Driving help

[Arsenal Forever]

What am I doing wrong? I will work on getting a video of me swinging, if needed.

I just got done with my round at the local country club, I shot a 99. Terrible. Absolutely, horrifically, terrible. I hit my irons well and my short game was spot on, but every time I stepped up to the tee with my driver, the ball would have a normal trajectory, start out heading left, and then curve way right. It was terrible. I lost so many balls, especially due to a combination of this and 5 inch rough.

I often sure to drag my club back to at least attempt to get on plane for the driver, and my grip is correct so I assume the face isn't terribly misaligned.

Does anyone know without a video what I may be doing wrong?

[itzzzberny]

maybe your trying to kill it too much? thats a problem i have. recently i've been trying to use 80% rather than 100% just so i can hit it more accurately. less disatance but after sometime learn to add 5% more and than stick with it than later move up another 5%. only moving along + 5% when i hit 3 rounds w/ atleast 75-80% shot land of my drives onfairways.
gotta break it down to understand it... thats the way i see it

[Arsenal Forever]

Yeah, I tried not rushing it or trying to kill it, which worked on one hole, but then I tried it the next and it did not do as well. This shows one of my main problems, not only in driving, but consistency.

Anything else?

[Ringer]

You didn't mention which direction it was curving.

[beung]

If your ball flight starts left and then goes right that usually indicates an outside to inside swing, you are swinging across your body which starts the ball left and your club face angle is open relative to your swing path which is putting sidespin on the ball.

A couple of things....

I am going to throw out some suggestions to you, which are the same that I give to some of the people I play with that have your same problem.

1) Not sure what your swing speed is but if it isn't near 100 mph, then you are using the wrong ball. If you use a multi-layer ball like the Nike One or the ProV and you don't hit it with enough energy and pretty square then you are not getting through the middle layers of the ball and getting to the core of the ball. This is only making the sidespin you already have even worse. Go and play a couple rounds with a low compression, low spin ball. You may lose some touch with your short irons and around the greens but you can adjust to that a lot easier then a 50yrd banana drive.

2) When you swing does your left foot move, as in does it start out pretty perpendicular to the the target line maybe a bit open at address but when you finish your swing does it end up really open? If you are a person that lifts their front heel off the ground you must make absolute sure that it comes down in the exact same spot that it left, which is pretty hard in itself. So for this reason I suggest you keep your front heel planted on the ground during the whole swing. What you might find when you do this is that the ball will probably go left and stay left - keeping the front foot down should give you a better chance at getting the club face square on the ball.

3) At setup where are your feet aiming? I am guessing your feet are aiming right of the target. At address take your driver and place it down on the ground so the shaft is touching the toes of your feet. Then step back and see where your feet are actually aiming. If shaft is aiming too far right and even though you are looking straight or maybe even left of the target to compensate for the big slice is only making you swing across your body even more. Make sure your feet, hips, shoulder and your eye are all lining up to the same spot. I would suggest you put a club on the ground that is parallel to the line that the ball and the target are on, do not put the club down and aim it right at the target, it should be aimed a bit left of where you are aiming the ball.

4) Make sure you finish your swing. Having your alignment correct and your feet planted will help you to swing and finish with your body going to the target instead of falling away from where you want the ball the end up. If your club is going forward but your body is going backwards then this is going to lead to a nasty slice that starts traight and then turns right. This leads people to aim way left but this infact puts even more sidespin on the ball. Finishing your swing will at least start the ball straight....

[TaylorMadeStud]

I used to do the same thing. Pup, you got the dreaded banana ball, or slice. Here is what you can do...

1. Close the clubface slightly before you begin your backswing. Overcorrect, and you'll hook it left or hit it very low 100 yards.

2. Look at your left foot (or right if you are a lefty) and make sure it is closed, not open.

3. On your downswing, try to hit the ball in an inside out motion. If you slice it, you are coming over the ball, outside in.

4. Trust me, even though your grip might be right, your clubface can still open during the swing.

5. Good luck!!

[asianpsuation]

also try to keep the clubhead square or "looking" at the ball for a litttlle bit longer on the takeaway, this will get it in a better position at the top from which u can get the club head down driving through the ball on an inside plance

[Arsenal Forever]

You didn't mention which direction it was curving.

Yes, I did.

but every time I stepped up to the tee with my driver, the ball would have a normal trajectory, start out heading left, and then curve way right

Thanks Beung, I'll address what's I am doing as you told me.

1. My swing's around 95 Miles per Hour. I always assumed that this is good enough for a 3 piece ball? They've worked well for me in the past. I used to BOMB it, straight and far, about 290 using three piece balls. Now I can't hit it straight for anything, and the only time I hit it far is when it goes on to another fairway. 2. I'll try keeping my left foot down the whole swing. 3. So all I need to do is put the club down in a parallel position and put my toes on it and hit the ball? 4. I'll try paying more attention to this. Okay TaylorMadeStud, Thanks to you too, and I'll also address your tips in the same way. 1. I'll give this a try. 2. You mean to try a closed stance? 3. I'm not sure what you mean by inside out motion, or how to do it rather. 4. Besides the terrible results, is there a way to detect this to see when it needs fixing? Thanks. And thanks to you too asianpsuation, I'll try it out.

