Driving left

Afternoon all

I've always been a pretty steady driver of the ball, and usually straight down the middle or with a little fade. However recently something in my swing has magically changed and I am hitting most of my drives dead straight...but on a line about 50 yards to the left which more often than not ends in lost balls. Does anybody have any ideas what could be causing this? I thought my wrists were the problem but now I am not too sure as my irons are still going perfectly straight.

A slightly stronger grip could be causing this, as well as a path change though that would be much more drastic. Try weakening the left-hand slightly by rolling it a little more "under" the grip.

Actually a stronger grip will promote a more inside to out swing path. A weaker grip will promote an outside to in swing path. This advice can be counter to what the OP wants to achieve.

Over the top swing, your hitting the ball with a negative swing path and a clubface square to that swing path.

So, work on getting the club coming from the inside

A strong grip can also result in a hook, or "straight pull" as well though. When I grip the club stronger, the face is more easily closed at impact and for me and can result in a slight pull or hook.

I prefer a neutral grip, more on the side of a weak grip, as I find the release to be more natural and closer to square. When I am hitting shots similar to what the OP described, I immediately weaken my grip which resolves the problem. The suggestion stands as something to try. Without seeing the swing in action, I can't assume that path is off. The quickest and least invasive thing to check for the OP would be the grip in my opinion.

A straight pull is create by a path from outside to in. That has very little to do with the grip. If you weaken the grip all you do is either, send the path more left, and cause him to open the clubface. Neither of which is good because it would create a huge slice. This is why changing the grip is not necessarily the right thing to do. The grip should be the last thing to change, to tweak the swing.

For example with my lesson with Iacas, we strengthened my grip. guess what my problem was, Pull cuts, and pull shots. Strengthening my grip allows for me to make an easier transition to an inside swing path and hit push shots. This is why most faders of the ball with weak grips hit pull fades, because the weak grip will want to send the path to the left.

To the OP,

As others have said... Result is straight pull which is the result of square-to-swing-line clubhead with a swing that is headed left. "Over the top" with club face square to the over the top swing. The good news is that you hit it straight so all you need to do is fix the swing path. But, the swing path coming down the target line on an out to in path is a cause of some earlier flaw in the swing.

The cause could be many things. Could be as simple as your setup (don't you wish it was that easy.) Video may help you see what it is actually happening. For me (my BIG misses are straight pulls or pull hooks), it is often caused by not leading my swing with my hips. When I get "arms first" I come over the top. Of course there are lots of potential causes for an over the top swing. If my trail elbow is in chicken wing position on the top of my backswing, I will likely come over the top. In my swing, if I stand to close to the ball I will often come over the top. If there is danger on the right side of the course and open area on the left, who knows what cause I will manufacture, but I am likely to come over the top. Whenever I swing in fear, I seem to come over the top -- arms first, no transition on backswing, too close to the ball, bad setup...

My advise, find out why you are coming over the top and fix that. I cannot work on fixing my over the top move because it is a result of other issues and not a cause. I try and find the cause and work on that.

Damn it...

Well, I learned something. I'm a freak of nature... (I just haven't deciphered whether that is a good or bad thing yet...)

In all seriousness, with this smaller group, do you tend to see that this type of reaction to strengthening the grip is troublesome? For example, as part of a smaller group of golfers who strengthens their grip and produces pulls and hooks, do you find that they share any common flaws, or is it even a concern to begin with?