The Driver

[GreensDruid]

I'm having a hell of a time with my driver.

I do very well with my irons - can hit my 3 iron off the tee in the low 200's but my driver is horribly inconsistent. One day I'm lining them down the fairway in the mid to high 200's. The next day I'm hitting low hooks 100 yards or so. Absolutely no consistency. Unfortunately, the low hooks dominate my game and I end up using nothing but my irons. I don't understand why my iron swings are so consistent but my driver swing isn't. Shouldn't it be the same swing?

I'd like to solve this problem and am considering what to do. One thought is to get a lesson and just keep plugging until I've got it down. Go to a golf school for a day and stay there until I can feel what I need to do. I've got to believe there is something fundamentally wrong with my driver swing and I need to know how to solve it. Has anyone experienced this? What did you do to solve it. I know there are no magic bullets, but I need to know how to proceed.

[cdriver]

I, too, fight a low hook. Used to be I fought a high slice, but I have certainly corrected that problem. I find when I am hitting these low, smothered hooks, it is because I am way too quick from the top. I take the club back nice and smooth and then just as I should be setting the club at the top.....I jump on my downswing like I am trying to kill the ball. I never get set at the top and this screws up my sequencing coming down. If that sounds like the problem, here is what I do to correct it.

#1 - SLOW DOWN.. I tell myself the ball will still be there if I am half a second later getting to it.

#2 - Establish a pause at the top. I don't think I really "pause", I just get that feeling that I am setting the club in the right slot and holding it for half a beat.

#3 - Keep my head behind the ball. I feel like I am trying to hit it extra high. Holding my shoulders and head behind the ball. This prevents me moving my body forward prematurely and flipping the clubhead shut to try to compensate.

That's what I do... Hope it works for you.

[GreensDruid]

Thanks - I am sure you are right that I am trying too hard to hit the ball. Like you, I always fought a slice in the past and I have compensated for that by adopting a very flat driver swing. Unfortunately, that is when the low hooks started developing. When I try to fix this by adjusting the swingplane, the slice returns. Very frustrating. What frustrates me the most is that I don't have this problem with the irons and can't figure out why the difference between irons and driver.

[Steven McFarlane]

Id be happy with that..i use irons off the tee

[iikka.k]

First, get the pro lesson cause nobody can help here you without seeing your swing, just to know what's wrong.
All i can say is that iron and driver swings are different...
If someone tells "just swing naturally" that's also not true because without seeing no one can know how's your natural swing.

Btw. you can play quite well with your irons, keep up the game happiness playing with irons and train with your driver on the range, it's still the most difficult swing even the most awesome when it's working well..
Putting is just pure sh*t ;)

[GreensDruid]

Thanks for the reply ikkka. My irons give me a great deal of satisfaction but I guess its a macho thing with the driver. I do think that either the swings are different, or, the feel of the swing with the driver is different owing to the long shaft and the setup changes. I will go to a pro and get some advice. Something that seemed to work yesterday at the range: I stopped trying to control the club at the top and let my wrists break back fully. That got the ball up and sent it straighter. I think by not letting the wrists break back fully I was trying to steer the ball, with the result that I was hitting with a closed face.

How is golf in Finland? I've traveled throughout Scandanavia but have yet to visit Finland. I expect that my climate here in NH is similar to yours and we'll be putting away the clubs in November.

Regards.
GSD

[iikka.k]

Sorry for late reply GSD, we are a bit more close to northpole so our season will be over in the end of October even if last season ended at the beginning of November.

During this autumn i'm sill going to play over ten rounds cos it's pure fun even the daylight time is all the time vanishin' too quick..
Thanks for all might weather, it's still quite warm...

Hope you have good autumn for weather to play while jingle bells are singin' ;)