Need help with driving

[skyler_SQ2]

whenever I hit my driver it goes about 200 yards completely straight and then curves to the left (im i a lefty if that matters) on the way down, but only in the last 15 yards or so, and it only goes maybe 20 yards to the left. What can i do to my swing to prevent this?

[JaY_B]

Not knowing anything about your golf game or your swing the following are just general tips you can put in to play to help your game.

The loft of your driver is quite low, i would suggest the Nike Sumo Lucky 13 as higher lofts are proven to give you less side spin.

Strengthen your grip, make sure on your right hand you can see 2 and a half to 3 knuckles.

Make sure your arms arn't tense at address, you want them to be completely relaxed (this will help you sqaure the face at impact and could even see you gaining a few yards)

If all else fails blame the wind.


If none of that helps posting videos would be the next best step as we could tell you what in your swing was causing the ball to slice at the end of your ball flight.

[JonnyGolf]

whenever I hit my driver it goes about 200 yards completely straight and then curves to the left (im i a lefty if that matters) on the way down, but only in the last 15 yards or so, and it only goes maybe 20 yards to the left. What can i do to my swing to prevent this?

Why do you want to fix this? The best drivers in the world hit fades. A fade is very controllable and if you mess up, it just goes straight. If you start everything down the right side of the fairway, won't you end up in the middle?

A better question(unless your not an adult male) might be "why do I only hit it 215 yards).

[Tomboys]

whenever I hit my driver it goes about 200 yards completely straight and then curves to the left (im i a lefty if that matters) on the way down, but only in the last 15 yards or so, and it only goes maybe 20 yards to the left. What can i do to my swing to prevent this?

I used to have this type of ball-flight with my driver when I first started golfing years ago (except I'm right handed and my ball faded /sliced to the right at the tail end of my drives).

When my instructor saw this, he told me that my swing plane was good and my clubface was square to my target line at impact causing the ball to fly straight initially. However, I had a slightly out-to-in swing path, which put a cut-spin on the ball causing it to curve at the end of the ball-flight. If my clubface was open at impact, the result would've been a slice. If my clubface was closed at impact, the result would've been a pull-hook. The cure for this hard to determine right now because nobody has seen your swing. An out-to-in swing path can be caused by a variety of things, so it's not like there's one universal answer to fix it (or any swing flaw for that matter). I would suggest taking a lesson to get a direct fix for your problem. While I've read some great advice on this site, if the reason for your flaw is misdiagnosed, the "cure" could be wrong. At that point, you run the risk of being sent on a "wild-goose chase" and could quite possibly result in making your swing worse.

Why do you want to fix this??).

Because having a good, solid, fundamentally sound swing is the foundation of every good golfer. Sure, we all know of or have heard of the golfer that hit a 30-yard banana ball and was still able to shoot a good score (low 80's to high 70's). However, those people are far and few in-between. Imagine how good these players would be if they were able to drive the ball straight(er).

The best drivers in the world hit fades.

That's news to me. Let's look at what group defines "best". Long-drive champions? I seriously doubt it because fades tend to fly higher and land softer than straight balls and draws. So, that rules them out because they want all the distance they can get and hitting a fade is not going to give it.

How about PGA pros? Sure, some of them hit fades. But, they can also hit the ball straight or with draws. So, don't confuse what they choose to do with only being able to do. The difference is huge.

A fade is very controllable and if you mess up, it just goes straight. If you start everything down the right side of the fairway, won't you end up in the middle?).

A fade can be more reliable in the sense that when it hits the ground, it tends to "sit" more than a straight ball or draw ball, so you don't have to worry as much about the roll that could put you in harms way. However, how do you control a fade if you don't know what's causing it? Also, messing up a fade does not equate to a straight ball. If that was the case, we'd all be on tour asking Tiger how's the wife and new kid. Sure, messing up a fade can result in a straight shot. However, it could also result in a slice, a pull, a topped shot, a fat shot or even a whiffed shot. At that point, where do you aim?

A better question(unless your not an adult male) might be "why do I only hit it 215 yards).

A out-to-in swing path creates a glancing blow. So, the maximum energy of your clubhead is not being transfered to the ball. How much distance is lost because of this depends on how bad the out-to-in swing path is. Also, because of the cut-spin, the ball spends some of its energy going sideways (rather than forward) and has a tendency to sit or roll forward at an angle when it hits the ground instead of rolling forward down the target line. How much distance is lost is anyone's guess, but there will definitely be some loss.

Back then, when I was hitting my "straight/slice" drives, I averaged about 225 yards off the tee. As soon as I learned how to hit it straight, my drives averaged 245 yards. The 20 yard difference represented about two club-lengths reduction for my second shot, which, to me, is pretty substantial. DT

[Golf Yokel]

whenever I hit my driver it goes about 200 yards completely straight and then curves to the left (im i a lefty if that matters) on the way down, but only in the last 15 yards or so, and it only goes maybe 20 yards to the left. What can i do to my swing to prevent this?

Hehe, my shots do this too... except in a much more extreme way.

