Can't draw the driver!

[Mitcheman21]

Hey guys Basically I can move all my other clubs with reasonable success either way, but when it comes to the driver (the one club I really want to draw) I just can't, it produces either blocks out to the right or just goes straight. I have the same shaft on my 3 wood and can draw that easily. I have the same grip, grip pressure everything with the driver and it just won't turn over, I use a pretty strong grip anyway. Sorry I cant provide a swing video Thanks guys

[mvmac]

If you want to hit a draw with the driver, it helps to

- have the handle forward at address

- hips a few inches forward at address

- hips and shoulders aimed right of the clubface, club face aimed right of the target.

- No conscious effort to "roll the toe" or release it.  Want to have the handle forward at impact, once that handle backs up the path starts shifting to the left.

[lostmyballs]

Originally Posted by mvmac

If you want to hit a draw with the driver, it helps to

- have the handle forward at address

- hips a few inches forward at address

- hips and shoulders aimed right of the clubface, club face aimed right of the target.

- No conscious effort to "roll the toe" or release it.  Want to have the handle forward at impact, once that handle backs up the path starts shifting to the left.

Don't the first two bullet points apply to every driver shot?

In regards to #3, are you saying that to hit a draw you want an open clubface?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by lostmyballs

In regards to #3, are you saying that to hit a draw you want an open clubface?

He's saying you want to hit a draw with a face pointing right of the target at impact, yes. Good draws (playable draws) start right and curve towards the target.

Clubface right of target, path farther right of target (so face is closed to path and right of target) = good draw.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by lostmyballs

Don't the first two bullet points apply to every driver shot?

Yes but sometime golfer miss that aspect when it comes to the driver

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostmyballs

In regards to #3, are you saying that to hit a draw you want an open clubface?

Yep what Erik said For a good draw, face aimed right of the target, path is further right.  For a bad draw, face is aimed left the target, path is out to the right, which would mean the the ball starts left of the target and then curves more to the left.

[MethodX]

Geez,I have a similar problem but I can only draw my irons and my woods are straight with an occasional fade. Driver address is to have hands ahead of he ball? That would explain why I lost my draw with my woods. I have my hands even or slightly behind the ball :~( I need to try his out! :-P

[Motley01]

Originally Posted by MethodX

Geez,I have a similar problem but I can only draw my irons and my woods are straight with an occasional fade.

Driver address is to have hands ahead of he ball? That would explain why I lost my draw with my woods. I have my hands even or slightly behind the ball

I need to try his out!

Yep and try a bit stronger grip too, to help release the face at impact.

I've NEVER been able to hit a draw, with my irons or my driver. Until this year. Made some minor swing changes, and BAM baby draw with all my clubs now!!

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Motley01

Yep and try a bit stronger grip too, to help release the face at impact.

Not necessary. http://thesandtrap.com/t/30392/advice-i-hate-release-the-club/

[MethodX]

Okay, as I understand it;

hands slightly ahead of the ball,

Hips and shoulders aimed to the right of the club face,

the club face is to the right of the target but is somewhat closed compared to the hips and shoulders,

smoothie swing, ta-daaa!

[boogielicious]

Quote:

- have the handle forward at address

- hips a few inches forward at address

- hips and shoulders aimed right of the clubface, club face aimed right of the target.

- No conscious effort to "roll the toe" or release it.  Want to have the handle forward at impact, once that handle backs up the path starts shifting to the left

Mike and Erik,

Not sure I understand.  I've got the first two and fourth one.  But for three, I am not sure I do this at address.  Do we set up with hips and shoulders aiming further right than our feet or all in line with each other?  I've always set them all square to where I want the ball to land.  Will the ball draw back past the line where my feet, shoulders and hips were aimed at address?

[ujjwaldeb]

i had the exact same problem - could draw my irons but not the driver. What i struggled with was the alignment of my body and shoulders to the right of the target. Whenever i tried to do that, i would hit the ball in all sorts of directions as i guess my body was compensating for what it saw as a misalignment  (i nearly decapitated a guy on the next mat once , earning myself some dark mutterings!).

Finally figured it out this weekend at the range - what worked for me was to align the shoulders towards the target, but take the driver back in a more "around the body" kind of motion than normal. Suddenly, i was hitting draws which started at the target and drew about 10-15 yards , thus ending up left of the target (sometimes it ended up being a snap hook as well, but i guess practice should cure that).

Once, i saw it could be done, it was a simple matter to do the same thing but with the body aligned a bit to the right to the target, so that the ball ended up at the target. I think i hit 30 balls and they were all straight or a draw , which is phenomenal for me because i always faded/sliced my driver before this.

Can't wait to try it out on the course.

[SoundandFury]

If you want to hit a draw with the driver, it helps to - have the handle forward at address - hips a few inches forward at address - hips and shoulders aimed right of the clubface, club face aimed right of the target. - No conscious effort to "roll the toe" or release it.  Want to have the handle forward at impact, once that handle backs up the path starts shifting to the left.

Sorry to review a year old thread....I am understanding correctly that having a forward press with your driver at address helps with a right to left shot shape? My understanding has always been that the longer the club, the farther right (as a righty) the handle is at set up. Personally, I set up with the ball about even with my left heel, and my hands/handle even with my zipper. My ball flight (after thousands of balls) is either straight or I miss right. As hard I try I can't get the ball to turn over from right to left. When I start the ball to the right if the target, it stays right or slices. What does having the handle ahead of the ball do?

[colin007]

Having the handle raised, or pushed forwards, helps to have the clubhead moving still slightly out as it comes into the ball. It's possible to have the clubhead ascending and still on an outward path of you do that. Otherwise, once the clubhead starts ascending it's probably starting to head left, which is no good for a draw.

[SoundandFury]

Having the handle raised, or pushed forwards, helps to have the clubhead moving still slightly out as it comes into the ball. It's possible to have the clubhead ascending and still on an outward path of you do that. Otherwise, once the clubhead starts ascending it's probably starting to head left, which is no good for a draw.

So does that mean having the handle behind the ball at address likely results in an out to in swing even if I'm trying to swing in to out?

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by colin007

Having the handle raised, or pushed forwards, helps to have the clubhead moving still slightly out as it comes into the ball. It's possible to have the clubhead ascending and still on an outward path of you do that. Otherwise, once the clubhead starts ascending it's probably starting to head left, which is no good for a draw.

Yeah, handle forward allows the club to still be working out.  To the boled part: Correct which is also why we recommend aiming the body a little more to the right at set-up if you want to draw it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoundandFury

So does that mean having the handle behind the ball at address likely results in an out to in swing even if I'm trying to swing in to out?

Depends on a few things but having the handle behind the clubhead at impact won't help.  Not saying you have to have the hands way forward but the further back the hands are, the easier it will be for you to swing across the ball.  Sometimes can lead to swinging down and across which isn't good.  That's when guys then try to swing out, left shoulder gets too high, big pushes, dropkicks and hooks come into play.  It's all HOW to swing out, understanding how the pressure in the feet works with the torso and arm motion.