How to hit a driver?

[Matt66]

A stupid question, that will no doubt require a stupid answer but is genuinely bugging me.

If you see the threads that I have posted in recently, including my member swing thread, you'll come to the realisation that;

1. I'm an eager newbie

2. Pretty Useless with any club bigger then a 5 wood

3. Confused beyond my wildest dreams with how on earth I go about getting solid decent contact with the daddy club

So when I first started playing I was pretty fearless and would go for the driver when called upon, yeah I hit a fair few shanks & slice it a long way but at least it felt good to hit the bad boy.

So as I have continued playing more and more one would hope an improvement would occur, it did and I managed to tame the slice into a fade and even see a slight draw every now and then.

However more recently I have really struggled for any consistency, with sky shots destroying my driver head being the most common of all shots. I feel like when I hold a driver I genuinely don't know what to do with it, how to stand, swing etc.

So I wanna try and go back to basics, I've read and watched countless videos on hitting the ball on the up, hitting down ( as @mvmac ms to be growing in popularity) stance, set up & even down to how high you tee it up.

I wondered what are the general set up methods everyone goes through & then what works for you guys when making the transition from irons to driver.

I have an idea about the very basics such as set up, square up that club face (or at least attempt!) but is there anything that you do or don't do that works & perhaps maybe I may have a eureka moment next time I practice!

Cheers guys

Matt

[saevel25]

However more recently I have really struggled for any consistency, with sky shots destroying my driver head being the most common of all shots. I feel like when I hold a driver I genuinely don't know what to do with it, how to stand, swing etc.

So I wanna try and go back to basics, I've read and watched countless videos on hitting the ball on the up, hitting down ( as @mvmac has pointed seems to be growing in popularity) stance, set up & even down to how high you tee it up.

I wondered what are the general set up methods everyone goes through & then what works for you guys when making the transition from irons to driver.

For me it is these two things threads combined

http://thesandtrap.com/t/77244/how-to-hit-a-driver-hit-it-further-and-stop-slicing

http://thesandtrap.com/t/44307/hitting-up-or-down-with-the-driver-in-an-inline-pattern

[Matt66]

Quote:

A stupid question, that will no doubt require a stupid answer but is genuinely bugging me.

If you see the threads that I have posted in recently, including my member swing thread, you'll come to the realisation that;

1. I'm an eager newbie

2. Pretty Useless with any club bigger then a 5 wood

3. Confused beyond my wildest dreams with how on earth I go about getting solid decent contact with the daddy club

So when I first started playing I was pretty fearless and would go for the driver when called upon, yeah I hit a fair few shanks & slice it a long way but at least it felt good to hit the bad boy.

So as I have continued playing more and more one would hope an improvement would occur, it did and I managed to tame the slice into a fade and even see a slight draw every now and then.

However more recently I have really struggled for any consistency, with sky shots destroying my driver head being the most common of all shots. I feel like when I hold a driver I genuinely don't know what to do with it, how to stand, swing etc.

So I wanna try and go back to basics, I've read and watched countless videos on hitting the ball on the up, hitting down ( as @iacas has pointed seems to be growing in popularity) stance, set up & even down to how high you tee it up.

I wondered what are the general set up methods everyone goes through & then what works for you guys when making the transition from irons to driver.

I have an idea about the very basics such as set up, square up that club face (or at least attempt!) but is there anything that you do or don't do that works & perhaps maybe I may have a eureka moment next time I practice!

Cheers guys

Matt

My apologies, I forget who posts the amount I read!

[exgolfpro66]

Here are my thoughts.  May not be popular, but I am working from a point of 'over exaggeration'.  First off, forget about hitting up or down on the ball.  Quite honestly, if you are a newbie, you are not going to understand the other changes you need to make to make this move effective.  Simply take a few practice swings, visually there will be a place somewhere between your feet where it appears the club is travelling 'flat' or parallel with the ground.  Make a mental note of that location and place your teed up ball on the extreme target side of this flat spot.  That is your new ball position.  As far as in swing feels.....try to get your two thumbs on the target side of the shaft at impact.  (this is an extreme move).  By making this move, your hands (and club) will have rotated counter clockwise almost 90* from your setup position.  Hit somewhere around 1 million!!!!  balls like this and you will be fine.

