driver hitting ground before ball

[itching4scratch]

my friend has been hitting the ground on most of his drives, and the ball is either getting sliced to the right or pushed straight to the right

I know it could be caused by a number of things, but what would be the most common thing? we are playing in a scramble tomorrow and I don't want to be the only one in the fairway

[grizfan]

Hey - I do that ;) For me, when that happens it is because my back hand is too active. I'm a lefty, so its my left hand. basically, I'm trying to do too much with my left hand, and I wind up throwing the club into the ground behind the ball. I was able to diagnose this through video lessons. By focusing more on my lead hand, I get more lag and much better contact. I'm not explaining it all that well, but hopefully you get the idea.

[SpeedBum9]

i too do this, and would love for some more answers so i can try and get it out of my system

[golfernc]

Not transferring his weight. This will happen a lot when a person hangs back. Never getting to the left side all the way.  Watch him at impact, look at his feet....are they flat? Look at tour pros at impact and their right foot is already off the ground at impact, meaning they have already shifted their weight. Most amateurs hang back because the equipment is to strong for them, so they try to add loft and control the ball this way. A slice is very typical of low loft on driver. If you don't have enough power (SS) then the club will go right.  If he has a lower SS and has a low lofted driver this will happen. You hit the ground because your falling backwards; so think about if your trying to hit something on the ground but your weight is going opposite of where the club is going. Its like throwing a baseball...you don't get more power by falling backwards and throwing a rainbow....you get power and control by falling forwards. The problem with most people is their equipment does not allow them to do this, and they have to try to "throw a rainbow".

[Beau F]

Great tip GolferNC!  I have noticed that I am doing this some as well.  I'll give it a try next time I get on the course.

[CalBoomer]

Here's my suggestion for the simplest answer. His swing plane is too vertical. The driver needs to be hit with a flatter swing plane.

[golfernc]

beau f-   try using a 3 wood when doing this, it has more loft....and most people need more loft.   If your successful at it, then try it with your driver....if it slices hard on you, then its actually a good thing, as you know you were doing the correct thing in your swing. ( you will just need to change the driver)  Good Luck!

[SpeedBum9]

Originally Posted by golfernc

Not transferring his weight. This will happen a lot when a person hangs back. Never getting to the left side all the way.  Watch him at impact, look at his feet....are they flat? Look at tour pros at impact and their right foot is already off the ground at impact, meaning they have already shifted their weight. Most amateurs hang back because the equipment is to strong for them, so they try to add loft and control the ball this way. A slice is very typical of low loft on driver. If you don't have enough power (SS) then the club will go right.  If he has a lower SS and has a low lofted driver this will happen. You hit the ground because your falling backwards; so think about if your trying to hit something on the ground but your weight is going opposite of where the club is going. Its like throwing a baseball...you don't get more power by falling backwards and throwing a rainbow....you get power and control by falling forwards. The problem with most people is their equipment does not allow them to do this, and they have to try to "throw a rainbow".

i have been struggling with this since my last post, yet i tried this this evening at the driving range and i was striking it really well!

just need to transfer this to the course and not just the range!

thanks

[saevel25]

Well think about it logically, you set up so you can't possibly drive the clubhead into the ground. So what has to change to cause that.

First, it could be set up, you could be to close to the ball, just to throw that out there

Second, your not getting to your left side before impact, causing you to bottom out before the ball, if you do get away from the ball, you probably end up topping the drives

Third, your head is moving back and down in the downswing, causing the club to change vertically. Or your moving your upper body closer to the ground, if its easier to think that way than the head.

[Ctp722]

For me when I do this it's because of a slight knee bend on the down swing. It happens on occasion I kind of "attack" the ball and bend my knees which causes me to lower the club and hit the dirt.

[kurisu]

-removed my stupid comments.

[Tomam]

This could be due to him "flipping" is bottom hand through impact. To counter this, get him to feel like his hands are ahead of the clubhead at impact or like he is trying to hit to ball as low as possible.

[senorchipotle]

i think i know exactly what your friend is doing, cause when i try to swing out of my shoes it happens to me as well, and it's quite embarrassing. he's obviously coming from the inside, and most likely he is under plane. this happens when your left hip moves toward the ball/target line and the upper body must follow suit, so the hands drop behind and the club is opened up 45 degrees to the target and headed on a path that's dead right, and the only way to save it is by flipping.