Driver Swing: What Aspects Are Key to Consistent Results?

[longdrive23]

I’ve always struggled with my driver. 12HCP now. Have a decent swing with the irons, am comfortable with the all irons. My 7I is about 165-170yrds.

Driver is another story. I’m just not able to get confident with the driver. Some rounds are very good, some of them are bad. On good days, drives can be from 270-300Yards. Drives are quite inconsistent, drives on some holes can be good nice draws, but some can be a wild shot left, or topping it for 100yrd wormburner. The ball doesn’t strike in the center of the driver club face, its all over and affects scoring. But with irons, its quite consistent and its  center’ish all the time.

Looking for some help with experienced folks who have tamed their driver. What aspects of the swing (specifically for the driver) that is the key to getting consistent and confident with the driver? Sharing experiences that you guys faced and fixed would be greatly appreciated. What are some items I should try e.g: Slow swing speed? Slow down backswing? Shorter back swing?  I’ve fixed sway and have decent hip turn over the years.

 

Thanks

[Mr22putt]

Unless you show us a video of your driver swing....it's nearly impossible for anyone to provide you with feedback.

If I had to give you one tip that's works for me....choke down at least 1/2" to give you more consistency on ball strikes.

I've played golf for 51 years...I've yet to play with anyone who has a pretty good iron play and a lousy driver or vis versa....IMO....one's swing is fairly consistent throughout the bag as far as skill set is concerned...I simply group golfers into 3 categories:

1) lousy ball strikers

2) ok ball strikers

3) good ball strikers

BTW.....IMO...I think the driver is one of the easiest clubs to hit...why?...because the ball is teed up and the driver has the largest clubface/sweet spot for forgiveness on a ball strikes.

Using a driver is also about confidence....I consider my driver one of my strengths....even on tight and short holes I'll pull out my driver because as a 7 cap.....I don't hit my 4W that much more consistent off the tee vs. my driver.

[SteveH]

I'm in the same boat with a driver that is hit and miss, mostly miss and it is so frustrating.  I hit my irons very well I think, rarely hit a bad shot with an iron, especially after a couple of recent lessons that helped fine tune my strike from toe to centre and improved my path. Only been golfing for 11 years and my driver was mostly good and I would use it whenever I could but I would mishit a lot of irons and as I improved that changed.  I now use my 3w for nearly every tee shot that should be driver because I am pretty confident that 3w will be in fairway and driver is a struggle with errant hooks, worm burners etc and the odd beauty little draw that goes 40+ yds past the 3w. I hit one drive on par 5 #18 yesterday that went so far right it went in the hazard on the far side of 17 !! and I still was able to crank a 3w back into play and get on the green in 4 to save bogey.  My driver swing is not the same as my iron swing, I have a descending strike on my irons and try to hit up on my driver.  I do fin it helps if I focus on a shorter, slower backswing but that has been a constant issue for me with every club. Got another lesson lined up and hoping to get that driver back in play, because the extra yardage off the tee is a real bonus when it isn't OB.  

[boogielicious]

5 hours ago, longdrive23 said:

I’ve always struggled with my driver. 12HCP now. Have a decent swing with the irons, am comfortable with the all irons. My 7I is about 165-170yrds.

Driver is another story. I’m just not able to get confident with the driver. Some rounds are very good, some of them are bad. On good days, drives can be from 270-300Yards. Drives are quite inconsistent, drives on some holes can be good nice draws, but some can be a wild shot left, or topping it for 100yrd wormburner. The ball doesn’t strike in the center of the driver club face, its all over and affects scoring. But with irons, its quite consistent and its  center’ish all the time.

Looking for some help with experienced folks who have tamed their driver. What aspects of the swing (specifically for the driver) that is the key to getting consistent and confident with the driver? Sharing experiences that you guys faced and fixed would be greatly appreciated. What are some items I should try e.g: Slow swing speed? Slow down backswing? Shorter back swing?  I’ve fixed sway and have decent hip turn over the years.

 

Thanks

There are a couple of threads in this section on driver that can help. But I agree with others that we need to see your swing and maybe get some Flightscope or other data. The data will help to see if you are hitting down on the ball with the driver and what your tendencies are. High launch, low spin are the trends now for drivers and hitting with a positive angle of attack can help.

 

[klineka]

6 hours ago, Mr22putt said:

BTW.....IMO...I think the driver is one of the easiest clubs to hit...why?...because the ball is teed up and the driver has the largest clubface/sweet spot for forgiveness on a ball strikes.

But it is also the hardest club to hit straight due to how little loft the club has. A couple degrees of the club face being open/closed will have a much greater impact on the curve with a driver than it will with a wedge.

[Mr22putt]

3 hours ago, klineka said:

But it is also the hardest club to hit straight due to how little loft the club has. A couple degrees of the club face being open/closed will have a much greater impact on the curve with a driver than it will with a wedge.

I also play a 12* driver.....helps me with carry and my neutral AoA.

[billchao]

12 hours ago, longdrive23 said:

Driver is another story. I’m just not able to get confident with the driver. Some rounds are very good, some of them are bad. On good days, drives can be from 270-300Yards. Drives are quite inconsistent, drives on some holes can be good nice draws, but some can be a wild shot left, or topping it for 100yrd wormburner. The ball doesn’t strike in the center of the driver club face, its all over and affects scoring. But with irons, its quite consistent and its  center’ish all the time.