[Bigwonk44]

I completely get your problem! I went through a spell where I would sky the ball with the driver and even the woods. I agree with exgolfpro in the fact that you shouldn't worry about swinging up or down. Just swing. A few things that may help are teeing the ball a little lower than you do currently. But mechanically, what I would do is try and keep your head completely level and in a box in your driver swing. Do not move your head laterally. Generally this causes your head to sink and makes you get under the ball especially with your driver. Do you tend to accidentally take divots with your driver? Also, a quick fix could be outstretching your arms downward nearly completely straight at address and standing farther away from the ball to make your swing flatter and possibly allowing you to not be able to get the club lower than the tee height. However, if you're in the middle of the round and wanna be able to keep your driver in play. Tee it down and swing it like an iron if you need to. I did that for a while and it helped me keep the driver in the bag til I could really find out whats wrong. I'd love to see your swing if you have a video. Sorry if I was confusing with all of this stuff but there are a ton of reasons you could be hitting the driver badly. These are a few of my suggestions even though some may find it nonsensical.

[Matt66]

For me it is these two things threads combined

http://thesandtrap.com/t/77244/how-to-hit-a-driver-hit-it-further-and-stop-slicing

http://thesandtrap.com/t/44307/hitting-up-or-down-with-the-driver-in-an-inline-pattern

Mike has made a great 'checklist' for use of a better word for us slicers. After going through the thread there were a few points, Presetting hips, shoulder as well as hip alignment that I hadn't really considered so I made an attempt to work on this as well as other parts of my game, but for the first time in at least a month I was getting that solid contact with the ball! A start that can be built on.

Here are my thoughts.  May not be popular, but I am working from a point of 'over exaggeration'.  First off, forget about hitting up or down on the ball.  Quite honestly, if you are a newbie, you are not going to understand the other changes you need to make to make this move effective.  Simply take a few practice swings, visually there will be a place somewhere between your feet where it appears the club is travelling 'flat' or parallel with the ground.  Make a mental note of that location and place your teed up ball on the extreme target side of this flat spot.  That is your new ball position.  As far as in swing feels.....try to get your two thumbs on the target side of the shaft at impact.  (this is an extreme move).  By making this move, your hands (and club) will have rotated counter clockwise almost 90* from your setup position.  Hit somewhere around 1 million!!!!  balls like this and you will be fine.

Didn't quite hit a Million last night but it was approaching 200! As mentioned above I looked through some of the tips in the thread posted above & started getting that contact back. I did however consider the point you made about where the club travels flat. Again this could have been coincidental but I aligned the ball with the left heel, but then place the club back from the ball say 4/5 inches & start my take way & swing from this point.

I did also a few times, follow my club path in the takeaway, only for a split second to no more then about a 1/3 of the way up before refocusing back on the ball, probably not best practice but I fell as if it helped with getting the club on the right path. Again I wonder if this has ever worked for others before me?

I completely get your problem! I went through a spell where I would sky the ball with the driver and even the woods. I agree with exgolfpro in the fact that you shouldn't worry about swinging up or down. Just swing. A few things that may help are teeing the ball a little lower than you do currently. But mechanically, what I would do is try and keep your head completely level and in a box in your driver swing. Do not move your head laterally. Generally this causes your head to sink and makes you get under the ball especially with your driver. Do you tend to accidentally take divots with your driver? Also, a quick fix could be outstretching your arms downward nearly completely straight at address and standing farther away from the ball to make your swing flatter and possibly allowing you to not be able to get the club lower than the tee height. However, if you're in the middle of the round and wanna be able to keep your driver in play. Tee it down and swing it like an iron if you need to. I did that for a while and it helped me keep the driver in the bag til I could really find out whats wrong. I'd love to see your swing if you have a video. Sorry if I was confusing with all of this stuff but there are a ton of reasons you could be hitting the driver badly. These are a few of my suggestions even though some may find it nonsensical.

I must admit although I mentioned about how you should swing, it really doesn't cross my mind I am just trying to hit the ball with a solid contact, its this that has been lacking more recently.

I have only been able to practice where they have there standard set tee's so only on the course can I change tee size, I have however had success with Teeing slightly lower, something I'm not adverse to if I could see the results come off in decent distance & hitting fairways.

Taking divots accidently, yes this has cropped up now and then, I think head position is something to work on & something I had only started to appreciate since joining this forum.

I do have a my swing post located: http://thesandtrap.com/t/79556/my-swing-matt66#post_1099220

Unfortunately it has videos that are a week old & bout 3 weeks old, but it will show you hopefully what was happening, I will try and get some more up this week that hopefully show some slight improvements!

Thanks for the responses chaps, its much appreciated!

