Need Advice about my driver

I picked up golf around 4 months ago and I have a beginner set driver. In order to hit it straight I have to take a lot off of my swing which makes me sacrifice distance. Since I am new to golf I am not sure how much further a better name brand driver will go. Will the driver actually increase my distance even though I am not swinging all that hard?

A new driver won't fix a slice. Instead, take a look at this thread:

http://thesandtrap.com/t/77244/how-to-hit-a-driver-hit-it-further-and-stop-slicing

and follow its advice. Also, consider getting lessons in person from an instructor. Fixing a driver slice is, I imagine, the majority of what golf pros wind up being asked to do in lessons. I got my driving straightened out, metaphorically and literally, within about 10 minutes during a lesson. And a lot of what the guy taught me was covered in the thread linked above. The trick was figuring out which particular suggestions were most helpful for me and that I should focus on. I feel like I swing exactly the same as before; the issues were fixed entirely with a few setup ideas.

For me, I was aiming right to try to draw the ball, but while my feet were aimed that way, I didn't realize my shoulders and hips were pointing left of target. As was explained to me, I was more likely to swing in the direction of my shoulders than my feet. So before I swing the driver, I put it across my chest with the butt end pointing in the direction I'm hitting, and helping me make sure I'm aiming my shoulders right of target. I'm better at eyeballing it than I was a month ago, but it's a good check. He also had me move the ball way up in my stance, so I'm playing it basically off of my left heel. He explained that, while I was doing everything I could to hit the ball flush, I just couldn't get the club to catch up to where I wanted it to be at impact. Moving it forward helped give it an extra split second to catch up to my hands and be relatively square, as opposed to massively open, which caused the big banana ball slice. Added benefit is that it is helping me hit up at the ball, which helps maximize my distance. We also slightly strengthened my grip, which I'm ambivalent about, but it's more technically sound, and it doesn't feel too weird, so whatever, I'm rolling with it.

In any event, I'm getting really good yardage numbers and it's really a lot more consistent. More than I could have dreamed. I went to the range Friday, and I had a run of shots where each drive was essentially identical. This particular range is elevated and the carry was hitting the boundary fence in almost exactly the same spot. Of course I tried to start getting it over the fence like a nincompoop and I started getting more erratic, but the point is that I feel like I have a repeatable swing. And it took just some good set up ideas. Your mileage may vary depending on your issues, but for me, the amount of time and energy and money I put in to trying to fix it on my own vs. having someone help me make me feel like a schmuck. Try the stuff in the thread, but also try and get a lesson.

I still can't hit a draw with the driver with any consistency, even though that's my shot shape with every other club, but the very slight fade right back onto target is not something I'm complaining about.

First welcome to the site.

No. And yes.

No, because you just started and aren't swinging the club that fast or that consistently yet.

Yes, because they're made better than the driver that's in the beginner set.

The driver is the most difficult club with which to strike the ball consistently well. If we think of your pitching wedge as driving a Toyota, you can think of your driver as driving a big truck. The pitching wedge is easier to hit straight because it has a lot more backspin than side spin. With the driver it is easy to put more side spin on the ball than you will put backspin. This is due to the low loft of the driver.

What I would do, is when you play your fun rounds you should probably tee off with a club you can control better, like the 4 or 5 hybrid that came with your set. This will, or should keep you on the fairways and out of the woods and make your round a bit more fun. You will still make bad decisions but you'll learn what works and what doesn't. It will be less painful.

* If you have some money, I'd get a rangefinder before getting a driver. It will help you with making club selections. There are also apps you can download onto your smartphone. If you have unlimited data, or high data I'd use this feature. Some apps allow you to enter how far you hit clubs and will make recommendations and give slope information. You're learning and not keeping a handicap yet, so being legal doesn't really matter yet. Eventually wean yourself off the training wheels, and use an app that just gives distance.

* Onto your driver. I'd take some lessons. Why not sign up for evolvr? If you have a smart phone, a tripod (cheap), you can video your swing and send it in for your evolvr lesson. I hear they're pretty darned good. A lot of people on this site take them.

* Also you might want to start a thread in the "My Swing" section of the forum.