Were you fitted for your driver? I’ve had many ballstriking issues with my driver and it turns out I was playing the wrong shaft. Haven’t gotten out on the course yet with my new driver but the contact is now more consistent with what I see from my irons.

[ncates00]

13 hours ago, longdrive23 said:

I’ve always struggled with my driver. 12HCP now. Have a decent swing with the irons, am comfortable with the all irons. My 7I is about 165-170yrds.

Driver is another story. I’m just not able to get confident with the driver. Some rounds are very good, some of them are bad. On good days, drives can be from 270-300Yards. Drives are quite inconsistent, drives on some holes can be good nice draws, but some can be a wild shot left, or topping it for 100yrd wormburner. The ball doesn’t strike in the center of the driver club face, its all over and affects scoring. But with irons, its quite consistent and its  center’ish all the time.

Looking for some help with experienced folks who have tamed their driver. What aspects of the swing (specifically for the driver) that is the key to getting consistent and confident with the driver? Sharing experiences that you guys faced and fixed would be greatly appreciated. What are some items I should try e.g: Slow swing speed? Slow down backswing? Shorter back swing?  I’ve fixed sway and have decent hip turn over the years.

 

Thanks

For me it's all about a solid strike, controlling the face, and a consistent plane.  My miss tends to be slightly out of the heel, so I worked on feeling high toe strike to help me center it.  As for face control, I don't like to see much curve, so I worked on having a more neutral grip (coming from a strong grip) and not letting the face get shut in the takeaway or at the top.  Additionally, setting my driver a few degrees open helped boost my confidence that the ball wouldn't go way left.  Lastly, I like to feel the plane as I take it back; I generally feel the toe come up to get the club planing up the elbow plane, and then from there, with driver I want to feel that I come slightly under that plane on which I took it back--with the irons, I feel the plane going back and come down on that same plane through the ball.

Therefore, I'd look into how you're striking the ball.  Where do you typically hit it on the face?  This sounds like a big problem for you since you're topping them.

I'd also look into face to path control.  Assuming a solid strike (otherwise all bets are off), where does the ball start and where does it curve?  

And with regards to plane, what does your swing look like and how do you execute it?  Are you over the top or do you fall too underneath?

[longdrive23]

6 hours ago, billchao said:

Were you fitted for your driver? I’ve had many ballstriking issues with my driver and it turns out I was playing the wrong shaft. Haven’t gotten out on the course yet with my new driver but the contact is now more consistent with what I see from my irons.

After years of trying to learn to hit the stock driver (TM M1) and failing, finally got fit with XS, low spin. HUGE difference and I'm way better now with ball flight. Doesn't spray when I have a bad swing. And many more good flights during a round. Very happy with the new shaft. 

 

But the striking is very inconsistent. Too many off center shots. So looking for help and trying to fix this part of my game. 

I'll record n post the video sometime with trackman stats the next time I get it. 

[billchao]

12 minutes ago, longdrive23 said:

After years of trying to learn to hit the stock driver (TM M1) and failing, finally got fit with XS, low spin. HUGE difference and I'm way better now with ball flight. Doesn't spray when I have a bad swing. And many more good flights during a round. Very happy with the new shaft. 

 

But the striking is very inconsistent. Too many off center shots. So looking for help and trying to fix this part of my game. 

Did the shaft changes affect your ball striking at all during your fitting?

I had a pretty good fitter and my contact grouping was one of the things we looked at during my fitting (Dr. Scholl's was involved). Even after we found what we thought was the best head and shaft combo for me, we tried a couple more shafts just to see if we could get the launch angle a little higher and saw an immediate drop in quality of strike location. For me, the shaft was a big part of that.

I actually ended up on the low side of what he wanted my launch angle to be, but we were both satisfied with the quality of the ball striking so we left it alone.

18 minutes ago, longdrive23 said:

I'll record n post the video sometime with trackman stats the next time I get it. 

Definitely update your swing thread with recent videos. I just took a quick look at your older swings and I would have thought with that move you'd actually be more consistent with your driver than your irons.

[mighty]

That's weird, irons are usually harder to hit, the club faces are much smaller than drivers, if I lost the driver swing I can find it back pretty quick, but if I lost the iron swing I just keep shanking and topping, and I dont know what went wrong 

[longdrive23]

I’ve attached my swing. It was a good result, 270+yards in the simulator. I had very few instances of this and most of them were going right on this day and I did not have much control.

I’m told to work on the path, to come from the inside. This happens easily now for me for Irons. Seems very tough for the driver. 😞 Looking to hear from the community about the swing and other experiences that gave people confidence and control with the driver.

thanks for your time!

Edited March 16, 2020 by longdrive23
Added attachment

[Vinsk]

I think you may benefit using the drill where you place the back of a chair against your buttocks and keep them in contact with the chair throughout the swing. You’ve got some early extension ( goat humping) going on.

Your down swing plane is considerably over your backswing plane. I’m sorry I don’t have the technology to draw lines but others here do and can show you more clearly. But watching the playback you can see your hips thrust forward ( toward the ball) on your downswing. 
 

[boogielicious]

11 hours ago, longdrive23 said:

I’ve attached my swing. It was a good result, 270+yards in the simulator. I had very few instances of this and most of them were going right on this day and I did not have much control.

I’m told to work on the path, to come from the inside. This happens easily now for me for Irons. Seems very tough for the driver. 😞 Looking to hear from the community about the swing and other experiences that gave people confidence and control with the driver.

thanks for your time!

 

Post this in a My Swing thread.