Driver is being killed my mental problems!!

[TN94z]

I hit my irons very well and I have always been consistent. I recently started taking some lessons to get over a plateau and become more consistenet. It is taking time to get the move learned, but my driver has just been bad. I don't think I have hit it well all year really. My distance is not there and my consistency is not there. I just feel like I get freaking stupid when it comes to pulling the driver on the tee box. My swing is so inconsistent with this club now. One time my tempo will be too fast. Then it will be too slow and my release will be early. The next time my hips don't turn. I never used to have these problems and now it seems I can't get past them. It is mainly just the woods. It gets really frustrating. Any tips? Will it take longer to make a swing change with woods as compared to the irons?

[out_in_30]

well, the driver might be the hardest club to hit accurately. its the longest club and exaggerates any swing flaw that you make and its very hard to get away with a bad swing with a driver. My advice is slow it down, and swing very smoothly.. maybe even choke up a bit on it.. Even tiger woods struggles with driver accuracy.

[TN94z]

well, the driver might be the hardest club to hit accurately. its the longest club and exaggerates any swing flaw that you make and its very hard to get away with a bad swing with a driver. My advice is slow it down, and swing very smoothly.. maybe even choke up a bit on it.. Even tiger woods struggles with driver accuracy.

I for sure agree with that. I don't really expect it to be the most accurate club in my bag or anything. And I do keep it in play. But I just feel so uncomfortable while swinging a wood. It's just not that fluid smooth tempo that I get with my irons. I guess mentally I am trying to hit it harder than I should or something. I don't know.

I did notice a few weeks ago that my backswing was too long and that my left arm was really breaking down. So I have shortened my backswing (also now using the swing extender) and it feels better but still not like it used to be. Maybe it will work itself out. I still haven't gotten the swing changes down with my irons yet, so I guess it is just exxagerated with the woods, like you said.

[kpaulhus]

well, the driver might be the hardest club to hit accurately. its the longest club and exaggerates any swing flaw that you make and its very hard to get away with a bad swing with a driver. My advice is slow it down, and swing very smoothly.. maybe even choke up a bit on it.. Even tiger woods struggles with driver accuracy.

Awesome advice. Seriously.

I had mad issues just like the OP. One week my beautiful straight 260+ drives started to slice. Talk about agonizing. 6 weeks of slowing down and really trying to focus on hitting the drives accurate and I was able to get back to a normal drive, with a 5 yard slight fade. Then of course my shaft snaps in half this past weekend. If I was you, I would save all the agony and just slow down and get my tempo and swing plane back in order. So what if you hit the ball 200-215? Then you can work on your longer irons. Just be easy and dont get too frustrated and it will come back to you.

[TN94z]

Awesome advice. Seriously.

I agree with both of you! Slowing down is for sure the best way to get it back. I can slow my swing down and because of the better contact, the ball will still reach on out to 250 but as soon as I step it up to my normal swing then I lose something. I know I have more distance than that because I hit my 3w 250 (not carry). And that is about all I am getting out of my driver right now....and I know there is something wrong there. I mean if I am hitting my 3w 250, then shouldn't my driver be going 260+?

[Zeph]

Could you be using too much arms when trying to hit it harder? Try swinging slow and mimic the movement when speeding up. If you can hit it 250 with control, you can hit it harder, but it's very easy to start getting tense and doing all sorts of strange stuff. If you are worried you might hit it bad, slow it down and hit it as easy as you can with control.

If you hit the irons well, do the same with the driver. Hit them back and forth. If the arms outrace the body, or hips go too fast, you're in trouble.

[Drifterland]

I hit my irons very well and I have always been consistent. I recently started taking some lessons to get over a plateau and become more consistenet. It is taking time to get the move learned, but my driver has just been bad. I don't think I have hit it well all year really. My distance is not there and my consistency is not there. I just feel like I get freaking stupid when it comes to pulling the driver on the tee box. My swing is so inconsistent with this club now. One time my tempo will be too fast. Then it will be too slow and my release will be early. The next time my hips don't turn. I never used to have these problems and now it seems I can't get past them. It is mainly just the woods. It gets really frustrating. Any tips? Will it take longer to make a swing change with woods as compared to the irons?

Hit those Irons well? Ahhh, that's where I was too. I couldn't swing the driver worth anything. I would be on a monitor hitting my 6-iron 195 and then hit my driver 240.... I was like, what???

Here is what I did, I took out my 7-iron and put down three balls, then I teed up three balls really high. I would make the best swing I could focusing on tempo and then grab my driver immediately and hit one trying to focus on making the same swing. I would go back and forth like this and now I am cured. I also took a swing vid of myself and I was trying to make a "Perfect" swing, trying to put it into positions. After the work a few days later I took a new vid and my swing looked the same as my iron swing and I was swinging without fear. Now my driver is back with a vengeance. For a while it was the worst club in my bag, now it's the best.

[TN94z]

Could you be using too much arms when trying to hit it harder? Try swinging slow and mimic the movement when speeding up. If you can hit it 250 with control, you can hit it harder, but it's very easy to start getting tense and doing all sorts of strange stuff. If you are worried you might hit it bad, slow it down and hit it as easy as you can with control.

More than likely, yes, I am using too much arms. Here is a little background. I got down to a 2.5 but had a little scoop action at impact. So I decided to work with a teacher to get the bow at impact. So I am in the middle of these changes at the moment. This along with a lot of arms and not much hip action was my main problems. I have both fixed except the impact. And that is where I am today. You named my two problems at the moment. I get so focused on the impact position, that my hips slow and my arms take over or vice versa, my hips get to quick and I usually block it. The problem is that I know what to do and what to work on, but once I get to the tee....I just go stupid I guess.

Hit those Irons well? Ahhh, that's where I was too. I couldn't swing the driver worth anything. I would be on a monitor hitting my 6-iron 195 and then hit my driver 240.... I was like, what???

I can't believe I haven't thought of that little drill before

That is something I need to try. I am going back to my teacher in a week, so we will see how far I have progressed on camera....where you can really see the truth!!