Hit the little ball before the big ball.

I tell my students “the little ball is the golf ball and the big ball is the earth. I’d like them to hit the little ball the golf ball before the big ball the earth”. A good drill is to scratch a line on the grass perpendicular to the target and make practice swings hitting a little to the target side of the line. This is going to give them a feel for hitting the golf ball slightly on the downswing catching the golf ball then the grass.