problem with drives

[Dr. Slice]

hey guys, for the past few months i have been having very inconsistant drives.

one day im hitting almost all fairways with 280 yard drives, to the next day slicing everything, then trying to fix the slice and then hooking.

thats what its been like...

i think one reason is because on most of my drives i am off balance after i hit, i dont have that nice-looking finish like most people have. i dont know if it is because i am trying to swing to hard (i swing 90-100% on drives)

but other than that i dont know why, it is really frustrating,

if i gave you guys a vid of me hitting a few drives, would it help any?

thanks

[Lebowski]

Consistency off the tee is what every golfer dreams of ... I'd like to try and give you some help with your swing but when the ball is going left and then right,then left, then right... it's just a bit too dificult to give someone advice about their swing on a online forum. When I start to miss fairways both left and right, I make sure I check simple things like my stance alignment, grip and ball position. If those 3 things are the same on every drive its easier to narrow your misses down to one side of the fairway and you can work on your swing from there. Timing and Tempo are also keys to consistency but again its difficult to give you any more advice then that

[golfaddiction]

I was about to post the same thing, but I figured I better check for other posts because slicing a driver is the oldest problem in the book.

On Saturday I was hitting my driver great. I had hit 5 fairways in the row leading up to the 17th hole. At every hole, I say to myself, keep your tempo and move your weight to the left side before coming down with the club. Of course, I hit a horrific slice and lost my ball OB to the right, and ended up with an 8 on a short par 5.

I think the problem might be mental. Sometimes I just lose my focus and rush the swing, and the slice re-appears. I rarely hit slices on the driving range, only when I get out to the tee-box. This while telling myself "no slice no slice no slice"

[umpiremark]

You're a 12 hncp, so I presume you know how to hit a golf ball, fairly well. If you're swinging 90-100% and off balance at the end of your swing - right there you've answered your own question. Maintain a decent tempo where you can end up (swinging inside to out) in that PGA pose every time. Tiger always said you can swing as hard as you want as long as you're in-balance when you're done. As soon as you start tipping over or stepping forward or falling backwards, your swing can never be on plane.

Get to the range; swing at 60, 70, 80% until you can finish in that perfect, balanced pose. Don't even watch where the ball goes, just get your rythm and temo back in order. Then worry about meeting the clubhead to the ball on that new relaxed swing.

225 yards straight beats 285 yards OB right, every time; hands down.

[Dr. Slice]

thanks guys im gunna really work on that.

today in my back yard i was just trying a few things with my driver and how to not slice. what i thought was really working was when i had a loose grip with my left hand and a tight right handed grip, that right there stopped the slice and every once in a while put a nice little draw into play.

but next time at the range im gunna really work on the tempo like you guys said.

[sdped1]

I've been having similar problems and hooked up with a instructor today. I really felt kind of foolish as most of the problem was in my grip. For some reason I let it get to far down into my hand and not around the knuckle area or the base of the fingers. This was causing my right hand to take over and the result was a hook. Then I'd hit a slice when I tried to manupulate the club or what ever I tried to do to correct it. I was also lifting up my right elbow to early on the follow through, in other words I wasn't allowing it to fold under naturaly in a relaxed manner. Also my head was lifting up a little to soon, so he got me to keep it down a through the swing a bit more. It took him about 10min and I was hitting great. Well worth the 40 bucks. I sure would like to see not grip the right hand with more pressure, but what do I know- Steve

[umpiremark]

thanks guys im gunna really work on that.

I was taught to hold the club like you were holding a bird in your hand ... too loose and the bird flys away; too tight and you got guts on your hands ... I'd work more on tempo and smoothing (is that a word) out your swing to a repeatable rythm. IMHO ...

[DiverDown]

I was taught to hold the club like you were holding a bird in your hand ... too loose and the bird flys away; too tight and you got guts on your hands ... I'd work more on tempo and smoothing (is that a word) out your swing to a repeatable rythm. IMHO ...

I agree with this. If I start to slice it's typically because some tension has entered my swing and I'm gripping the club too tightly. This causes me not to release which results in a slice for me.