How to Hit a Driver (Hit it Further and Stop Slicing!)

[Slugox]

12 minutes ago, mvmac said:

To be clear the right arm at impact is flexed less than it was at the top of the backswing but will have some flex to it. A few frames after impact it's no longer bent.

If your right arm is straightening too much, too early there is a reason for it. Something is happening during the transition/downswing that's causing the need for the right arm to straighten early. Tough to say exactly why without seeing your swing, there could be many causes.

The next step for the two comments above is to start a swing thread so we can help you on an individual level. 

https://thesandtrap.com/forums/forum/13-member-swings/

I made a swing thread quite recently, in fact. :)

[Killa]

Ok so I’m pretty lost. 

I hit a straight shot with my 7 iron and anything shorter. My 5 and 6 iron have a small fade and my 4 iron can have a small fade to a small slice. 

My 3 hybrid has either a straight flight or snap hook. 

And my driver has a bad high slice. My current “cure” is setting up to the left and then a stronger grip, basically closing the club at address. That either works or doesn’t. For example today I hit about 4-5 good drives and 15 horrible ones. That’s why I was avoiding the driver all season long but the last 5 rounds I started to use it just because I know I’ll never be breaking 80 without it. 

Could it be a shaft problem? The hybrid and the driver have the same brand and stiffness shaft, the irons could be a bit stiffer. 

[Carl3]

5 hours ago, Killa said:

I’ll never be able to break 80 without it 

Keep working with the driver, but I have broken 80 a number of times without a driver. Usually on tees under 6,000 yards and on courses with slopes 125 and less. I got fitted and it has made a big difference

[cooke119]

mvmac, great instruction, I'll take it to the range then the course. I'm sure it will take me a while to get out of my old habits. I'm like the guy on the left, I need to change a lot of things. I hit my 3W as far or farther then my driver, which isn't that far, (190 to 200 yards), so I have a lot of work to do. I've taken lessons and none of the "Pros" explained it as directly as this thread. Thanks again and we'll see how it goes.

[cooke119]

On ‎1‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 2:18 PM, cooke119 said:

mvmac, great instruction, I'll take it to the range then the course. I'm sure it will take me a while to get out of my old habits. I'm like the guy on the left, I need to change a lot of things. I hit my 3W as far or farther then my driver, which isn't that far, (190 to 200 yards), so I have a lot of work to do. I've taken lessons and none of the "Pros" explained it as directly as this thread. Thanks again and we'll see how it goes.

I played today and I followed all that is in these instructions. I can't thank you enough, best I have ever played. My drives were measuring 220 to 230 yards and were straight, some pulled a little left some had a minor fade to the right but all were in the fairway. Now 230 may not be a lot for some members of The Sand Trap but for me that is a 30 to 40 yard improvement, (I'm 67 and have had three back surgeries). I had printed the instructions and would refer to them at times while playing just so I didn't fall back into my old habits, it worked. Thanks again.

[cooke119]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 4:53 PM, cooke119 said:

I played today and I followed all that is in these instructions. I can't thank you enough, best I have ever played. My drives were measuring 220 to 230 yards and were straight, some pulled a little left some had a minor fade to the right but all were in the fairway. Now 230 may not be a lot for some members of The Sand Trap but for me that is a 30 to 40 yard improvement, (I'm 67 and have had three back surgeries). I had printed the instructions and would refer to them at times while playing just so I didn't fall back into my old habits, it worked. Thanks again.

OK, so I go to the range yesterday and started pulling my drives to the left, way left. I believe I am putting to much tilt into my axis and falling back on my stroke coming across the ball and pulling it left. Have to work on this, any thoughts to help correct before I play again? I did try standing more upright and it appeared to help.

[cooke119]

This thread really helped, I'm not slicing or fading the ball anymore. My problem now is a pull, (dead straight), to the left. Played yesterday and pulled just about every drive. I think I had the ball to far forward in my stance, any thoughts?

[ChetlovesMer]

Wow, great thread. 

How did I take so long to stumble across it?

[boogielicious]

12 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Wow, great thread. 

How did I take so long to stumble across it?

check these out.

 

[ChetlovesMer]

5 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

check these out.

 

Thanks, I will. 

 

[cooke119]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 12:51 AM, mvmac said:

Not really IMO.