Pros have a lot of knowledge about the game and about using each club in the bag. You will find that some are better at communicating this knowledge than others. The golf swing is not that complicated. I think we make it more complicated than it is. David Leadbetter's 100% Golf is one book to read. When you get a handle on the game, then Lowest Score Wins.

FWIW, I've been playing two years and still have trouble with my driver accuracy. My 3W is my go to off the tee now. I hit it quite far and more accurately than my driver, but I'm still working on my driver at the range.

This is really sound advice; I'd just chime in with a few thoughts based on it:

- The driver is usually the most expensive club in most people's bags. Unless you decide to go the used route, and depending on how much you care about aesthetics, getting a new driver early on might be excessive because you're probably erratic and experimenting with different deliveries, learning to hit the face consistently, and you might ding it up pretty good with some sky marks. I'm personally dreaming on getting the Callaway 815 because I get great numbers with it in the store (I'm very jealous to see Julia games the just-as-wonderful 2014 model), but I'm purposely waiting until I get better at hitting the middle of the face so I don't have a big gouge facing me for the next few years. I don't think it's the worst idea in the world to have a beater driver to learn on. You can learn to not slice with most anything that isn't ancient.

- Distance measuring devices are awesome for your development and it was also my first big purchase after getting clubs. I went with a GPS vs. a laser because it was cheaper and didn't require line of sight, which is good because courses I play are very dogleg-heavy.

- I did less club (3W) off the tee all 2014 and it helped my game a ton. But I never found any carryover effect to the driver. I was just as bad at driver before and after I spent the year hitting my 3W. Only thing that fixed my driver were the set-up changes from my lesson. That was just my own particular experience. I did get better at hitting the 3W, though, haha.

All of this is to just add food for thought.

A driver that has gotten a lot of excellent reviews is the Cobra BioCell. They're $169 right now. I'd go down and get fitted before I bought one, though. I'd look at last year's models and forget about this year's models. The new stuff is going to be very expensive. I play Cobra stuff and just bought one of last year's 3 woods for $119. The faces on the the woods are hot and forgiving.

My first real driver was a Cobra Amp Cell, and I beat it to death. Initially I had a Lite shaft because I could only drive 170 yds. I simply outgrew the club. A shaft upgrade was half the cost of a new driver so I got fitted for a new one.

If you want to save some money, and want a better driver than your beginner set driver, go to e-bay and type: cobra amp cell driver new regular.

That will bring up regular flex New Cobra Amp Cell drivers. They're like only $95 . For the money they're a great buy. These are brand new 2013 models that didn't sell in the stores. Some are still in the shrink wrap. They're adjustable, and they have great forgiveness. For you, set it at 11.5 degrees. That's what I played it at, and according to some studies if you're swinging under 95 mph you should even have more loft, so don't worry about it.

It's like the piano.  If you are an adult beginner student of piano would it make much difference if you practiced on a Steinway grand ($230,000) or upright Yamaha ($7,000)?  That's right, Twinkle Twinkle both hands in time.  As an adult, you will be struggling for weeks on this one.

Same with the golf sticks.  The most important thing is the body motion, regardless of the club in hand.  TWoods would beat everyone here with a hickory root.  So take the advice of many and use the shorter clubs off the tee.  Don't forget: hitting the golf ball far and straight is the most difficult part of the game.  Need a driver?  Go to big golf shop and look over the Pre-owned and demo clubs.  Spend your money on learning the motion.

Good one.... I had a Yamaha Upright. It was a great instrument. Then I eventually got to the point where I needed a set of blades er a Steinway grand. I bought a used one. It is sitting downstairs. It is 98 years old. I had it reshafted and the lie on and lofts on the heads redone ... er had the piano rebuilt 18 years ago when I bought it for $16,000. The case and soundboard were in excellent condition, but the internal workings were a mess. It has a beautiful sound and plays beautifully now.

That's why I suggested the Cobra Amp Cell. It won't break the bank and if he takes lessons his pro can adjust it to the loft and ball flight he needs. It originally was a $200 club. But we adults will fret over this. We see the new shiny in the store.

And get this.... a golfer at the driving range wants my Razr Fit and I may end up with his Ping G25 driver. He really likes the Razr Fit. So my range beater will be a G25???