Drives getting too high

[pchaney301]

I think I posted a topic about this earlier this year, but I was going to write an update. Most of my shots are still getting really high and bouncing once and stopping, which is great for my 7-wedges. But off the tee, my balls are going like 265 in the air, hitting and rolling an extra maybe yard or two, and thats it. I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing to cause all my shots to go so high. Its absolutely killing me off the tee.

Another question that I have is about my irons. Somewhere, I am losing power. Again, my shots go really, REALLY high and just fall. I mean I've been hitting my 7 iron around 140-145. It just doesn't make any sense. Any suggestions?

[bioman]

What kind of ball are you using?

[pchaney301]

Pro V1x. But i've tried different balls that I have in my bag and not really getting any better results out of anything to really notice a difference. I'm convinced its something in my swing, just don't know what.

[Chipper]

are you tilting the face of the club at all? the only other thing i can think of is if the ground is moist.

[HSip]

Don't know if this relates to you but late last year I started an almost "Sir Charles" like lunge at the ball and after trying about a million things I settled on really staying behind the ball. Not quite to a reverse C position but keeping my head still and staying back. My ball striking (and overall swing) improved but all of my shots are high. I've not lost a lot of distance (not long in the first place) but everything is high. Good luck

[jamo]

bad contact?

[Bridgestone91]

I too hit an extremely high ball flight. I was at the range the other day, and a pro I work with commented saying that I hit a pw really far. I then told him I was actually hitting a 7 iron. Like HSip I have a tendency to lunge or jump up at impact. I go from keeping my knees bent to straightening them and almost going on my tippy toes at impact. This causes me to been off balance after my swing, and sometimes taking a step forward. I have tried to keep my head behind the ball, and making sure I have a smooth balanced swing. I have since purchased stiff shafted irons which helps somewhat, but I still have an extremely high ball flight.

[Phil]

Have you tried moving the ball back in your stance at all?

[abris33]

Really I should just delete my thread because this one has my exact same problem. I know that for me(might be different for the OP) moving the ball back and/or changing the tee height doesn't make a difference.

[golfmentalist]

what you gotta do is just lean back mroe in your stance, so get father away from the ball. when you walk you to take a swing, make it quick and effortless, as relaxed as possible, this will enabel you to not pull it up

[ControlJunkie]

I've been having the same problem as of late. It's not a huge problem, as I'm going anywhere from 240-265 off the tee, sometimes further. I do want my ballflight lower though. I posted a thread in the equipment forum about trying different shafts, but I'm not totally convinced that it's all because of the shaft. How do I tell if I'm hitting up on the ball too much? Everything is really straight, and lately I've been able to produce a draw, or a fade somewhat consistently, and when I dont, I've been straighter than I've ever been in my life. So, before I go purchase a new shaft for the driver and 3W, I want to be 100% sure I'm not hitting up on the ball too much. Any tips on some tell tale signs that that's what's going on?

Have you tried moving the ball back in your stance at all?

Dont know about the OP, but if I move the ball back too far, I dont have enough time to close the face, and I block it to the right.

[Zeph]

I'm in the exact same place. Every shot going high, regardless of what club I use. I've got a high ball flight, that's fine, but I'm also casting, which is the reason for my high ball flight. I'm working on fixing this, the biggest problem being not enough hip turn and lateral movement and, most importantly, too much lateral movement with the torso. I used to speed up the arms coming to the top of the backswing, pulling the entire body over to the left, which made it impossible to get a good hit at the ball. I had no chance but to cast the club in order to hit the ball. This will ultimately cause a reverse pivot, weight on the back foot and very often poor balance.

Don't move the ball back. That may help for 2 out of 5 shots, but will ultimately only cause more problems. I can't tell without a video if you've got the same problems as me, but it may be something to check for.

What I try to do now is shorten the backswing, making sure I stop the turn and slowing it down. From the top I slide and turn the hips towards the target while keeping the head still . I've also been rushing the arms, which sort of gives the hands a sign to start throwing the club. The arms should do nothing conciously from the top of the backswing to where they reach the hips. To get to that position, the hips is the key element. When they slide and turn, the torso trail behind, which cause the arms to follow. If you look at swing vision videos on Youtube, at the point where the hands are level with the hips, the hips are open relative to the target line, while the shoulders are closed.

[wrx_junki]

If your carrying the ball 265 yards with minimal roll, its nothing to kill yourself over... Have you had a lot of rain lately? Unless the fairways are drenched, I can't imagine a 265 yard bomb only rolling a yard or two. Go check your spinrate and launch angle to see what's wrong. Unle

[ControlJunkie]

I'm in the exact same place. Every shot going high, regardless of what club I use. I've got a high ball flight, that's fine, but I'm also casting, which is the reason for my high ball flight. I'm working on fixing this, the biggest problem being not enough hip turn and lateral movement and, most importantly, too much lateral movement with the torso. I used to speed up the arms coming to the top of the backswing, pulling the entire body over to the left, which made it impossible to get a good hit at the ball. I had no chance but to cast the club in order to hit the ball.

Dude, great explanation! One question though, about the part above that's bolded - are you talking about weight on the back foot throughout impact, or only at the top of the backswing?

If your carrying the ball 265 yards with minimal roll, its nothing to kill yourself over... Have you had a lot of rain lately? Unless the fairways are drenched, I can't imagine a 265 yard bomb only rolling a yard or two. Go check your spinrate and launch angle to see what's wrong. Unle

I was kinda thinking that, up until the weekend before last. Once we hit the back 9, clouds started rolling over, and the wind picked up, and on a couple holes I was hitting into a headwind. It seemed like the ball got up well, everything looked good, but when it got around the top of the tree line, it kinda floated for a sec, and the wind just killed it. I've had pretty decent success with hitting a stinger-type shot on windy days, but I dont have anywhere near as much confidence in it as I do on my full swing off the tee.

I guess my point is, it's not that I'm unhappy with my distance at all, I just worry that the height of the shot could be a big hinderance on some days. I'd be happy with the same distance, just from a lower shot, and before I drop any money on a couple new shafts, I want to be 100% sure that a lower launching shaft really is the right answer, not something I need to change in my swing. The thing is, the swing feels really good right now, and I've been driving very straight and decently long, but I wanted to throw it out here and get some opinions. Definitely good and informative responses so far...

[abris33]

This helped me a lot. Especially the stance part. http://video.about.com/golf/Hit-Long...ter-Drives.htm

[marty]

I think you may b scooping your irons a little, maybe try moving the ball back a little. This has helped my iron distance alot. I hit a high drive too sometimes too, but i notice it when i fall back on my heels too much