Hitting driver very high

[legion1202]

So.. i`ve posted a few times and now i have a new problem.

I started using my driver again and I seemed to have fixed my hook and slice. That advice that someone gave about the elbow being high and trying to keep the elbows to gather worked wonders. I`m also hitting the irons very well lately but I seem to be always a few yrds right of my target. then when I aim left of the target it i hit straight.. /////Forehead slap

Besides that I dropped my score from 115 2 weeks ago to 94 last week. That had a lot to do with my Driver finally working. I was slamming balls to around 260-270 yrs (rolling) But 8/10 tee shots whould only go about 240-250 and seem to die out very fast.

I went to the driving range to keep my driver in check and a local pro gave me some free advice and told me the reason my ball is going so high and dieing off is because I`m using a iron swing. He says i`m coming down at the ball and not up with it.. What does that mean..?? I dont want to screw up my irons shots. So is there a diffrence between hitting a iron and a wood?

Any drills or tips???

Thanks

[Remark37]

I've had the similar problem this year. I can tell you what I worked on and what worked for me, but hopefully someone a little more credible will jump in.

I was using an iron swing for my driver as well. I was hitting pretty far and pretty consistent. However, it was going really high and I knew it could be better. What worked for ME was teeing the ball a little higher (I don't tee it high to begin with), moving it forward a little in my stance to about left heel (again, I didn't have it forward to begin with), and keeping me left elbow straight. For all my shots I keep it relatively straight, but with the driver, I ensured it was straight. This helped me sweep and hit up on the ball as opposed to coming down on it and popping it up. Logically it was hard for me to be comfortable with, I thought I would pull it, and didn't think it would work, but it did. I'm still working on control a little bit but I've noticed it got better.

Once again as a disclaimer, that worked for me. I could be using completely wrong logic and could be the opposite. I had a friend mention that to me and I went to the range and worked on it.

[legion1202]

thanks for the reply

[carpediem4300]

imagine a straight line going back fromt he ball,.....try to take the driver along this line as low as possible for a long as possible,.....that will help shallow out your swing and ge you "sweeping" the ball off the tee rather than hitting down to much

retain the other stuff you mention like elbows close together etc,....but add this in to see if it works,

its only a minor change and shouldnt affect your irons at all, you hit more irons than you do drives so conversely its usually your iron swing that affects the driver

[dlance]

Originally Posted by carpediem4300

imagine a straight line going back fromt he ball,.....try to take the driver along this line as low as possible for a long as possible,.....that will help shallow out your swing and ge you "sweeping" the ball off the tee rather than hitting down to much

This is exactly what i was going to recommend. I second the suggestion!!

and great job lowing from 114 to 94. Keep it up.

[Remark37]

Originally Posted by dlance

This is exactly what i was going to recommend. I second the suggestion!!

and great job lowing from 114 to 94. Keep it up.

I third this as well. I think not enough people picture their shot and the lines involved, including in front of and behind the ball. I started doing a small waggle over the ball to help with my line. It helps me picture where everything should be.

[carpediem4300]

if you have alignment sticks (great training aid btw) then line them up either side of the tee'd ball aiming at your target,....this creates a "channel" that should be just wide enough that you can sole your driver without touching the sticks

then simply keep the clubhead low and in the channel on the backswing, and then just swing through normally,....this should help you keep the clubhead online going back

This drill can alo help flippers of the ball by not jsut focusing on staying in the channel ont he backswing, but to stay in it ont he downswing also helps to aid forward press, but thats a different story haha

[Remark37]

An update on this discussion for me.

I had a prolaunch blue 65 shaft with my driver and recently bought a Taylormade TP Aldila NV 75 shaft. The ball flight is like night and day. I live nearby a very good pro shop and they will fit shafts for $25. That's an option, I bought this and if it wasn't good I was going to get fitted.

I am now a bigger believer that shaft is the biggest indicator of ball flight. Also, I bought alignment sticks like carpediem4300 said, which was interesting. I went to Home Depot and bout driveway markers for $1 each as opposed to real ones for $10 each and they are the exact same thing.

[dlance]

Originally Posted by Remark37

An update on this discussion for me.

I had a prolaunch blue 65 shaft with my driver and recently bought a Taylormade TP Aldila NV 75 shaft. The ball flight is like night and day. I live nearby a very good pro shop and they will fit shafts for $25. That's an option, I bought this and if it wasn't good I was going to get fitted.

I am now a bigger believer that shaft is the biggest indicator of ball flight. Also, I bought alignment sticks like carpediem4300 said, which was interesting. I went to Home Depot and bout driveway markers for $1 each as opposed to real ones for $10 each and they are the exact same thing.

The shaft is definitely an important factor, but I would not necessarily say most important. Everything is dependent on the golfer. The things that I see in combination that make the difference is (in no particular order)

Shaft brand

Shaft flex

Shaft kick point

Club brand

Face angle

Attack angle

Ball position in stance (will affect attack angle)

Ball type

Swing speed

I have 3 clubs, all set up different that all hit the same height because the combined effects were the same (distances however were different)–

Cobra, 400CC, 7*, extra stiff, hick kick

Mizuno, 460CC, 8*, Pro-launch blue 65, stiff, low kick

Taylor made, RBZ, 460CC 9* head (but opened up 2* and lowered 1.5* with adjustments), extra stiff HD shaft, (don’t know kick point)

Basically what I am saying is that changing any one of the things listed above will dramatically affect the height of the ball. The goal is to set it up so that you are getting the height that best suits your swing to maximize distance.

[Remark37]

Originally Posted by dlance

The shaft is definitely an important factor, but I would not necessarily say most important. Everything is dependent on the golfer. The things that I see in combination that make the difference is (in no particular order)

Shaft brand

Shaft flex

Shaft kick point

Club brand

Face angle

Attack angle

Ball position in stance (will affect attack angle)

Ball type

Swing speed

I have 3 clubs, all set up different that all hit the same height because the combined effects were the same (distances however were different)–

Cobra, 400CC, 7*, extra stiff, hick kick

Mizuno, 460CC, 8*, Pro-launch blue 65, stiff, low kick

Taylor made, RBZ, 460CC 9* head (but opened up 2* and lowered 1.5* with adjustments), extra stiff HD shaft, (don’t know kick point)

Basically what I am saying is that changing any one of the things listed above will dramatically affect the height of the ball. The goal is to set it up so that you are getting the height that best suits your swing to maximize distance.

Very true, I agree. I'm glad you mentioned that.

I went under the assumption that it isn't just shaft, but I feel a lot of golfers, especially higher hc like myself, overlook the fact of the shaft. That it must be the loft of the driver head. I found that a low spin ball helped me as well. I toyed with ball position and adjusting my swing, but the shaft was immediate. Not sure if it's a band-aid or a real solution but so far so good.