[bwinger79]

As others have stated, you are most likely coming over the top on your downswing, leading to your outside in path. Chances are you arent squaring the face either. Hit the range, and when you set up, focus on hitting the ball on the inside back part...... between 4 and 5 o' clock if 12 were the way your body was facing.

---------------12----------------

9 <-------Traget Line------ 3

----------------6----------------

You Stand Here Facing towards 12

Not sure if that makes any sense to you, but there is no way you can hit between 4 and 5 unless you come from the inside. Dont swing as hard. With a proper swing path(on plane), you dont need to swing hard. Get to the top of your backswing, let the club drop and then pull it through to your finish. It may take a while for you to get solid contact if you are an over-the-topper, but once you do you will see tee shots rocket off the driver face with no effort. Remember, golf is a game of opposites. The harder you try to hit it, the shorter it is going to travel. Hard hits just mean increased backspin in most cases. Keep your swing slow and more importantly fluid.

[Arsenal Forever]

I vaguely understood that, but I don't get the 4 and 5 part-Isn't that where my right foot is?

[J_Bone]

No....left foot..

I notice I make a outside to inside swing when my spine is tilted toward the target (left). If I straiten it up or even angle it away from the target, I make a good inside to outside swing which gives me good square contact. It gives me consistency at hitting my target every time.

[td67mustang]

I had this going for a couple of rounds and couldnt shake it even at the range... My fix was choking up on the club. I matched up my driver with my hybrid (which I hit best) and swung it the same way. The drives actually went back to straight. As I progressed through my round I moved my way back up the shaft and was making better contact. The initial choke up was almost to the end of the grip for me, but it worked..

[td67mustang]

No....left foot..

Like the stack and tilt method.

[Arsenal Forever]

Hm...Well I'll try choking down on the club for sure, sounds like something that could help.

Should I also try bending my spine slightly away from the direction I'm driving in?

Other than just practice, does anyone have anything that I could help me practice tempo? I don't mean like a product, I meant like perhaps something to tell yourself mentally or something.

[bwinger79]

I vaguely understood that, but I don't get the 4 and 5 part-Isn't that where my right foot is?

I guess it was a bad diagram. I am talking about 4-5 o'clock on the ball. The diagram was just to show you direction in relation to how you setup to the ball. Think of the ball as the clock face. You would be facing 12 and 9 would be straight down your target line. If you had a perfectly square swing path, you would strike the ball at 3 o'clock. Hitting the ball between 4 and 5 o'clock would give you the inside to out swing path that you need to solve your slicing issue. You are most likely contacting the ball between 1 and 2 o'clock. Let me know if this gives you a better understanding.

[digger21]

When you do setup to the ball, you definently need to have your spine angled away from the ball. Look on some sites, or golfdigest, and find random setup pictures of pros to understand what it looks like. Im not very good at describing things, but this is a simple setup and you can see it clearly in a large percentage of pro setups.

[VinnyM10]

Other than just practice, does anyone have anything that I could help me practice tempo? I don't mean like a product, I meant like perhaps something to tell yourself mentally or something.

I was going to suggest a product (Inside Approach), but since you are looking for something more on the mental side to help with your tempo you might try this. Sam Snead used to say his name throughout his swing when he felt his tempo getting to quick. He would say Sam as he was taking the club back and Snead on his downswing.

One thing you can look for would be in your takeaway. Thinking that your a right handed player...make sure you are not pulling the club back with your right hand (you want to push it back with your left) and also that your not taking it away too quickly. Think of taking it back slow and long, bringing the head if the club straight back along the ground for as long as you can keep the clubface on the target line. Good luck

[Arsenal Forever]

I guess it was a bad diagram. I am talking about 4-5 o'clock on the ball. The diagram was just to show you direction in relation to how you setup to the ball. Think of the ball as the clock face. You would be facing 12 and 9 would be straight down your target line. If you had a perfectly square swing path, you would strike the ball at 3 o'clock. Hitting the ball between 4 and 5 o'clock would give you the inside to out swing path that you need to solve your slicing issue. You are most likely contacting the ball between 1 and 2 o'clock. Let me know if this gives you a better understanding.

No, that makes perfect sense to me now. But, maybe I just have no clue what's going on, but wouldn't trying to hit the ball at four or five o'clock push it to the right side directly?

Also, would a product like the Power Hitter Weighted Driver help me get on plane? I would have thought their claims are ridiculous until I got my irons on plane by swinging a weighted iron. How high do I bring the club head upwards in my backswing? Is there a certain point I can think of, like say, bring the clubhead to above my head or something of that sort? Thanks for the tempo tip, I'll definitely try that.