Two Drills Fix Heavy Strikes, One Inspired by Ludvig Aberg

Mace Bothroyd, a 20-handicap golfer working to lower his scores in 2026, visited Top 50 coach Trey Niven to fix a heavy strike that was costing him distance and accuracy. Niven traced the fault to a shoulder move in Bothroyd's backswing and gave him two drills to correct it.

What causes a heavy golf strike?

Niven found that Bothroyd's lead shoulder was moving toward his trail side on the backswing instead of holding its position, shifting his swing's low point behind the ball. Overflexed knees sank him further into the ground, and a steep downswing added to the problem. The heavy contact was also producing a two-way miss that made it hard for Bothroyd to play strategically on the course.

How did Trey Niven fix it?

Niven had Bothroyd restrict his knee flex on the backswing and stand taller over the ball for more stability. Coming down, he coached Bothroyd to keep his lead arm connected to his chest longer to avoid an over-the-top move, then bump his hips toward the target so his lead shoulder "covers" his lead foot at impact. That shifts the low point to just past the ball instead of behind it. Niven said Bothroyd's clubface, swing plane and strike improved markedly within five balls of trying the changes.

What are the two drills?

The first is the "Ludvig" drill, named for Ludvig Aberg. With the lead hand gripping normally and the trail hand open and flat, the trail hand should point straight behind the body once the club reaches parallel in the backswing, with the trail arm pushing the club away to create width. No pressure felt in the trail hand signals a wrong position.

The second is the step drill. Start with both feet together, the lead foot set next to the normal trail-foot position. Halfway through the backswing, step toward the target with the lead foot — a cue that promotes the lead shoulder covering the lead foot and keeps the low point past the ball at impact.