Can I just get a definitive answer?

**Dr_Fu_Manchu** · April 2, 2009

I swear every time I pick up a Golf Digest or any golf magazine I read that you want to hit up on the ball with your drive, then I read the magazine the next month and I read that you want to have a descending strike. So then I ask a pro who says with today's drivers you want to hit up on the ball, when getting fit for a driver the guy told me to tee the ball lower because you want a descending blow....and the cycle continues.

Is there a definitive answer, it seems the golfing world is split....

What do you guys think?

**misty_mountainhop** · April 2, 2009

For me it's a sweep; always has been. Definitely not a descending strike but not much of a rising hit either.

**Damien45** · April 2, 2009

Wow that would be confusing. I have always heard to sweep through, or up, on the ball with a driver and down on the ball with irons. Well long irons can be a flatter downward swing (almost a sweep) is the other thing I've heard.

Yeah, I'd be scratching my head too.....but Sweep the Driver is what works for me.

**mirv** · April 2, 2009

the answer to life, the universe, and Everything (which i would assume includes how to hit the driver), is...

42.

really, though, i've always heard you should try to hit the driver ever so slightly on the upstroke.

**Zeph** · April 2, 2009

The reason why you have heard so many different opinions is because there are many opinions, and no one is more correct than the other. You can ask three different players and get three different answers. You can study three different pros on Youtube and see three different points of impact. I've seen pros using 8-9 degree loft drivers hitting down on the ball and still pounding it over 300 yards.

You have to find out what suits your swing the best. Personally I hit it at the bottom or slightly on the way up, I tee it 1/4 of the ball over the crown.

Test different ball positions and tee heights, then use the one you get best results with and feel most comfortable with.

**st0wgolf08** · April 2, 2009

I swear every time I pick up a Golf Digest or any golf magazine I read that you want to hit up on the ball with your drive, then I read the magazine the next month and I read that you want to have a descending strike. So then I ask a pro who says with today's drivers you want to hit up on the ball, when getting fit for a driver the guy told me to tee the ball lower because you want a descending blow....and the cycle continues.

I don't think it matters up or down, as long as your driver has the correct amount of loft, so that with your swing you are getting the launch angle you want. Like if your hitting down 2 degrees, and your playing a 13.5 degree driver, you'd have a launch of 11.5, which is still ok, while being a little low. I think the only thing that matters is that your loft fits your swing.

**Jared** · April 2, 2009

This is why I don't buy golf magazines. The advice is different for everyone, depending on the swing they have.

Case in point. During my son's recent golf lesson, the pro told him to release the club as early as he can, right at the beginning of his downswing. Now, you are probably thinking, " thats crazy, you want to lag the club, that way you dont lose power." You would be correct, and early release is death. But, my son has the habit of not releasing at all, so what feels like early to him is right on time in reality. I have a tendency to release the club wayyyy to early. So I need to feel like I'm lagging past contact.

Too much advice, and any wrong advice, will set you back. Find a good pro, one who knows your swing and isn't reciting the same crap you just read in Golf Digest, and you will be well on your way.

**Shindig** · April 2, 2009

I swear every time I pick up a Golf Digest or any golf magazine I read that you want to hit up on the ball with your drive, then I read the magazine the next month and I read that you want to have a descending strike. So then I ask a pro who says with today's drivers you want to hit up on the ball, when getting fit for a driver the guy told me to tee the ball lower because you want a descending blow....and the cycle continues.

One of my biggest complaint about the place I went to get fit for my driver was that they tried to turn the thing into a lesson, and then tried to up-sell me on further lessons. I'm a fan of hitting up on the driver, simply because I feel this gives me the greatest margin for error. I'd prefer to hit it as early in the upswing as possible, and as near a sweep as possible, but erring on the side of hitting up works better for me with the driver, but not when teeing with other woods.

**ZaPPPa** · April 2, 2009

I don't think it matters up or down, as long as your driver has the correct amount of loft, so that with your swing you are getting the launch angle you want. Like if your hitting down 2 degrees, and your playing a 13.5 degree driver, you'd have a launch of 11.5, which is still ok, while being a little low. I think the only thing that matters is that your loft fits your swing.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't hitting down in combination with high loft not also create increased backspin and thus a high(er) ball flight?

