Pulling my driver, suggested fixes?

[gregm392]

I am a 15 handicapper that hits the ball on average 290 yards. I have been playing about 2 years now. My swing has slowly started to progress but I still have problems pulling the golf ball left. This is true for every club that I hit. I have had lessons, suggestions and tips about how to come inside out rather than outside in. I have been to golfsmith and found my club face is usually closed at an average of -3.4 degrees. My swing speed is an average of 118 and generally on the monitor my balls carry about 275 and total near 300+ depending what my launch angle, etc is. On occasion I'll have a perfect swing, 122 mph club head speed and hit the ball 340+. This happens about 1 out of every 50 swings and it's frustrating knowing I have the potential to play much better golf but most drives end up around 290 and in the rough or pine straw. It's not just the driver, it's also the irons. I typically hit a long drive, followed by an iron the perfect distance but I cannot stop pulling the ball left of the green and struggling to scramble the whole round only to end up with 2 or 3 birdies from shots that weren't pulled surrounded by countless bogeys and doubles due to this one problem. My swing looks good, the mechanics are there but I simply cannot help but coming from outside in no matter what I try. It's so frustrating knowing I can play amazing golf with just 1 simple fix but it's not nearly as simple as I thought. Instead of shorting rounds between even par and sometimes nearly 20 over, I wanted to see if anyone has had similar problems and found a solution. I'm swinging about 80% on all my drives and irons so it's not an issue of overswiniging but rather the outside in motion. Any tips or suggestions would be extremely helpful!

[saevel25]

1 minute ago, gregm392 said:

I'm swinging about 80% on all my drives and irons so it's not an issue of overswiniging but rather the outside in motion. Any tips or suggestions would be extremely helpful!

Not sure without seeing your swing. I recommend creating a My Swing thread here, https://thesandtrap.com/forums/forum/13-member-swings/

If you do then please read how to videotape your swing here, http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

 

[newtogolf]

I agree with @saevel25 best way for the experts here to help would be for you to post your swing video.  

For what it's worth, I usually pull my driver when my hips start late and my arms and hands get a little out in front.  By the time my hips come around the club face is closed and swing path is headed to the right (I'm a lefty).  I've used this video to help make sure I get my lower body engaged first.  

 

[boogielicious]

13 hours ago, newtogolf said:

I agree with @saevel25 best way for the experts here to help would be for you to post your swing video.  

For what it's worth, I usually pull my driver when my hips start late and my arms and hands get a little out in front.  By the time my hips come around the club face is closed and swing path is headed to the right (I'm a lefty).  I've used this video to help make sure I get my lower body engaged first.  

 

Thanks for posting Joe.

That is my miss too. I recommending filming your swing @gregm392 as well.

[RH31]

Put an alignment rod down at your feet just to make sure you are square to your target. Now jam an alignment rod into the ground on what would be a straight shot. Next, focus on getting the clubface set up square or slighty right of that  vertical rod. Now, really really focus on controlling the clubface so that the ball starts right of that vertical rod. Forget all the normal swing thoughts, start with small slower swings if necessary, but hit balls and and start them right of center until the feeling becomes a natural move. I can't say it enough, clubface control, not swing speed will get your ball starting on the proper line.

 

[rehmwa]

This is one of my misses and it ties to completing my hip turn.  "finishing" the swing, "clearing" my hips, call it what you will, but if I don't fully complete my turn (get that belt buckle finishing facing at the target or better), I end up with a straight pull.  I think this one would fall into the "weight forward" category/key.  I'm guessing that if I shut down my torso early, then I end up yanking my arms and getting a pull - the worst part is if I get 'conscious' of it, the tendency is to tighten up and try moving less and that just makes it worse.

I'm finally feeling like my swing is repeatable enough that I can now assign cause to miss, so when I have a particular miss (and it's just not a crappy swing day), I have a good idea what best to try first to correct the flaw.   It's pretty neat and working super well.  If only I could putt.

• Obvious pull left?   Am I accomplishing my pressure transfer with a complete hip turn finish.  (stop being 'armsy') -  this one is very effective for me - finish 'weight/pressure forward'
• Thinning the ball?  Am I sticking my chest out and shoulders back at setup or am I slouching?  (suspect this ties even more fundamentally to posture - or "steady head") - also super effective.....
• Weird/inconsistent ball flight otherwise good?  (is it Path or Face?,  If it's face, am I doing something stupid with my hands at impact - if so, recall the face drills and wrist drills.  Path is a bit easier to fix) - not so clear and effective for me, I need to continue path and face drills.  Actually this is happening less and less when I just make sure my finish and posture are good - I get good contact and ball flight/shape is much more intuitive and doesn't fall off the rails as often.  Mostly when I'm tired or have been hitting a lot, then I mainly just lose path control and need to concentrate a bit more - or my cadence gets rushed, then a pause drill helps.

those are my misses and fixes - I try to tie them to something very fundamental and not overthink it.  seems good for me and keeps the swing thought down to a minimum - YMMV