I don't understand ......

[Crate]

I started hitting the ball at the driving range about a month and a half ago. I bought a 29 dollar club at walmart and was driving the ball on average 200-225 yards. sometimes 250. Never over 250, kinda makes me upset.
So............ as you see in my other posts I bought clubs and decided to take lessons with a pro. This has worked out well. When I'm with him at the Club (yes I joined one) he just wants me to hit the irons. OK fine, thats what I do......hit the irons..........ball after ball. I practice almost everyday.
Anyways.....I bought a Nike Sasquatch hybrid, a #4 17 degree. The thing is NICE I love to use it, sounds solid. I really don't care how far I hit the ball anymore I try to concentrate on hitting solid and straight.

So things are going OK. I hit all balls off the mat with no tee, I have used no tee as of yet. So I figure I will pick up a new driver...... I get the new Sasquatch Sumo 2 squared. Put the tee in the ground and I feel like I'm gonna send this off into space. WRONG! I can't hit it like I did with the cheap walmart driver. I will say the sound the thing makes is very disturbing. Sounds terrible and I hit it terrible. I hate the club. I can pick up my 5 iron and hit it well and feel my swing. For some reason this new driver just doesn't work for me? All of you with more experience could you chime in? I vent my concern to my coach, but he still wants to work on the irons, he said at my last lesson I'm almost ready to move on to other clubs...........What is his game plan. He said some drivers are hard to hit? Is the lesson changed when using a driver?

Thank you very much for finishing the long read.

[Dyna]

Obviously your new driver is no good, I will give you $60 for it that way you can pick up 2 new drivers at WalMart as well as some tee's.

[letgodsortemout]

Thats why you try a club before you buy it.

[Golf4life]

First off you dictate what you want to work on, after all you're paying him. i can probably understand the first lesson, most instructors want to see your swing at it's simplistic form so they op for 7i swing.

in regards to the Sumo2, did you test it out before you bought it... do you even know if that's the right shaft for you?

[BritBoy]

Roll with it. Your pro has a plan... see where it takes you. I worked with the same pro for over a year (Going at least once a month) before we got onto the driver. I used to want to break out the driver on every par 4. But he taught me to play to my strengths.

My best distance for and approach shot it between 125 - 140, so I play from the tee for that distance. If I am playing a par 4 of around 350 I don’t hit driver (average 270ish) because it puts me inside my number. Plus I lose accuracy with the driver so I would hit hybrid and play smart.

Don’t get me wrong though. Sometimes when I’m out with just the guys I will just try to rip the driver every time. But if I’m looking to score I will play for my yardages.

It sounds like this is where your pro is going. I think he is building confidence in a few clubs, finding out your distance with those clubs and then playing to it.

Also don’t forget that the driver swing is very different to you iron swing and maybe he wants you get comfortable with your irons before he starts messing with your swing for the driver. Believe me, it doesn’t matter how many times your pro tells you (and he will) "do this with the driver", it will creep into your iron swing as well. And that isn’t always good.

I was taught that there are 4 areas to your game and they are all very separate:
1. Putting and short game
2. Iron play
3. Long game
4. The mental game

When the time is right he will show you how to hit your driver (and there’s nothing wrong with it), but don’t worry about it.

Hang in there, let the pro do his job, and have fun with the drop in your scores.

Sorry for the long reply

[Shindig]

I started hitting the ball at the driving range about a month and a half ago. I bought a 29 dollar club at walmart and was driving the ball on average 200-225 yards. sometimes 250. Never over 250, kinda makes me upset.

You're outdriving me - and I've played for over a year! Good start for sure. From my understanding of it: You're going to hit your irons more than your driver. Not each of them: I don't think I've ever hit the same iron 14 times in a round, but I've hit my driver 14 times in a round. In fact, the irons aren't considered one of the three main scoring clubs (driver, wedge, putter). But the basic swing with the irons, especially for a beginner (like the two of us) is a good way to ingrain. Plus, rarely does someone [smart] try to kill a shot with their irons: if you need to kill a shot with a 7-iron to hit the green, just put it back in the bag, grab a 6-iron, and swing easier. On the other hand, people love to try to kill it with their driver and go for every ounce of distance -- good at some points (wide fairways, for instance), but not something you want to ingrain if you're going to hit your irons.

[gbk56]

Yes, hitting your driver is different form hitting your irons.
- your ball position will be different
- your swing will be different

Also, most people test many clubs before purchasing them and then get fitted when they find the one they like best. Everyones is different and you should find the right club for you.

I would ask the pro why he does not want to teach you to hit the driver. If you do not like his answer I would find someone who has the same goals as you do.

[kafka01]

Yes, hitting your driver is different form hitting your irons.

You DO NOT have a different swing for driver/irons nor a different attack angle you have to take care of. Your attack angle automaticlly changes with the length of the shaft (longer shaft - shallower / shorter shaft - deeper attack angle).

