Hitting Up or Down with the Driver in an Inline Pattern

[pinhigh27]

No. Just baseline roughly square.

Assuming you're erring on the open side ?

[Lihu]

So, I just found out why I hit so short and high last Thursday. I'm putting way too much spin. Every shot on the driving range today ballooned up and landed between 190-230 mostly 220-230 yards. The ball would start high then balloon up from there. I sprayed the face with Mark it and discovered that I was hitting low. Made some adjustments and hit towards the center. Still hit high. The mark it literature says that the teardrop pattern (slight scuff at the top) indicates that I am still hitting down. Even with the ball setup way forward I was hitting down. I flattened my swing such that the club was horizontal at the top. Still ballooning shots. My shots feel even more solid than before they started ballooning, but I did try slowing my swing down and it did go lower. However the shots were still short. I'm at a complete loss.

[mvmac]

My shots feel even more solid than before they started ballooning, but I did try slowing my swing down and it did go lower. However the shots were still short.

I'm at a complete loss.

Just make sure that club head is "falling behind you" as you shallow the shaft on the downswing. Check that the club head is on or inside the hands at A6.

Note: I'm familiar with @Lihu 's swing, reason for the specific advice.

[taxgolf]

Just read the opening post on page 1 and I found it very helpfull to understand ballflight and what is happening in a swing. Might be a bit of topic. But can I apply it also on a 3w hitting of the tee? Should I put the ball a Tiny bit back in my stance or should it be ten same position? Thanks.

[joekelly]

I have read that only the driver, least lofted face, should be struck on upward arc.  All others, even if on peg, struck with slightly downward blow. Driver, don't touch the grass and never a divot.  3w off tee, brush the grass in front of peg.  5w off tee, very short peg, clubhead slightly into the dirt, after ball departs.

I 'know' these things, find difficulty applying.

[taxgolf]

I 'know' these things, find difficulty applying.

Let us shake hands.

[iacas]

Guess what was different…

Then click on the spoiler to see if you were right.

[trickyputt]

Looks like somebody is ready for that 12° special driver. So was that a 4" tee or what? And how much harder is it to control horizontal dispersion when you fly at ball on the upswing? And does that 4.9 R mean the ball should move forward in the stance?

[cipher]

Looks like somebody is ready for that 12° special driver.

If by special you mean pretty much every driver now days can have its loft adjusted to 12 then yeah. I have mine set to 11.5.

[iacas]

Looks like somebody is ready for that 12° special driver.

The driver was the same in both cases. 9.5° I believe. It was a 909 D3.

So was that a 4" tee or what?

No. About 2" above the ground to the bottom of the ball.

And how much harder is it to control horizontal dispersion when you fly at ball on the upswing?

Not any more difficult than otherwise. 200 RPM aren't going to matter much.

And does that 4.9 R mean the ball should move forward in the stance?

No. Why? Dave and I hit two pushes because we were trying to swing around 95 MPH. My first swing was 91. My second was 103. We were not used to trying to swing over 10 MPH slower with the driver, so we hit some little pushes. They were still in the fairway.

[trickyputt]

No. Why?

I was imagining the head coming into the ball from inside, not yet online. I dont know what 5 degrees means in that area, but I saw the push indicated.

[mvmac]

Very cool, thanks for sharing @iacas .

[iacas]

I was imagining the head coming into the ball from inside, not yet online. I dont know what 5 degrees means in that area, but I saw the push indicated.

The one hit with a positive AoA was pushed a bit too.

[Abu3baid]

No. Why? Dave and I hit two pushes because we were trying to swing around 95 MPH. My first swing was 91. My second was 103. We were not used to trying to swing over 10 MPH slower with the driver, so we hit some little pushes. They were still in the fairway.

Is the reason you are trying to swing around 95 MPH to show what the advantage of swinging up for the average golfer who probably swings around that speed could be?  I would still very much be interested in seeing the impact it is having on your regular swing as well if that is the case.

It would be really cool to actually see you in video while you take the two swings and the difference in the setup you go through for each one, it would be a much needed learning experience for a lot of people in my opinion.  Maybe include it as part of the training videos of the Driver section in LSW?

[trickyputt]

[QUOTE name="trickyputt" url="/t/44307/hitting-up-or-down-with-the-driver-in-an-inline-pattern/234#post_1096084"] I was imagining the head coming into the ball from inside, not yet online. I dont know what 5 degrees means in that area, but I saw the push indicated.[/QUOTE] The one hit with a positive AoA was pushed a bit too.

Were you settled into a draw shape thought or closed somewhat in your stance?

[billchao]

Were you settled into a draw shape thought or closed somewhat in your stance?

Does it matter? The numbers are similar, with the exception being the AoA. Pretty good demonstration of the benefits of hitting up, IMO.

[mvmac]

Were you settled into a draw shape thought or closed somewhat in your stance?

I'm not sure what you're trying to ask but the point of what Erik posted was to illustrate the benefits of hitting up. The ball went 18 yards further with the swing speed staying the same.

[trickyputt]

Well then I would choose a X stiffer shaft with a 12 degree head. I would be more worryed about not getting that draw to come back. Not all courses are modern. The older ones are smaller and more challenging with more narrow fairways.