[Bigwonk44]

I have taken a look at your swings and you have a very nice swing I'll be honest alot of really good positions. I love your head position through the ball there's nothing to work on there. You have an incredibly flat swing and I have found that this can cause some fatter shots(skying). Personally, I think that all that it will take for you to hit some better shots would be to lower the tee height for your driver. Your club seems to be coming down at a nearly identical height to where it starts and taking a look at the video you tee the ball up to where there is about half to three quarters of the ball over the club face. and you seem to bring it down in a fairly similar position at impact so the ball is hitting high on the face. You have good fundamentals, a flat swing is not a bad swing(if you struggle with power you may want to consider a more upright swing but i don't see anything wrong with a flat swing) so I don't want give you over complicated advice! So my two pieces of advice for you are either tee it lower on the course, or experiment with hovering the driver behind the ball and matching the sweet spot of the club with the ball at address. I hope this helps!

If you look at Matt Kuchar's swing, you see him setup and then hover so that the ball is even with the sweet spot. Kuchar has a very flat golf swing as you do and he is, in my opinion, the most consistent player in the history of the game.

[MrDC]

Driver is a different swing than irons, it takes time to learn but once you do it becomes pretty easy for average length.

Here is my checklist.

From behind the ball, check my target, and shot shape I want.

Address, feet wide, open for fade, closed for draw, back straight, shoulder blades back, head high looking bit right, left shoulder up, knees bent just a little, hover club at ball, hands back, point butt of club at belt buckle, strong left hand grip, weak right, relax, relax, relax, takeway long, clubhead and hands along a rail, stay centered, hands high at top, wrists cocked, whip the body, legs, hips, all moving forward, but head stays behind the ball, arms long through impact, left shoulder pulls away from body, right elbow stays close to body, relax, turn all the way around, finish with shaft resting against my neck, up on my back foot.

And all of that with a nice, easy tempo, letting the wrists release naturally, the name of the game is no tension in the arms and wrists, use your legs, hips and core to whip those shoulders through the ball.

[saevel25]

From behind the ball, check my target, and shot shape I want.

I would worry just about working on one shot shape. It promotes more consistency.

Address, feet wide, open for fade, closed for draw, back straight, shoulder blades back, head high looking bit right, left shoulder up, knees bent just a little, hover club at ball, hands back, point butt of club at belt buckle, strong left hand grip, weak right, relax, relax, relax, takeway long,

Take a look at this thread, http://thesandtrap.com/t/56069/good-golf-posture-how-to-address-the-golf-ball

It will enlighten you on how you shouldn't draw your shoulder blades back. Also, keeping the head up makes it very hard to turn correctly.

[Matt66]

Take a look at this thread, http://thesandtrap.com/t/56069/good-golf-posture-how-to-address-the-golf-ball

It will enlighten you on how you shouldn't draw your shoulder blades back. Also, keeping the head up makes it very hard to turn correctly.

You beat me to it, this is a 'move' or set up that I have started doing since joining & reading that post. Head further over the ball in the C type shape instead of the bum out S shape I used to have.

It has definitely helped with seeing the ball through the whole swing & not just using the peripherals as you swing back.

[Matt66]

I have taken a look at your swings and you have a very nice swing I'll be honest alot of really good positions. I love your head position through the ball there's nothing to work on there. You have an incredibly flat swing and I have found that this can cause some fatter shots(skying). Personally, I think that all that it will take for you to hit some better shots would be to lower the tee height for your driver. Your club seems to be coming down at a nearly identical height to where it starts and taking a look at the video you tee the ball up to where there is about half to three quarters of the ball over the club face. and you seem to bring it down in a fairly similar position at impact so the ball is hitting high on the face. You have good fundamentals, a flat swing is not a bad swing(if you struggle with power you may want to consider a more upright swing but i don't see anything wrong with a flat swing) so I don't want give you over complicated advice! So my two pieces of advice for you are either tee it lower on the course, or experiment with hovering the driver behind the ball and matching the sweet spot of the club with the ball at address. I hope this helps!

If you look at Matt Kuchar's swing, you see him setup and then hover so that the ball is even with the sweet spot. Kuchar has a very flat golf swing as you do and he is, in my opinion, the most consistent player in the history of the game.

Feels strange to hear positives about my swing! But does fill me with a bit of confidence that I'm working on the right things!

Its interesting that you mention the flatness of the swing, that is something I think crept in subconsciously over the last month or so by trying hard to avoid that banana slice. It was also something noted by one of the more helpful coaches down my local range, they mentioned trying to get that swing to the half way and work on uplifting more instead of sideways, its proved a bit of a task thus far but I will be more then happy to find myself somewhere in between the two that is firstly working, comfortable & most importantly not going sideways & right!

Hopefully at some point this week I can get back down there to continue working on those elements discussed & also give the thoughts you've mentioned a go.
Hopefully add a few more videos to my swing thread too!