When you start golfing, low irons are the way to go to practice your swing since your swing isnt solid yet and you hit them all over the face and coming at the ball from many "directions" that arent supposed to be thus producing many really bad shots. Further i would say, if you have a solid swing you will be able to hit any kind of club/brand without much problems. What kind of clubs/brands/specifications you finally choose which you think fits you best and give you the best performance is a different thing. BTW you really shouldnt hate any of the clubs you are playing - thats just messing with your mind (i have the same driver as you, and i love it cuz it has done good things for me - nevertheless what other people i play regulary with, might think about it, i just dont care. But i also can see your point, that its hard to develop love for that thing, when you produce a lot of noise and not many good shots)

[fusioncal]

I started hitting the ball at the driving range about a month and a half ago. I bought a 29 dollar club at walmart and was driving the ball on average 200-225 yards. sometimes 250. Never over 250, kinda makes me upset.

Welcome to the club! Don't you just feel annoyed of that loud "tonk" sound SUMO makes?

First of all, you can hit a ball off the tee with irons BUT you can't hit a ball in the fairway/rough using a driver (assuming you're not Ernie). IMO, practicing irons is much more useful than driver. Ask yourself how many times you use a driver in a round of golf and compare it to irons. Exactly! That is why you need to master your irons first then the driver. Moreover, all irons shot are going to the green, but not driver unless you're extremely powerful hitter and can reach the green in 1 on par 4 or you're just playing from the ladies tees. Another reason is the swing difference between irons and driver. I believe you're already aware of this. I think your coach doesn't want you to get mixed up with this and besides hitting driver is more difficult than irons. Before you can run, first you have to walk - that's my motto. So what I'd suggest is to focus on your irons as your coach say. Hey, he's the one with the certificate (he does have one, doesn't he?). You're just the apprentice. See where he takes you. P.S: Remember to get rid of that SUMO2 driver.

[Crate]

P.S: Remember to get rid of that SUMO2 driver.

Yeah, I'm going to sell it. I will continue my search for a driver when the time is right. I should be able to get 200 for my old Sumo 2 ( I hope) It just is not the right club for me.

[fusioncal]

Yeah, I'm going to sell it. I will continue my search for a driver when the time is right. I should be able to get 200 for my old Sumo 2 ( I hope) It just is not the right club for me.

Make sure you try TaylorMade drivers. I'm a big fan.

[VanillaEps]

As others have said, the driver is the most difficult club to hit. Can't explain why you are able to hit the Wal-mart driver so well. May have to do with the different type of shaft and flex on the shaft. What loft angle is the Sumo 2 and what kind of shaft does it have?

Anyways, your iron play will determine how well you play every other club. Why? Because I believe the fundamentals are taught through iron play. Fundamentals such as properly addressing the ball, stance, posture, ball position, and swing plane. In addition, your irons are going to get you on the green, not the driver, or the woods, or the hybrids. On a moderately distanced par 4, you can get away with playing your irons and still play a decent round of golf.

Personally, I don't have the success you have with the driver. I can't hit is straight nor can I hit it consistently. I have now focused on mastering my irons before I even lay an eye on the driver. After irons, I will focus on the fairway woods/hybrids, and then finally the driver. IMO, the driver will be a bonus. If I can hit the irons, woods, and hybrids straight and consistent, I won't need a driver ;)

[Crate]

I hit the irons pretty good. Takes me a 5 minutes to warm up, but after that I seem to do well. I will look at the new drivers coming out and will have my eye out for the new TaylorMade.

[kafka01]

Some people here pointed out, that the swing of the driver is different - would you explain please in which way it is different (beside the natural adjustment to the shaft length and ball position)?

[Big Don]

I started hitting the ball at the driving range about a month and a half ago. I bought a 29 dollar club at walmart and was driving the ball on average 200-225 yards. sometimes 250. Never over 250, kinda makes me upset.

When you start hitting irons you quickly learn how to set up and hit down on the golf ball to get it airborne. Trying to hit a driver using the same set up is disastrous. Your instructor will soon help you to set up properly for a driver and then things should work out better. Be patient.

[VanillaEps]

When you start hitting irons you quickly learn how to set up and hit down on the golf ball to get it airborne. Trying to hit a driver using the same set up is disastrous. Your instructor will soon help you to set up properly for a driver and then things should work out better. Be patient.

From what I understand, the swing doesn't change, but ball position changes. The ball position allows the iron the hit the ball on the lowest part of the downswing - placing the ball in the middle of your stance. Moving the ball forward, placing the ball on the inside of your left/front foot, allows the driver to hit the ball as its making its upswing - akin to a sweeping motion off a tee.

[gbk56]

Some people here pointed out, that the swing of the driver is different - would you explain please in which way it is different (beside the natural adjustment to the shaft length and ball position)?

That is precisely the difference!!! I will agree that in general the swing for the driver is the same as for irons, but because of the longer shaft and moving the ball forward, the swing has to be somewhat different or at least feel different to account for all these new and different variables. As you said there has to be at leaast some natural adjustment for these variables.

In any case, you can't hit the driver using the same method you used in hitting irons is the main point.

[fusioncal]

Some people here pointed out, that the swing of the driver is different - would you explain please in which way it is different (beside the natural adjustment to the shaft length and ball position)?

Asides from physical differences, with irons you hit down to get the ball up in the air. While with driver, the moment of impact is when the clubhead is level at minimum or slightly upward with the teed ball so it's kind of sweeping motion similar to fairway wood or hybrid. Hitting down with driver will cause the ball go up high in the air, a lot of spin, and no distance. You don't want that.