my drives are getting HORRIBLE!

[cantputt]

woah i use to hit my drives fairly striaght and my bad shot is normally a hook... but suddenly im hitting crazy shots to the right.

the ball like starts a little right of my target and then at the end it just turns like crazy to the right... can the shaft be a problem? or is my swing just MESSED UP?

[cdriver]

Have you changed the shaft?? If not, then it probably isn't the shaft. With the ball starting just a little off line to the right and then turning hard right, it sounds like an open clubface more than swingpath.

[BigAl5150]

woah i use to hit my drives fairly striaght and my bad shot is normally a hook... but suddenly im hitting crazy shots to the right.

Check your alignment. Sounds like you might be aiming right of your target to begin with. I've had the same problem. It looks like you are aiming straight but you're actually aiming right of the target. I either get a nasty hook or blow it way right.

[SubPar]

Based on handy chart I got from the PGA Handbook of Golf, if you are hitting a shot that starts right and fades right you are probably swinging inside out with an open clubface. If the ball starts straight and then fades right your swing plane may be okay, but the face is open. This starts happening to me when I am not releasing my hands with the right timing through impact.

Try a drill DL3 used to do when he was kid. Try to hit your driver straight only 150-200 yards. Pay attention to the tempo and timing that yields a straight ball flight and work from that point. I usually find the problem by making sure I am not over-swinging, taking shorter back swings and a nice easy tempo to recover the feeling of releasing the club face squarely through the ball.

If all else fails, go see a good teaching pro. They'll set you right in ten minutes.

[Chas]

All good advice, but don't forget also to hold the driver very softly in your hands, especially as you come down from the top. Two weeks ago I had just a terrible round with my new 460, hit maybe 4 fairways - mostly huge pushes and/or slices - but yesterday I hit the fairway almost every time. The difference was I was too tense in the forearms the first time, trying to muscle the new club to see how far I could hit the ball, whereas the second time I let the club do the work. I only had one big push and immediately I knew it was because my arms were tense. If you're using your forearms much at all late in the swing you'll block the shot for sure and it'll go a looooong way right every time (right-hander).

[gas_can]

Check your alignment. Sounds like you might be aiming right of your target to begin with. I've had the same problem. It looks like you are aiming straight but you're actually aiming right of the target. I either get a nasty hook or blow it way right.

Bigal5150,

This is such sond advice. So often as golfers we look for answers in things like swing plane or equipment. Yet, Occam's Razor holds true for golf as well as other aspects of life. Check alignment, posture, and grip. Chances are very good the answer to your frustrations are right there!

[Guest]

Check your alignment. Sounds like you might be aiming right of your target to begin with. I've had the same problem. It looks like you are aiming straight but you're actually aiming right of the target. I either get a nasty hook or blow it way right.

I was at the range today hoping to solve my particular slice problem. It was kind of damp and I was keeping my tee in the same spot the entire time. After a while there where two spots worn in the turf where my feet were. Suddenly, everything about my slices came together for me- my alignment was far left. I stepped back and took a couple of practice swings with that same alignment and I could now see that my swing path was coming from the outside to the inside and that there was almost no way that I could square up the club face to meet the ball correctly in that position.

For the last twenty or so balls, I concentrated on aligning myself directly at the target. It felt very strange, as if I weren't going to be able to get my hands through, and it took a few swings to get used to it. But, in about five minutes I was driving the ball very straight and directly on line with the target. The other thing I have noticed is that I hit the ball straighter when I visualize myself hitting a soft, nine iron shot. When I can put that picture in my mind, the tempo smooths out and I can feel that my hands are not rushing through the shot. It helps me to ease up and think of each drive as a nice little short shot that I know I can do well.

[iacas]

I was at the range today hoping to solve my particular slice problem. It was kind of damp and I was keeping my tee in the same spot the entire time. After a while there where two spots worn in the turf where my feet were. Suddenly, everything about my slices came together for me- my alignment was far left. I stepped back and took a couple of practice swings with that same alignment and I could now see that my swing path was coming from the outside to the inside and that there was almost no way that I could square up the club face to meet the ball correctly in that position.

The more the average golfer tries to "pull" the ball to the left to account for their slice, the more they slice.

The more the average golfer tries to "aim" left with their stance, the more they open the clubface to counter their bad aim. Most amateurs do one or both of those things.