Contact With Driver?

[imgoinhungry]

Help!  I know it is hard to diagnose without a swing video, but here is my issue.

1.  On the simulator, I can hit driver 250 yards or so and keep the ball in play consistently.

 

2.  On the actual course, I cant even make contact with the driver.  Today I was hitting these little 5 yard dinker pop-ups.  I also noticed I was leaving a divot in front of the tee.

 

What in the heck am I doing wrong!  I dont think I am coming over the top.  On the range I visualize hitting the ball to right field and completing my swing and its fine.  It is just maddening.  Ill practice on simulator or range and not have an issue.  The second I get on course I literally cant hit the ball.  Any thoughts?

[pganapathy]

Is it possible that you are teeing the ball too low and hitting the ground on the simulator.  Artificial turf is very forgiving on heavy shots.

Essentially popup shots mean you are hitting the ball very high up on the club face.  Whether that is because the tee is too high, you are hitting the ground or because of your swing is hard to determine.

[FlyingAce]

I have nothing to offer for your issue BUT I notice I can never get the tee on mat/simulator to be the same height as when I am on the course, and that makes a difference for me. Sometimes the issue is not the swing but something very minor in the setup. 

[imgoinhungry]

1 minute ago, pganapathy said:

Is it possible that you are teeing the ball too low and hitting the ground on the simulator.  Artificial turf is very forgiving on heavy shots.

Essentially popup shots mean you are hitting the ball very high up on the club face.  Whether that is because the tee is too high, you are hitting the ground or because of your swing is hard to determine.

I dont think so.  Contact is great on simulator.  I feel like I have no problem when everything is aligned for me.  My biggest issue is with alignment I think.

Ill spray the clubhead next time.  Maybe Im just hitting at the very top of the club.  I purposefully teed the ball lower today.  Didnt help

6 minutes ago, FlyingAce said:

I have nothing to offer for your issue BUT I notice I can never get the tee on mat/simulator to be the same height as when I am on the course, and that makes a difference for me. Sometimes the issue is not the swing but something very minor in the setup. 

Would be nice if it was just a tee height issue to worry about!

[FlyingAce]

1 minute ago, imgoinhungry said:

Maybe Im just hitting at the very top of the club.  I purposefully teed the ball lower today.  Didnt help

There is more to controlling where the ball and your club face meet on your swing path. Tee-ing the ball lower will not necessarily fix the problem and make you hit lower on the face. 

[FlyingAce]

10 minutes ago, imgoinhungry said:

Would be nice if it was just a tee height issue to worry about!

Are you using the same tee height in both situation? Assuming you already have a repeatable swing, the outcome should be similar if your set up didn’t change between simulator and actual course.

When things are not working out for me (when I know I can do it), first thing I check is my set up before thinking it is my swing. And most of the time it is the setup being off very minimally. 

If you can post a video of your swing, I am pretty sure the experienced guys on here can tell you more.

[imgoinhungry]

9 minutes ago, FlyingAce said:

Are you using the same tee height in both situation? Assuming you already have a repeatable swing, the outcome should be similar if your set up didn’t change between simulator and actual course.

When things are not working out for me (when I know I can do it), first thing I check is my set up before thinking it is my swing. And most of the time it is the setup being off very minimally. 

If you can post a video of your swing, I am pretty sure the experienced guys on here can tell you more.

I feel like I mostly struggle with this when it comes to alignment.  With the range/simulator, everything is squared up.  Hit a great drive today on last hole bc the tee box was aligned with the fairway.  I feel like these problems arise when I need to aim left/right.  I guess it is messing something up in my setup.

I think Im just going to ask my instructor to go out on course with me to try to diagnose issue.

[pganapathy]

2 hours ago, imgoinhungry said:

I feel like I mostly struggle with this when it comes to alignment.  With the range/simulator, everything is squared up.  Hit a great drive today on last hole bc the tee box was aligned with the fairway.  I feel like these problems arise when I need to aim left/right.  I guess it is messing something up in my setup.

I think Im just going to ask my instructor to go out on course with me to try to diagnose issue.

Am curious whether you are trying to hit a draw/fade when you are not aligned straight.  If not, bad alignment only means you will hit the ball left or right.

[imgoinhungry]

3 hours ago, pganapathy said:

Am curious whether you are trying to hit a draw/fade when you are not aligned straight.  If not, bad alignment only means you will hit the ball left or right.

nope... just trying to hit ball straight.  But I definitely dont feel comfortable over the ball with driver while doing this.  On the simulator, I feel like everything is aligned and my shoulders are square to target (the screen).  I pipe the ball 250 with a straight path.

Im guessing this uncomfort is causing a swing flaw.  Need to pit on course with my instructor.

Thanks for the comments.

[imgoinhungry]

Check out this video.  Ive been battling this result for a few months.  When I use driver, the ball ends up hitting the ground directly in front of the tee, as seen in this video:

What is the flaw that causes this result?

[iacas]

The person in that video is hitting the ball with negative loft.

[imgoinhungry]

1 minute ago, iacas said:

The person in that video is hitting the ball with negative loft.

What causes that?  Rotating hands improperly or something?  Perhaps I have been doing the same thing.

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, imgoinhungry said:

What causes that?  Rotating hands improperly or something?  Perhaps I have been doing the same thing.

Don't know (for you, specifically). Consider posting a Member Swing video from some good camera angles.

And please add an avatar to your profile.

[imgoinhungry]

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

Don't know (for you, specifically). Consider posting a Member Swing video from some good camera angles.

And please add an avatar to your profile.

I will get some swing videos posted today.  Thanks!