Driving thoughts

[lcfd42]

My poor driving has visited again today. I hit every club in the bag well today except for the driver. The following is what I hit various clubs compared to a driver average.

PW - 130
7I - 165
5I - 195
3W - 240

Driver - 220

The only difference I feel with the driver is my swing has a "cramped" sensation. Ball flight is straight with maybe a little draw to it.
Any ideas? Thanks.

[gspjeb]

no expert here to be sure but have had similar problems with my driving in the past. With me it was that I was not giving time for the swing to happen if that makes any sense. I would hit my irons well and hit weak drives. I worked on tempo and not rushing my drives especially and that really made the difference for me. I think it was the tension I was adding at the start of the down swing and I would get too steep. I am sure some of the pros on here will be able to help you with it. Good luck

[wedge player]

i also have this problem right now

pw-145
7i-175
4i-220
3w-265
driver-250

[ks8829]

I played last Wednesday and hit my driver better than ever. It was all with tempo. I started the club slow and once I was in position released the club with solid contact and good results, high slight draw.


Go find your tempo, you can also try choking up on the driver and hit some partial back swing to feel the solid contact and good direction, I am sure the driver will come around for you soon.

[zenchili]

My poor driving has visited again today. I hit every club in the bag well today except for the driver. The following is what I hit various clubs compared to a driver average.

You are probably treating the driver like a completely different club, it should be the same swing only with a slightly different setup. If you're hitting your other clubs well, you can hit the driver well.

Often the way we think is different but it's subtle. The cramped sensation is your body telling you that you are doing something different. Try to swing so that the cramped sensation isn't there, so that it feels like you're swinging a different club, one that you love to swing.

[sherwoodnatl]

confidence.......?

[lcfd42]

confidence.......?

Well I must say that when I hit it short like that a couple of times it does take a whack at my confidence mostlt because I don't know what the root cause of the problem is.

[ctw262]

If I'm having a bad driving day, I'll take out my PW and make some nice controlled swings really focusing on my tempo before my next drive. After about 3 or 4 of these swings, I can usually pull out the driver with good results. You might be "trying to hard," if that makes sense.

[RIduffer]

My poor driving has visited again today. I hit every club in the bag well today except for the driver. The following is what I hit various clubs compared to a driver average.

I can relate to this. For some reason, I make a real tentative swing with my driver, but I really swing away with a 5-iron. I think that's common.

I know this sounds kind of lame, but why not just take the driver out of your bag for a while? If you can get 240 off the tee with a 3-wood, you'll still be in good position on most holes. Hell, I'm lucky to hit my driver that far once in a round. I think if you build up lots of confidence with your 3-wood, that driver swing will come around eventually. Plus, I think the lower-handicap players would agree that you can score well with 240 yd. tee shots. I played with a 71 year old guy last week who hit his driver about 210, and he shot 76 from the tips at a pretty challenging course. Granted, his short game was ridiculous. But still impressive to watch someone score that well, considering he had trouble reaching most par-4s in regulation.

[flatom]

You may be standing too close.
Also, try to keep your hands and arms very loose and don't start the downswing until you feel you have completed the backswing.
This should help.

[HoosierGolfer]

Try more loft in your driver. What is the loft of you three wood? More loft can reduce spin and you could be putting too much bad spin or side spin on your driver shots which is reducing your distance. If your miss with the driver is a slice or a hook bad spin could be the reason.

[sherwoodnatl]

could be a lot of things - wrong shaft, to little loft etc.
when i am at the range, i always hit my short irons first and move up because that keeps my swing under control. that helps a lot. Otherwise i would need to see your swing.

[flatom]

Actually, not true. More loft increases spin.

Try more loft in your driver. What is the loft of you three wood? More loft can reduce spin and you could be putting too much bad spin or side spin on your driver shots which is reducing your distance. If your miss with the driver is a slice or a hook bad spin could be the reason.

[flatom]

Funny, I do the opposite, I hit my hardest club,3 iron, if I can hit that well then I move up. If not, I know I need to practice my swing because something is out of whack.

Why practice with the clubs you already hit well??

could be a lot of things - wrong shaft, to little loft etc.

[wedge player]

Why practice with the clubs you already hit well??

confidence and good thoughts

[lcfd42]

******UPDATE******
Well I went today and played 27 holes(didnt get in my normal 36). Anyway on the full 18 I shot a 79 and on the 9 holes I shot a 39 (Par 72 course). Weather here sucked really bad. Temps were in the mid 30's and light rain fell most of the day, wind was neglegable. It was just quite nasty. All this considered, I was striking the ball with purpose. Ball flight was hampered somewhat due to weather conditions, but the driver was flying 250+ and the 3w was 225-230 on the Skycaddie. I had to club up an extra club for all other shots. I'm still not sure what the driver problem is. It's like the yips, it comes and goes.
Just since I don't get to say it often, I will say that chipping and putting were spot-on today.
I just remembered, there was one other thing I might mention. I wore a PAIR of those Footjoy winter gloves. The grip felt significantly different with them on. I'm sure that did something.

[KwSipp]

Funny, I do the opposite, I hit my hardest club,3 iron, if I can hit that well then I move up. If not, I know I need to practice my swing because something is out of whack.

Bro you and I think alike! Im in the process of finding a 1 iron blade for a training aid, if I can hit that well I can hit anything well and that gives me confidence.

[CalBoomer]

Your driver does indeed stand out for being inappropriately short compared to your other distances. Unlike all of those other clubs, the driver needs to be hit on the upswing (very slightly) and with a slightly flatter swing plane for optimal distance. The fact that you feel "cramped" suggests you may be too close to the ball and setting up for too vertical a swing plane. Nicklaus may have been able to hit the ball a ton with a vertical swing but Ben Hogan is the better role model for the rest of us.