**Fourputt** · April 2, 2009

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't hitting down in combination with high loft not also create increased backspin and thus a high(er) ball flight?

Hitting down through the ball imparts more backspin no matter what the loft. I've always had a somewhat descending strike with my driver and FW woods because it seems to give me more control. I probably lose some distance that way, but I don't worry about it. I'd rather be a little shorter in the fairway or light rough than long and out in the boondocks.

The key is to balance your swing, ball position and face loft to maximize your play.

**microcrayfish** · April 2, 2009

This is why I don't buy golf magazines. The advice is different for everyone, depending on the swing they have.

I couldn't have put it better myself. Interestingly enough I have the same problem as your son, my teaching pro gave me the same solution and it works. If I'd come on here asking in the playing tips section or started reading golf magazines to try and fix my problem I would have got all number of different and conflicting solutions that would have just screwed me up. That is why I only take swing advice from my teaching pro.

In answer to the OP's question, I don't think there is a definitive answer. What works for some may not work for others, depending on their swing and equipment. You can't really blame golf magazines though, they need to be touting a different "miracle cure" every month or they wouldn't sell any magazines.

**Cody** · April 2, 2009

I tee the ball pretty low and get a bit of a downward swing. Seems to work for me. I use a 10.5* and i get a pretty low launch angle. I get alot of roll though so i like it, my dad is the opposite. He tees it high and hits up. He drives a good 20-30 yards farther than me.

**ZaPPPa** · April 3, 2009

Hitting down through the ball imparts more backspin no matter what the loft.

Well yes, but you don't want the ball to balloon due to too much backspin.

**Blades4me** · April 3, 2009

I swear every time I pick up a Golf Digest or any golf magazine I read that you want to hit up on the ball with your drive, then I read the magazine the next month and I read that you want to have a descending strike. So then I ask a pro who says with today's drivers you want to hit up on the ball, when getting fit for a driver the guy told me to tee the ball lower because you want a descending blow....and the cycle continues.

LOL, just tee the ball somewhere between the mid portion of the left foot to the heel of the left foot and do your usual swing. This will usually cause you to hit the ball at the beginning of the up swing. Get used to it and once you get that down try different stuff. BUT, its very important to get a swing/set up you know you can count on. The left foot thing is pretty much conventional wisdom,,,,,and it works, go figure.

Hitting down on the driver is more of a better players move. Personally I don't do it. If I want to keep the ball down and have it roll more than usual I'll move the ball back in my stance and tee it down so the ctn of the ball is at or just above mid face of my driver and chock down on my club. Play it more like an iron shot. Good luck and enjoy the process

Golf magazines aren't to be taken seriously, that why there are PGA instructors.

**Slim 11** · April 3, 2009

Up or down changes the effective loft of your club. Your correct loft depends on swing speed, etc. If you are playing the correct loft, you should be hitting on the upstroke, slightly.
I just watched a "playing lessons from the pros" episode with JB Holmes. When he wanted to try and really bomb one (to drive a short par 4) he teed it higher, stating that he would hit it more on teh upstroke that way and increase the loft of the driver.

**Jay-Bird** · April 3, 2009

Either sweep it, or catch it on the slightly up. Definitely not down.

Golf mags have to print contradicting stories and advice - otherwise, there'd be ONE issue. There's no money to be made in printing the right information in one issue.

**NM Golf** · April 3, 2009

Boy, I have never heard anyone say hit the driver on the downward arc of the swing. Especially todays 460cc titanium drivers. They are designed to by struck with a slight upward arc. They are also designed with the hottest part of the clubface toward the top so basically "tee it high and let it fly". I asked several teaching pros I work with about this and they all agreed.

**Shindig** · April 3, 2009

Boy, I have never heard anyone say hit the driver on the downward arc of the swing. Especially todays 460cc titanium drivers. They are designed to by struck with a slight upward arc. They are also designed with the hottest part of the clubface toward the top so basically "tee it high and let it fly". I asked several teaching pros I work with about this and they all agreed.

I think it was the guy who wrote "The Impact Zone" that said this, both in a Golf Digest article and, I believe, in his book (which I haven't read).

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