I am trying to learn to keep my left hand/wrist completely rotated over. I'm not sure of any exact terms to explain it, except that it almost feels like I have to roll my wrist over to the right a little to make sure my club-head is actually facing in the proper direction. I used to hold my left hand with my hand/wrist slightly behind the club to help push it harder, except that while doing that I had a tendency to roll the club backwards during the downswing. Now I make sure that I keep my left hand/wrist completely straight in front of me with the holes of my fist in an up/down/perpendicular/I told you I don't know the terms to explain it/ position. Anyways I've only been golfing for 2 or 3 months, my problem may have been completely different than yours, and you may want to take the advice of others and completely ignore what I just said.

[skyler_SQ2]

thanks for all the help guys, i fixed the problem basically i was starting to follow through before the clubface was done impacting the ball causing a little spin and distance loss. Whats strang about it is that i didnt have this problem with my old driver.

[JonnyGolf]

I used to have this type of ball-flight with my driver when I first started golfing years ago (except I'm right handed and my ball faded /sliced to the right at the tail end of my drives).

Hmmm, I didn't think I was responding to you. I'm glad you've fixed your slice.

[Tomboys]

Hmmm, I didn't think I was responding to you. I'm glad you've fixed your slice.

I apologize for the manner of my post. It was not my intention for it to come across an attack against your post. I was merely responding to some information that I felt could be construed as misleading. When we offer our opinions on an open forum such as this, we sometimes inadvertently open ourselves up for a counter-point. Some may call this process a debate, some may call it being argumentative. Nonetheless, I will be more judicial in keeping my opinions and the tone of them in check moving forward. Thank you for the reminder.

DT

[tm22721]

After three years I know to leave the woods in the bag. They are too long. I can't get consistent ball contact, trajectory or accuracy.

So I use a 3-5 iron off the longest tees and still achieve low 80s sometimes. Putting it in the fairway is much more important than 'taking it deep' for a high handicapper like me.

[JonnyGolf]

I apologize for the manner of my post. It was not my intention for it to come across an attack against your post. I was merely responding to some information that I felt could be construed as misleading. When we offer our opinions on an open forum such as this, we sometimes inadvertently open ourselves up for a counter-point. Some may call this process a debate, some may call it being argumentative. Nonetheless, I will be more judicial in keeping my opinions and the tone of them in check moving forward. Thank you for the reminder.

Not a problem. What I thought was interesting is that he described his shot as a 20yd fade, not a slice. A 20yd fade is very manageable. So, that's a shot shape that I wouldn't be in a rush to change (having personally experienced going from a reliable 250yd fade to a longer draw that occasionally turns into a hook). But, it does sound like he wasn't hitting it as far as he could have.

[skyler_SQ2]

i apologize if i was confusing with the terminology guys, i guess im not sure what the difference between a fade and a slice im very new to the sport having only been playing for a few months. As for as distance, im horrible but im ok with that for now, my main focus is getting the ball to fly straight. once again thanks for all of the input guys

[JonnyGolf]

i apologize if i was confusing with the terminology guys, i guess im not sure what the difference between a fade and a slice im very new to the sport having only been playing for a few months. As for as distance, im horrible but im ok with that for now, my main focus is getting the ball to fly straight. once again thanks for all of the input guys

A fade is where the ball starts straight, but gently moves away from the player. 20 yards movement is what I would consider a fade A slice will generally move 30yds or more away from the player after starting in the opposite direction. For example, if you aimed your drive down the middle of the fairway, a slice for a left hander would generally start towards the right side of the fairway, but peel off and end up on the left side of the fairway (most of the time in some bush!).

Both fades (some) and slices (huge!) impact distance as compared to a draw. Have fun! jg

[Tomboys]

i apologize if i was confusing with the terminology guys, i guess im not sure what the difference between a fade and a slice im very new to the sport having only been playing for a few months. As for as distance, im horrible but im ok with that for now, my main focus is getting the ball to fly straight. once again thanks for all of the input guys

No need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. You described the action of the ball that you are looking to correct and that's the key point. Whether it's construed a fade or a slice is immaterial. IMO, I've noticed that the determination between what is a fade and what is a slice tends to be personal between different golfers, so it seems that there's room for interpretation.

For me, I consider anything that I start left of my target line (I'm a right-handed player) and lands more than 10 yards right of it to be a slice. Again, I don't know if there's any hard and steadfast rules about it (other than a slice goes further away from your target line than a fade). In the end, as long as you have a relatively clear path to hit your next shot and you don't have to take a penalty stroke, I don't think it really matters what you call it. DT

[jc21539]

Always glad to see the game is still growing.

I think that maybe, for someone who has only been playing for a few months, you are focusing a little too much on things that you haven't yet learned to control.

I am willing to bet that plenty of people on this forum, myself included, who have been playing the game for many years still struggle with the direction of their ball flight. That's just golf; even Tiger struggles with his ball flight, all the time actually. It's just a matter of the amount of error we are willing to accept.

A fading ball flight is more than common for a beginning golfer. What you should be focused on is perfecting all of the positions before your swing, e.g. grip, posture, alignment. If you haven't perfected, and I do mean perfected , these positions, then you are virtually doomed for failure before you ever swing the club.

If you are worried about a fade and lack of distance, I would pay particular attention to your grip. A stronger grip may help you learn to make a more powerful pass through the ball. Aim to have atleast 3 knuckles showing when you look down at your right hand (because he's a lefty, for any righty readers).

[Ringer]

I actually just did a video a few months ago on swinging the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Vc0g_BD5I

[Ringer]

I actually just did a video a few months ago on swinging the driver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Vc0g_BD5I