Need some drastic help with my driver!!!

[o9z1]

A little history regarding my problem - I have 2 ruptured discs in my back and I have had chronic pain for years. I recently got a shot in my spine that took care of most of my pain. Since this shot, I have been unable to hit my driver. When I had pain I guess I must have favored a side consistently enough to hit the ball well with my driver.

I am a big hitter and often hit the ball over 300 yards. Since my shot, here is what happens. I picked up a NASTY slice. It starts left of the target line and ends up WAY right of the target line. That is IF I even get the ball in the air. 90% of all swings with my driver are hit very thin and a "divot" mark from the BALL is on the tee box. You can see where the ball has skidded across the teebox and even worse at times where this is a complete indentation from the ball. I have tried teeing the ball higher and shallowing my swing path a bit. Nothing seems to help. Right now I have NO distance with my driver. Even if I hit it solid it may only go 200 yard with the nasty slice. Even if I hit it solid, the trajectory of my ball is VERY low...like a knockdown shot into the wind. I have no elevation to my driver shots now. I use to hit the ball VERY high.

I can still hit my irons fairly well, but I can't get off the tee box at all. Even if I switch to a hyprid or 3W off the tee it results in the same thing.

Any tips or drills would be greatly appreciated. I am half tempted to give up the game because of this. I have been practicing a lot lately with very little improvement. I am not sure how a measly shot could cause so many problems.

[DeanS]

[QUOTE=o9z1;350965]I am a big hitter..... 90% of all swings with my driver are hit very thin... QUOTE]

It sounds like a power move only because I had a similar problem. My instructor noticed my head and shoulders dropping during the back swing. The cure was to focus on keeping the head still and not to worry about the swing result. You might try swinging the club halfway back and forward prior to setup. This will give you the proper swing feeling, then when you tee off focus on keeping you head/shoulders still. My guess.

[o9z1]

One thing I forgot to mention, I sometimes do take a divot with my driver too...which I had never done before. Also, my iron divots are WAY to the left. I have been trying to cure my outside to in swing bath, which I think causes my slice. But I would rather make solid contact first with the driver and then fix the slice problem...unless my entire swing path is causing the problem.

[o9z1]

anyone else have tips or suggestions?

[Scott_K]

Sorry to hear about your back problems. I'm not sure if you've already tried this or not, but here goes...

How's your take away ? I notice when I start to hit low liners, my clubhead is coming up too abruptly on my backswing. I revert back to the pushing the the clubhead back low and far on the takeaway. As if you were to take an empty shoebox, place it behind your clubhead and push it along the ground. This helps me swing with more of a sweeping action and hit up at the ball. It also helps me cut down on my outside to in swing path. I forget the reasoning behind it, but I just know it works for me.

Also, how's your tempo? If I have any part of my body tighten up, I take a look at my tempo and try to emulate a smooth tempo like Ernie Els.
I agree with your idea of making contact before looking at the slice aspect. Trying to fix two things is pretty hard.

[alf174]

anyone else have tips or suggestions?

do you have the means of posting a video of your swing?

[DriverTees]

Is your grip correct? It may be causing a bit of a problem. Ask a pro, I'd say.

[worldfamous]

I had a similar problem recently after a shoulder problem.

The fix was a couple things combined:
Flatter swing. Not up, but back
Slower, straighter backswing Plane. take away should be along your swing line.
Weaker\centered grip. I used to have a very strong grip
Rolling your wrists at impact. Slices are often because clubhead doesn't get square at impact.

Seems like a lot to adjust but eventually through practice it becomes more and more comfortable.


_______________________
WorldFamous

[mhodar13]

If you're stll feeling funny from the shot I'd say to take a rest and just practice around the yrd with wiffle balls to try and regain the muscle memory of your old swing back. Don't be afraid to come around way inside.