cant hit my driver or woods!! ( embarrassing)

[proflymaster]

I need some serious help. I have an 8 handicap, I hit my irons exceptionally well ( long and short irons) I can usually manager my driver to the point where I hit 10 or more fairways per round with it. But recently , I was playing a round and hitting every fairway. Then about the 13 tb hole I completely lost my driver swing.It literally went away in an instant...gone. Since then, I cannot even make solid contact with my driver.Im hitting the ball left, right, way right , topping, severe duck hooking , slicing , etc.. I can literally hit a bucket of balls and maybe hit 3 shots that are OK.Its so damn embarrassing I Dont even want to play anymore. Its so frustrating when you have a flawless textbook iron swing, but can't hit your driver or woods at all. Not even remotely close .I stopped using my irons off the tee box because its just not fun anymore.so I Dont even want to play. Van someone tell me some sort of issue I may be having? I would have to say that my usual shot with my driver ( if I concentrate and stay focused) will typically go 100 yards and then duck hook hard left., and sometimes burn into the ground right off the tee box and go only 50 yds .I just can't hit my driver period! Please help

[inthehole]

slow down the tempo - especially the back swing.   Once you get your form back, then regain previous tempo.   Always helps to slow things down when working through a swing issue

[proflymaster]

I'll tty slowing it down. Do u think I could be too close to the ball since I'm such hooking?

[Hardballs]

It could be your not getting your hips through fast enough, slow everything down, reduce the backswing and work on a pre shot routine!

[proflymaster]

I hit a few balls and I think I wasn't rotating properly. I'm swinging all arms. Does that sound right? Now I think its just tempo

[WUTiger]

  Hardballs said:

Originally Posted by Hardballs

It could be your not getting your hips through fast enough, slow everything down, reduce the backswing and work on a pre shot routine!

I had long club problems early this spring. The Tour Edge club rep (former club pro) at a demo day suggested I do the above, especially leading with hip rotation.

Watch weekend PGA golf - often when pro misses to left (pull or hook), a slow motion shot will show their hands and arms took over the swing, and outran hips.

For mid-HDCP amateurs, back-nine problems arise from poor flexibility/fatigue and not "staying down" with proper spine angle. I only mention this to you, in case you may have strained your back somehow (usually NOT a problem with single-digit HDCPs)

To recover feel, tee up some driver shots and:

* Hit a few  "chip shot strokes" just feel the contact

* Go with a half swing, emphasizing good hip turn

* Go with some full swings, smooth at first

(On all these shots "hold the finish" to check your overall balance)

[TourSpoon]

My experience is that when my driver goes south and the rest of the game is sharp is that I am being tentative and not using my body. Once the confidence is gone, tension creeps in and all of a sudden the legs stop supporting the swing.

[proflymaster]

It definitely feels now like my legs and hips aren't doing what they are suppose to be doing.I practice every day and the only time I can get off a good driver shot is when I only think about swinging, not hitting the ball. I was clocked at 138 mph driver club head speed. So I have a tendency yo always swing hard. I'm thinking that I can afford to slow my swing down to get a better rhythm. Question: when i start my down swing , should my hips be unloaded before my upper body starts turning. I try practice swings and what i try to achieve is perfect balance on my finish. I just can't replicate it when I go to hit the ball. Any suggestions

[proflymaster]

Figured it out. I was standing about 3" too far away from the ball and reaching for it. Hence, topping the ball. It really helps to put tape on the club head to see where your making contact...

[TourSpoon]

  proflymaster said:

I was clocked at 138 mph driver club head speed.

I think this could be off. At 138 mph you could be getting ball speed in the 200 mph neighborhood which could produce a 350 yard carry.

To answer your hips question, trying searching downswing sequence. There are some good videos that will give you plenty of information.

[rehmwa]

  proflymaster said:

It definitely feels now like my legs and hips aren't doing what they are suppose to be doing.I practice every day and the only time I can get off a good driver shot is when I only think about swinging, not hitting the ball.

My driver and woods were my best club too.  I had a spell where it was crap just a couple weeks starting about 3 weeks ago.  Mostly blocking hard left, and hooks.  and pop ups.  and then it started creeping into my irons.

I found that I was fatigued, and standing way too wide. I had shut down my legs completely and hitting all arms.  (The pop ups were the same symptoms, but added in a reverse weight transfer too).

I narrowed up, check my distance (yes, I was standing too far away also), - focused on initiating with my legs/hips and the full follow through of my hips (pretty much took my arms out of it for a bit).

Magically - it cleaned up super fast and nicely.  Funny thing about the basics......

no need to hammer it - let the legs do the jobs - our bodies already know what's needed to get the head speed up.

[SirSlicealot]

Mounds like you figured it out but I was going to suggest examining your ball position and slowing your swing down and let your club and physics do the work!