Hitting Up or Down with the Driver in an Inline Pattern

[Lihu]

Mr Woody, I certainly am a poser as you so eloquently put it. But you obviously didn't get what I was saying. I don't hit down, in fact on Trackman I hit up a little bit but my miss is and has always been to the left. I also hit the ball quite a bit further than 250 but that's because I'm athletic and can generate power. My problem is I don't know where it's going. When I try to hit up more I hook it even worse. There's some video floating around by this Maestro guy showing that hittin up causes slices but for me that's the furthest from the truth. If I could keep the ball in the fairway more and give up a little distance to do I be all over it... Like Pavin or Funk. I have no idea if they hit up down or what. Hitting straight and making sound swings has nothing to do with hitting up or down and that's exactly what several Trackman coaches told me... Straight from the horses mouth. Good day good sir.

Try an x300 DG shaft. That will prevent hooks as you hit up. $18 plus another $15 installation with a new grip. That'll prevent you from making those high hooks when you hit up. The shaft weighs 140 gm at about a 46 inch club. 135 gm at 44.5 inch. Guaranteed it will shorten your shots down to 250, assuming you are hitting 280-290 and wild.

[saevel25]

Mr Woody, I certainly am a poser as you so eloquently put it. But you obviously didn't get what I was saying. I don't hit down, in fact on Trackman I hit up a little bit but my miss is and has always been to the left. I also hit the ball quite a bit further than 250 but that's because I'm athletic and can generate power. My problem is I don't know where it's going. When I try to hit up more I hook it even worse. There's some video floating around by this Maestro guy showing that hittin up causes slices but for me that's the furthest from the truth. If I could keep the ball in the fairway more and give up a little distance to do I be all over it... Like Pavin or Funk. I have no idea if they hit up down or what. Hitting straight and making sound swings has nothing to do with hitting up or down and that's exactly what several Trackman coaches told me... Straight from the horses mouth. Good day good sir.

Well duh it doesn't have anything to do with hitting up or down. Pro's for years have been hitting down on the driver. The issue is they can still hit the ball in the fairway with the same consistency hitting up with their driver. If your assertion that hitting up or down has nothing to do with hitting fairways, then it is more beneficial to hit up because it gives you more distance. If all being equal, if you can hit the same amount of fairways hitting up or down, then hitting up will benefit your game more because you are closer to the hole.

[iacas]

Well duh it doesn't have anything to do with hitting up or down. Pro's for years have been hitting down on the driver. The issue is they can still hit the ball in the fairway with the same consistency hitting up with their driver. If your assertion that hitting up or down has nothing to do with hitting fairways, then it is more beneficial to hit up because it gives you more distance. If all being equal, if you can hit the same amount of fairways hitting up or down, then hitting up will benefit your game more because you are closer to the hole.

That's all anyone has said, including my responses and Mike's responses to Damon. For every student, there's a threshold. If hitting up gains them 30 yards but makes it so they don't keep the ball on the planet, then no, nobody who is sane would teach that. But it might also be possible to get the student 20 yards and fix the wildness, too. Or just let them hit -1 which isn't TOO costly, if they're THAT much more accurate.

We can all talk around each other while we're using vague descriptions of how much distance and how much accuracy someone gains and loses. The rubber meets the road when you have an actual student in front of you.

[MS256]

Or 300 in the light rough

I might even take it further than that.

Something long that I can find and hit again.

[oregongolfguy]

I experimented on the range yesterday with the driver. Moving a bit further away from the ball, moving the ball more inline with my front foot and tee'd up a bit higher. The swing felt better, it felt like the clubhead was naturally coming up into the ball instead of me trying to manipulate it. Results were a higher ball flight, looked like a straight fade to maybe a bit of a pull fade. Gonna keep working on this and im curious to see what happens on the course. It does look wierd purposely making the ball go right.

[late347]

Carry distance is probably the #1 indicator of driving skill. Accuracy is definitely overrated off the tee. Someone who hits a lot of fairways but can't carry 100 yards is not a good driver. You don't want to lose balls by hitting wild misses, but a wide dispersion isn't that big a deal if you keep it in your cone.

Also, I'd rather hit it over things than into them. Trees and other obstructions, as well as hazards, become irrelevant to your aim if you can clear them with carry.

In my opinion, you slightly underrate total distance vs max carry. Yes there are advantages of max carry, but try to see the forest for the trees...

Sure, max carry is very nice over water etc... but max carry + roll is also very nice in most golf courses . Many golf courses are not flat, nor do all golf courses rely on forced-carries with a driver.

At the end of the day, with max carry, I think you have usually less roll . This is because of the descent angle for ball, is different usually, between, max carry vs max carry +roll. It certainly depends on the conditions, weather, and the course design.

So what if you get good rolls? It's not SINFUL or anything like that!!! You play the ball from where it lies. Therefore extra rollouts are always welcome for driver.

[iacas]

In my opinion, you slightly underrate total distance vs max carry. Yes there are advantages of max carry, but try to see the forest for the trees...

