Massive backspin

[Johnnyallthetime]

i'm getting huge backspin with my driver recently and robbing me of distance. i know that it's probably because of my angle of attack but was wondering if it could be anything else. anyone have any tips/drills to flatten out my swing plane? thanks!

[pmcarync]

Did you discover this because of some measurements on Launch Monitor or equivalent? The LM should be able to tell you what the club face is doing so you can have a more definite root cause...

As far as 'drills' go... I saw a guy in the range use a device, don't know what it's called but looks like one of those things that football (american) placekickers use to hold the ball to practice on the sidelines; has a bar that extends/hoovers maybe a foot off the ground, a foot or so behind the ball, and the goal is not to hit it with the shaft. Caveat...I have not personally tried this, but the guy on the range who was using it said that the explicit purpose is to either flatten swing plane or could be used for steepen swing plane...and was given to him by his instructor.

[Johnnyallthetime]

yep, i was actually skying the ball extremely high on the course. then i went and tried hitting some balls at a golf shop launch monitor and i was launching the ball at 18 degrees!

[aquacooled]

and your swing speed during testing was??

[BASHERBAKER69]

Hi

nothing with with getting a bit of chew with the driver..stops you from running into trouble

bb69

[gas_can]

yep, i was actually skying the ball extremely high on the course. then i went and tried hitting some balls at a golf shop launch monitor and i was launching the ball at 18 degrees!

Johnnyallthetime,

The Hi-Bore is a very high launching and low spin head. However, if you're honestly ballooning the ball on the course, it's almost definitely an angle of attack problem most likely a descending blow. Before getting into swing plane and other things, I would go back and check the basics. Many times it is the minor things which add up to creating bigger problems.

1. Ball Position - Make sure the ball is not too far back in your stance, that is a sure fire way to increase your angle of attack.
2. Alignment - Be sure your feet, hips, and shoulders are all aimed in the proper fashion, not too open and not too closed. Any one item being off can lead to problems.
3. Grip - Make sure you are comfortable with your grip and it has not become too strong or weak.
4. Tee Height - Minor thing, but especially with the Hi-Bore is very important. The Hi-Bore likes to be teed low, and a contact high on the face can easily lead to excessive spin.

[Johnnyallthetime]

aqua, the swingspeed i was hitting the ball at the launch monitor was ranging from 99-106. i don't think i should step up to a stiff shaft at all as i've heard the comp nt usually plays true to flex or is a little stiffer.

gas_can,
i've been sure to check out my alignment and setting up to the ball properly before each strike.

ball position: plays in between my left toe and my left heel.
alignment: this hasn't ever been a problem for me. i also sometimes play a round with a club at my feet to make sure that if i mishit, alignment was not the causing factor.

grip: i play a tad stronger than neutral grip but is pretty close to neutral.

tee height: i've heard that teeing it low is very important and i've stuck to it. much lower than my previous SQ.

swing plane: i try to swing under my shoulder plane and i still don't understand why i'm getting so much spin.

if this keeps going on, can anyone recommend some low spin driver heads and low spinrate shafts? thanks!

[aquacooled]

I have to agree with gas can here that driver is designed to launch high with very low spin.. 18° is alittle high however again agreeing with gas_can sounds like your hitting down with your driver, you need to work on angle of attack..

in other words its not the shaft or the driver head its your swing

goodluck

[Konrad]

Just tee up some balls at like 4 inches and hit some like that, that way if you try and hit down on it, you'll sky it. If you hit it shallow, it'll probably hook, but you'll hit it solid.

[pmcarync]

anyone have any tips/drills to flatten out my swing plane?

I finally ran into the guy that used this device to flatten out his swing... got the name of it "Path Pro". Here's a pic of it, and the link:

http://thegolfdrillguru.netfirms.com...g/?page_id=388

[supercow]

I used to have this problem. Not as dramatic as you though. Best way for me was to get a driving range mat and put two L-shaped pieces of paper at either end of it. It should then look something like L-tee-L. Depending on how shallow you want your swing you just change the height of the L-shaped pieces of paper. If you're too steep obviously you'll hear nothing but fresh air. If you're flat you'll year a slap, impact, slap.