Adam Young is a golf coach and author best known for his book The Practice Manual and his evidence-led approach to learning. His YouTube channel, Adam Young Golf, reflects that: lots of data, clear explanations, and little patience for myths.
His March 2019 video “The Number 1 Reason Why You are Bad at Golf” is just over five minutes long. The title is bold, but the content is a careful, memorable demonstration of why ground contact matters so much.
DE-SHANK isn’t affiliated with Adam Young, and nothing here suggests he endorses our app. The video also promotes one of his paid courses; we’re not commenting on that.
The claim: pros share one skill amateurs lack
Young opens by saying professionals all share a common skill that amateur golfers lack: quality ball-then-ground contact. In slow motion, he shows the club travelling down into the ball, the ball leaving the face, and the club then entering the turf. The ball is long gone by the time the divot is made.
The experiment
To show how much this matters, Young describes hitting 40 shots, striking the ground in four different places:
- Perfect strikes (ball first). He says these averaged 156 yards with tight dispersion around a pin at 160 yards. Using PGA Tour strokes-gained data, he calculates a predicted average score of 2.5 on that hole.
- One inch behind the ball. Not a big mistake, he notes, but the shots lost an average of 10 yards, missed more greens and spread wider. Predicted score: 3.0.
- Two inches behind. He says only 10 per cent of these would have found the green. Predicted score: 3.5.
- Three inches behind. Predicted score: 3.6.
His point is that a small contact error, repeated on every hole, can easily cost half a shot or more each time. He explains the distance loss simply: when you hit the ground first, a cushion of turf gets trapped between the clubface and the ball.
Two factors that control contact
Young identifies two swing factors behind ground contact:
Low point
The lowest point of the swing arc. For a good iron strike, he explains, it should be after the ball, so the club hits the ball and then the ground.
Arc height
For any given low point, the swing can be deeper or shallower. Too deep, and you hit behind the ball: fat shots. Too shallow, and you hit thin or even top it. He notes wryly that these are the shots our playing partners usually blame on “looking up”.
All credit for these explanations and the experiment goes to Adam Young.
What golfers can learn
Contact is the first priority
Before worrying about swing plane or club path, Young’s video makes a strong case for getting the strike right.
Small errors are expensive
An inch behind the ball doesn’t feel like much. Young’s numbers suggest it costs far more than most of us think.
“Looking up” usually isn’t the cause
If your contact is inconsistent, the cause is more likely to be your low point or arc height than your eyes.
How body movement affects your low point
Young’s video focuses on the outcome, the strike, rather than one particular cause. In our experience, three body habits commonly move the low point around:
- Head movement. If your head drifts back in the backswing and stays there, the low point often moves behind the ball.
- Hip sway. A slide away from the target can leave your weight behind at impact.
- Posture change. Standing up or dipping changes arc height, causing thins and fats.
DE-SHANK scores all three, along with tempo, on every swing. It doesn’t measure club data or ball flight, but it can help you spot the body habits that may be moving your strike. See all our features.
DE-SHANK gives estimates from one camera view. It’s designed for practice feedback, to help you spot habits and track trends.
A simple strike practice
- Draw a line on the range mat or grass with spray paint, chalk or a towel edge.
- Place balls just in front of the line.
- Try to make every divot or brush start on the target side of the line.
- Track your hit rate out of ten.
For more drills on head movement and sway, see our Coaching Tips.
Why we like this video
It turns an abstract idea, “strike it better”, into hard numbers. It’s the kind of evidence-led thinking Young is known for. Explore more on the Adam Young Golf channel or read about his book The Practice Manual.
Browse more profiles in our YouTube Coaches section.
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