is it possible to hit down on driver swing?

[maraca2020]

My irons are great, very pure, but I can't hit a driver. So I'm wondering if it's possible to not hit the ball on the upswing, but strike down on it, a little like tigers stinger. Thanks

[David in FL]

Certainly it's possible .

I don't know that you'd care for the results though.......

[mtsalmela80]

Some people say you are supposed to do this.

[maraca2020]

how would you though?

[schigara]

I got paired up with a guy yesterday that had the same ball position with every single club. The ball was in the middle of his back foot!

This de-lofted every club big time. When he tee'd off with driver, he would hit a very low hook or duck hook. He seriously hit down on it so I don't think you want to hit down on it like he did. His irons were actually pretty good. He hit his PW like a 8 and his 8 like a 6 and so on.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Yeah its possible. Some advocate hitting down and through the ball with your driver is how everyone should be tring to hit it. Doing it is probably just a matter of ball position, making sure youre catching the ball right at the bottom of the swing arc.

[David in FL]

how would you though?

The easiest way would be to simply move the ball back in your stance to a point where the club was still descending when it struck the ball. I would also square up my shoulders parallel to the ground, rather than addressing with the trailing shoulder a bit low as is more common with the driver.

[maraca2020]

how does tiger hit his stinger differently than his regular drive?

[Zeph]

Stingers he hit with woods and irons, not the driver. He puts the ball a bit back in the stance, may do some small changes in the swing, delofts the club a lot. Probably hits the ball on the way down.

[TN94z]

I actually have a problem with hitting my driver on the down swing. This actually puts spin on the ball and you can either lose distance on be inconsistent....I have both problems.

[Leftygolfer]

That is one sure way to be a poor driver of the ball. To try to do that would make it much harder to hit it the way you want to IE high launch, low spin.

Tiger hits his driver with a very level swing.

[mtsalmela80]

The only time this ever came up was on the golf fix. A guy wrote in saying his pga pro instructor said to hit down on the ball, and Michael Breed agreed. He said it puts a little underspin on the ball giving it a better hang time, etc..

[TN94z]

The only time this ever came up was on the golf fix. A guy wrote in saying his pga pro instructor said to hit down on the ball, and Michael Breed agreed. He said it puts a little underspin on the ball giving it a better hang time, etc..

And kills the distance into the wind. More hang time doesn't necessarily mean more distance.

[iacas]

Bobby Clampett says you should, and over half of the PGA Tour does, so...

[enarhi]

Possible, yes. Advisable, no.

[Saint]

if you hit down on it, you will have an outside to in swing, which means pull, or slice. You want the grip of the club to be at the ball on your downswing, which means your hands are slightly forward, but that is very little hit down on it.

[Chas]

When I'm tending to hit driver on the downswing it's because I've got my setup all wrong and it usually ends very badly - in a fountain ball. Or at the least I get low, unpenetrating drives. I fix it ASAP.

[right handed phil mickelson]

I hit down on my driver most of the time: when I'm trying to be accurate.

Some of the most accurate drivers in the game hit down with their driver. If I want distance and some roll, I'll put the ball up a little bit in my stance, lean back just a tad so my spine is behind the ball, aim just a little bit left, and let-r-rip.