Hitting off the heel of the face

Hey guys,

So a year ago I took a break from golf. It wasn't really by choice. I ran into some financial struggles and just couldn't afford to play. I just recently got back into it and I'm having some troubles with my driver. I have a driver with a black face, so Im able to see where my hits are. Im fading/slicing the ball again, and when I look at the driver face I'm seeing a lot of hits on the heel of the driver face. Even when I try to hit off the toe intentionally I can't seem to actually do it. Im losing major distance from my driver and although ive been trying to practice with it its not helping. I have been playing a 3 metal or hybrid off the tee because I just can't rely on it. I have checked my posture, my grip, my ball placement, etc…

So do any of the guru's have a fix or recommendation to try to solve my heel contact problem and my huge banana fade? Are they even connected?

Thanks.

In terms of hitting off the heal, I would try backing off the ball an inch, and or also try aligning the ball on the toe of the club face at address.  See if that fixes anything.

Thanks, but I have tried that and it doesn't help. Plus the further I set up away from the ball the more I slice.

I've battled heel shots, shanks for awhile now. I've tried all the standard fixes, but the fixes were only temporary. This past week I went with a friend and asked a question about trying to hit the toe of the club, because I just couldn't do it for the life of me. He suggested I try getting my right arm(I am right handed) more active during the downswing. I immediately began hitting middle of the club out to the toe. While before, all of those temporary fixes I had tried would only ever produce middle of the club at best when I was attempting for shots of the toe. Just to cover my tail, I will say I understand toe shots aren't my objective when I am playing good golf, only my goal while I rid myself of the shanks. So I went again, 2 days after the the advice from my friend and I was smoking it, everything middle and out. Played for the first time since my last shankfest on the course 3 weeks ago. Played great and no contact issues. So, if you've tried it all, try using that right hand arm to get the inside-out swing going.

Here's three hints:

1) It's true what AJ Bonar says. There is no golf swing that will consistently and automatically square and center the face to the ball at contact. Hand-eye coordination does that. You must intend to hit the ball squarely and in the center before you swing and the subconscious will do its best to have you do exactly that. It actually works.

2) A validation of this is in Jack Nicklaus' Golf My Way and other instruction books by him. His specifically states that at impact you "apply the club head to the ball". He doesn't say swing and let the ball get in the way. He doesn't say swing and hope the club head meets the ball. He does say "Apply" the clubhead to the ball.

3) Read The Sweet Spot by Greig.

The person who replied that you stop hitting off the heel (or toe) by hitting it in the middle perhaps sounded facetious but was actually right on.

1) True, but you sure can help yourself out by not making crazy movements in the golf swing. The biggest is keeping the head steady. If your eye's move your depth perception moves. Given the downswing last less than a half a second, if your head moves, by the time your realize its happening, send those reflexes to change something, its to late. Most people develop feels in there swing to pre-empt this. Like the old chicken wing finish, holding off the club. That is a development of years of hitting bad shots.

2) DUH. But the ball does get in the way a bit, its kinda 50/50. Cause its really really hard to change the swing path once things get set into motion.

This is why the intent (vision)  of hitting the sweet spot along with the target, trajectory, fade, draw, etc. BEFORE you swing is important. Your body will react to that vision more than you think. It's like reaching for your cup of coffee and bringing it to your lips. How much do you focus on the means of doing that as opposed to the result you want?

If your like me you may have too much weightin your toes. I can pick my heels up no problem. I try and sit back an bend my knees(also dosnt let me snap my knee and keeps right foot down vmac) then sit a little more upright to get weight back. Then I stand a touch farther away and right before I hit push my hands forward behind the ball. David lead better suggested a drill where you line up at the hosel and hit the toe