Sure, max carry is very nice over water etc... but max carry + roll is also very nice in most golf courses. Many golf courses are not flat, nor do all golf courses rely on forced-carries with a driver.

At the end of the day, with max carry, I think you have usually less roll. This is because of the descent angle for ball, is different usually, between, max carry vs max carry +roll. It certainly depends on the conditions, weather, and the course design.

So what if you get good rolls? It's not SINFUL or anything like that!!! You play the ball from where it lies. Therefore extra rollouts are always welcome for driver.

I disagree.

Max carry usually results in a reasonable amount of roll that results in the longest overall distances. You almost never find a way to hit a ball farther overall due to increasing the roll.

And if you are within a few yards, even if Max Carry + a little roll is shorter, it's almost always still the better option because you can CARRY more things like water, bunkers, rough, etc.

[Wangus94]

I just got back on the radar recently and have gone down to -1 with driver and am hitting it better than ever. I used to be +2 according to the report I have, but my shots are getting straighter less hook as I go down I guess.

[Lihu]

I just got back on the radar recently and have gone down to -1 with driver and am hitting it better than ever. I used to be +2 according to the report I have, but my shots are getting straighter less hook as I go down I guess.

According to Trakman data pros used to hit about a degree down. This might change with the whole new loft up discovery. I find that loft up is straighter and less spin, less wind influence.

[Wangus94]

According to Trakman data pros used to hit about a degree down. This might change with the whole new loft up discovery. I find that loft up is straighter and less spin, less wind influence.

What do you mean loft up? You sound like a Taylormade commercial lol. Adding loft doesn't have anything to do with hitting up or down buddy and when you add loft you add spin

[Lihu]

What do you mean loft up? You sound like a Taylormade commercial lol. Adding loft doesn't have anything to do with hitting up or down buddy and when you add loft you add spin

I went from 10.5 to 12 and got a lot of up and farther on a Cobra Biocell. Cobra makes the best. . . :-D

[Wangus94]

I went from 10.5 to 12 and got a lot of up and farther on a Cobra Biocell. Cobra makes the best. . . :-D

So you added loft and reduce spin? I was told the reason Taylormade went that route was because they knew most amateur golfers were too steep anyway and the only way to try to increase carry and claim you have the longest driver on the market was to add more loft. Clever marketing... They're trying to change the stigma that high loft on the driver is bad and hide the fact that they are building more loft than what they stamp on the head anyway. You're still hitting it higher with more spin though

[saevel25]

You're still hitting it higher with more spin though

Nope, you are wrong.

You can add loft and reduce spin. Center of Gravity has a big effect on the spin on the ball.

[Lihu]

So you added loft and reduce spin? I was told the reason Taylormade went that route was because they knew most amateur golfers were too steep anyway and the only way to try to increase carry and claim you have the longest driver on the market was to add more loft. Clever marketing... They're trying to change the stigma that high loft on the driver is bad and hide the fact that they are building more loft than what they stamp on the head anyway. You're still hitting it higher with more spin though

I have a relatively flatter swing that most normal amateurs, but the lofting up seemed to help me gain distance, accuracy and less spin. If you have a steep swing like you say, I think the tendency is to slice. Lofting up seems to be something that could even aggravate a slice even more.

My driver is adjustable, so I tried shots from 9 degrees all the way up to 12 degrees. I tried everything from 9 to 12 and found that 12 really got me the most distance with the least spin. I know there is less spin because the ball rolls and bounces a lot further than it did when I hit 10.5 degrees.

Nope, you are wrong.

You can add loft and reduce spin. Center of Gravity has a big effect on the spin on the ball.

In my own experience, the higher loft seemed to help me with gaining distance and because I am not hitting down on the ball and consequently get less spin.

[saevel25]

In my own experience, the higher loft seemed to help me with gaining distance and because I am not hitting down on the ball and consequently get less spin.

Well, higher launch and less spin will give you greater distance.

[LuciusWooding]

Not to mention the fact that, at least for me, extra loft helps with keys 2 and 3 because i can swing it without trying to add loft. I get a lower spinloft for the same dynamic loft even if the static loft is higher. Hence much better launch conditions. Aoa can be positive without letting the clubhead pass your hands. So you can essentially get a really solid impact position even though you launch a couple degrees higher.

[Wangus94]

Nope, you are wrong.  You can add loft and reduce spin. Center of Gravity has a big effect on the spin on the ball.

Easy chief.... I know. You add loft without adding spin by hitting up on the ball, not by increasing the loft built in. I tried the SLDR and it didn't o anything to the spin for me ;-)

[Jeremie Boop]

I noticed I just get a significant amount more roll out on my drives when I hit up on the ball as opposed to flat or downward strikes. Typically if I don't hit up the ball will either be right beside the pitch mark or even behind it because it jumps backwards. I don't have a newer driver that really takes advantage of hitting up though, because when I hit Matt's SLDR there was a pretty decent increase in distance on one of the drives. Unfortunately I don't have the disposable income to purchase anything right now and if I did I don't know that a new driver would be the wisest choice. I mean I still hit my drives pretty far as it is, and while an increase in drive distance would be nice I don't think it's extremely necessary.