Drives Ballooning and Dropping Dead

[LightsOut]

I've searched the internets high and low for a solution to this.  I have a chronic issue with hitting drives that take off on a steep trajectory, then kind of flare up and drop straight down at about 230 yards.  Sometimes the ball will be a few feet behind the ball mark in the fairway.  Contact feels good, fully releasing after impact, good balance on follow through, etc.  I had my driver set at 10.5 degrees, but cranked it down to 8.5 (as low as it will go) and still produce a similar ball flight, but with more slices and hooks now.  I know it's a spin issue, but have yet to find a suggestion anywhere that addresses how to lower the spin rate.  Have any of you experienced this or have some tips?  Playing tomorrow and would like to get it worked out on the range beforehand.  Also, my driver came with a stiff shaft which I've never used before.  Could that be a factor?  

[iacas]

Sounds like you're hitting down and generating too much spin. Probably across it (left) too.

[LightsOut]

Okay (and I know you don't have much info to work with here), so coming over the top a little and not catching it on the upswing.  Work on inside out swing path, then spine tilt and staying behind the ball to catch it on the upswing?

[Zippo]

I don't have an answer for you but I'm curious if teeing the ball at different heights produces any changes in your ball flight?

[LightsOut]

1 minute ago, Zippo said:

I don't have an answer for you but I'm curious if teeing the ball at different heights produces any changes in your ball flight?

I've experimented with that.  Even a small lowering of the tee height makes it feel like it's coming off the bottom of the face with a very low trajectory.  It's one extreme or the other.  I'm going to try and get some video tomorrow from a couple angles and use the shot tracer app with them so you guys can at least see the trajectory.  I'll also powder the face to see where contact is really being made. Will get some shots of that, too.  Maybe that will help find what's going wrong.  

This is all assuming the pulled muscle in my lower right pec area has healed sufficiently to even swing the club...  Still hurts a little, but at least it's gone from a sharp, stabbing, take-your-breath-away pain to a just a deep ache.  

[pganapathy]

I have to wonder if a simple solution is move the ball further left (assuming you right handed) in your stance so that you catch the ball on the upswing arc of your shot

[LightsOut]

22 minutes ago, pganapathy said:

I have to wonder if a simple solution is move the ball further left (assuming you right handed) in your stance so that you catch the ball on the upswing arc of your shot

Good point also.  I'll use an alignment stick to make sure it's off my left heel.  I think I was subconsciously inching it to the right a little.  It's counterintuitive to think of a more upward strike for balls that are flying too high, so  I instinctively moved it more to the bottom of the arc.

[downbylaw11]

this isn't the 'solution', but you could get fit for a driver and see a dramatic improvement in launch conditions, (spin rate, launch angle). But the most improvement will also be seen from shallowing your attack angle and hitting on the up.  

I had problems with spin rate, not necessarily with balooning drives, just ones that didn't roll out at all after they landed.  I was able to add 20+ yards total distance by testing out drivers on a launch monitor and getting my spin to 2500 and a more optimal launch angle.