fairway woods: ball and turf together (the grass should appear to have been brushed after the strike has been made.) Long irons: as above. Short irons: ball first then a divot 1\2" deep and 4 inches long. The above are suggestions for new players, experienced players may well opt to develop a different strike depth. Finally, whilst ball gathering can be an exasperating problem for new players, established golfers quickly learn how to maintain the sensation of ball striking whilst having one or two other swing thoughts. By carrying out the above during regular practise you too will reach the position where ball gathering is almost guaranteed. 

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