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Ballooning drives/high ball flight

magicboy

By magicboy
in Instruction and Playing Tips

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magicboy Member

magicboy

Posted
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I set up half ball above driver and play off heel, but all my shots start off looking good but then just take off and fall from the sky. Is there any common causes for this or would I have to upload a video. My shots also slice a whole lot as well, I have now started using a 21 degree hybrid off the tee as I get much better ball flight and accuracy with that almost straight every time. Thanks

saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

Posted
Posted
your hitting the ball with a descending blow, which causes it to spin up the driver face causing more backspin.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

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Just thinking about it, the best thing i can think of is tee up your normal driver, i would tee up a tee just past your ball but lower, maker sure you don't hit that tee.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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Zeph Incredible Member

Zeph

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I'd rather say you are flipping. Without a video there is no way to tell for sure. What you see and analyse yourself doesn't mean anything, the ball could be starting out too high all the way.
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Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

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saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

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Thats true, ballooning is when the ball starts of lower, because you are descending on the ball, but then just does a reverse curve upwards, because of the high backsing.

But since you say you get better results with a higher lofted club, i am suspecting you are hitting the ball off the tee with a descending blow.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: :titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
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Zeph Incredible Member

Zeph

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A hybrid can't really be compared to a driver anways. He can have a different swing with those two clubs. The shafts can produce very different ball flight too.

Hitting down on the ball with the driver is no fault, I would rather say it is recommended. I doubt that he has got a so forward lowpoint that the ball balloons because of backspin. I can hit shots with the driver that looks like they balloon because of backspin, but in reality is because of flipping.

To reiterate, try getting a video of your swing and post it.

Ogio Grom | Callaway X Hot Pro | Callaway X-Utility 3i | Mizuno MX-700 23º | Titleist Vokey SM 52.08, 58.12 | Mizuno MX-700 15º | Titleist 910 D2 9,5º | Scotty Cameron Newport 2 | Titleist Pro V1x and Taylormade Penta | Leupold GX-1

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saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

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Hitting down on the driver is a fault, at worst you want to hit the a the bottom of the swing, but you definetly want a bit of an upswing on it. Its the highest velocity shot in golf, which in turn brings side spin into play more. The more off you are with the club, with the higher speed will just increase the miss. Hitting up on the ball will increase the loft of the drive, usually a 10.5 will go to a 12-14, also this move decreases the chance of side spin more. If you hit down on the ball like that, you can create more backspin and more side spin as well.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
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What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: :titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
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$2 Nassau Great Member

$2 Nassau

Posted
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Hard to tell what you are doing exactly, but I use to ballon balls quite a bit with my driver. Make sure you tee up far enough towards your front heel (looks like you are doing this already) and have some spine tilt away from the ball and maintain that posture through the swing. Think "high launch/low spin" to do that you need swing slightly up on the ball.

$2 Nassau Great Member

$2 Nassau

Posted
Posted
I suppose you want to "feel" like you are swinging, if reality is you are actually hitting down a little then fine. But if you go for the "feel" of hitting down because the average tour pro hits slightly down then I think that could be trouble.

Also, the -1.3 angle of attack, is that the clubface or the actual swing? Because with your hands ahead of the ball you could still be swinging up on the ball yet delofting the club slightly. At least in theory I think you could.

magicboy Member

magicboy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I was out back there and recorded some swings and it does look like I'm taking bit of grass infront of ball with driver. Should i post videos of swings in a new thread. Thanks for all the replys

saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

Posted
Posted
But does a negative degrees mean you are hitting down on the ball?

Riddle me this (i can't help it, i love the joker from batman, great vilan ;b)

What do most people do, they don't have a flat wrist or bowed wrist at impact, most people flip at the ball, this in turn creates loft. What do pro's do, they have a flat wirst or slightly bowed wrist at impact, this decreases loft.

So you can have an upward swing into the ball, and still deloft the club by the position of ther hands compared to the club.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: :titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
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Shanks A Million Great Member

Shanks A Million

Posted
Posted
Nice try, but no, they hit down on the ball. End of story. Delofting and angle of attack are different, you can deloft while swinging up, and vice versa, but the measurement taken was angle of attack. This topic has been beaten to death for a long time on here. Despite the traditional wisdom, most all good players hit down on the driver.

saevel25 Incredible Member

saevel25

Posted
Posted
Then lets ask the question then, what causes ballooning of the golf ball? Is it just an excessive angle of attack?

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: :titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

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  • Administrator
iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

Posted
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Hitting down on the driver is a fault

I think that's been proven wrong by plenty of people already. Angle of attack and dynamic loft are two different measurements, as you should now understand. The stated number was angle of attack.

Then lets ask the question then, what causes ballooning of the golf ball? Is it just an excessive angle of attack?

Simple answer: too much backspin.

For most people, that's caused by a steep angle of attack paired with an over-the-top move (upper center goes forward instead of the hips) or flipping, which turns their 9 degree driver into an 18 degree driver. A club swung at 100 MPH with 18 degrees of loft is going to spin a LOT. Too much...

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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Note: This thread is 5613 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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