Basically flare the feet, bump the hips forward at address and keep them forward on the backswing and downswing. Not saying changing it will be easy but I don't see it being complicated.

Feel free to start a swing thread and we'll take a look.

Mike, this thread has helped me greatly with my drives, Can you do a similar thread for irons? 

 

[mvmac]

11 hours ago, cooke119 said:

Mike, this thread has helped me greatly with my drives, Can you do a similar thread for irons? 

Check this out, let me know if you're looking for something different.

 

[cooke119]

19 hours ago, mvmac said:

Check this out, let me know if you're looking for something different.

 

Thanks Mike, very helpful. I put into practice much of what was discussed, (taking it from "How to Hit a Driver"), my issue is not a slice or fade but hitting it 'pure'. My dispersion is pretty big left or right especially when I'm aiming at a green. I end up having to chip on from the side, then I am always putting for par and walking off with a 5 or 6. I need to get the accuracy of my iron down. I hit them straight but they are either pulled or pushed left of right. I will post a swing video when the weather warms out. I live in NY and it is still cold.

[Nail]

I studied this thread lately and tried it out this morning on the course setting up slightly closed to hit a draw, well to say i was impressed is an understatement, I hit 10 out of 13 fairways which doesnt happen too often for me.

The only negative is I was 30 to 40 yards shorter than usual, but I think I was concentrating so hard on my technique that I was swinging slower, hopefully when I get used to the pattern I will increase my speed again and start hitting big high draws down the middle

[Jay28]

The only way I can hit my driver straight is when I get the shoulder turn right. 

This is a very mental side to the game for me.  For some reason, even though the results are always so much better, I get scared of really turning the shoulders because my brain tells me I will be further away from the ball and more around my spine and it will be harder to hit. What happens is I more often than not do a fake turn, so at the top of the backswing my shirt buttons are only at about 2/3 of the way to facing away from the target - i.e. it's going to be an out to in path no matter what else I try and do. The results are pretty much always a push slice or a pull hook. 

So now I try to make sure I only think about turning properly and trusting the outcome.

I think things like putting the ball forward in the stance, tilting to get the "K-Bomb", hitting at +2 attack angle, etc... are all great, but I have a fundamental swing error (fake turn) that has to be fixed first before I can get to more advanced stuff.  Prior to understanding my turning issues, i tried all the 'hit it straight and long' tips and, unsurprisingly. they made my slice/hook worse.  

The fake shoulder turn issue looks to be quite common from what I see on the range/course with others.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Jay28

[trainsmokegolf]

i find myself and others not getting deep enough with the hips in the backswing, i blame a lot of it on TV which gives the illusion that pro's are restricting their turn

[DavidM]

Very good thread.  My biggest problem has always been getting the face closed in time because I am so comfortable holding it open through the hit. Been working on this for a while and it really is a challenge to change bad mechanics like poor grip, rolling it open at the takeaway and not starting the backswing takeaway properly. Have worked on that and swinging on an inside path a LOT - I am now working on keeping the clubface closed through the downswing to promote a draw. This vid has some good thoughts to get the clubface closed. 

 

[Shindig]

This is a long time coming but yesterday really drove (pun intended) this home for me.

I'm a bad driver of the golf ball.

When I measure driver swing speed, it's consistently in the 95-97 MPH range.  Occasionally a little lower, rarely much higher.  

But my average drive is rarely over 205, and my driving average is really hovering around 200 yards.   My strokes lost driving, even if we forgive the two lost balls in last round, is rarely even under the 15 handicap threshold.  My approach shots strokes gained/lost is hovering a little under the 10 hcp level, so I really need to improve my driving.

I have two other questions that I was wondering about after re-reading this thread:

* Can someone post a picture of the ball teed up with a driver right behind it so I can see better just how high/low the ball should be?  I might be teeing it too low, even though I am picturing it high.

* Where is the driver when I set it down right before I swing?  I have been placing it right behind the ball, like I do with an iron shot, even though it's at a different spot in my stance.  It now occurs to me, with the ball a little higher (or, at least, at the correct height, which is probably higher than I have been teeing it), maybe I should have the driver an inch or two behind the ball when it's at rest?

 

I'll aim to get some driver-at-the-range videos for my "My swing" thread in the next few days.