What should I do?

[Lefty-slice]

Hey guys I need help with my driver. So to start off I am a lefty and hit my driver with a massive slice. I have a Callaway x hot driver and it has the changeable club face. I have it set on a closed face and it has kept my slice at bay but it is still a massiveslice. The loft is 10.5 degrees. 

 

I am 33 years old now. Used to play from the ages 18-22 on a once a week basis. I then stopped, hurt my back, had two spinal fusion surgeries and have picked up golfing again this year. I have been playing about once a week now. I am six feet tall and 250 pounds. I work out quite often and am really solid. I can pound the golf ball. I have a John Daley like exaggerated swing that I get my whole body into.

 

When I hit my driver it really slices to the left. I had learned to just aim to the right and let the ball come back to my fairway. Like I aim at the fairway parallel to the hole I am playing and let the ball shape like a banana. Dogleg lefts are my specialty. I tee the ball up slightly ahead of my front foot and I put it out to the end of my reach. To be honest I have an ugly, ugly swing. The good problem is that I can just pound that golf ball. My ball has like a home run trajectory; high and deep and long. I get lots of height and slice on every drive. 

 

So so after reading all of this you are going to tell me that I need to change everything I do. My problem is that I am averaging 260 yards per drive and just about every round I will hit a 300 yard drive. I am shooting now in the 88-92 range. Pretty much all golfers who I play with for the first time laugh at my set up and swing but yet I outdrive them. I have been told many times that if I could manage to control my drive (lower trajectory and straighter ball flight) that I could hit the ball 300 yards on average. I did grow up playing hockey and had a big slapshot. 

 

I have tried going to the driving range a few times to better my stance and ball placement with my driver. The problem is that I just can not hit the ball. I duff it more often than hitting it solid. I actually have less control of my ball. So the question to all of you is do I just stick with what I am doing or keep on trying to change everything to attempt to better my game. 

[Papa Steve 55]

There's no magic here, you need to find a pro and have them take a live look at your swing. Hitting more and more balls will just help you groove in the flaw.

Best of luck.

Edited August 12, 2016 by Papa Steve 55

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, Lefty-slice said:

Hey guys I need help with my driver. So to start off I am a lefty and hit my driver with a massive slice. I have a Callaway x hot driver and it has the changeable club face. I have it set on a closed face and it has kept my slice at bay but it is still a massiveslice. The loft is 10.5 degrees. 

 

I am 33 years old now. Used to play from the ages 18-22 on a once a week basis. I then stopped, hurt my back, had two spinal fusion surgeries and have picked up golfing again this year. I have been playing about once a week now. I am six feet tall and 250 pounds. I work out quite often and am really solid. I can pound the golf ball. I have a John Daley like exaggerated swing that I get my whole body into.

 

When I hit my driver it really slices to the left. I had learned to just aim to the right and let the ball come back to my fairway. Like I aim at the fairway parallel to the hole I am playing and let the ball shape like a banana. Dogleg lefts are my specialty. I tee the ball up slightly ahead of my front foot and I put it out to the end of my reach. To be honest I have an ugly, ugly swing. The good problem is that I can just pound that golf ball. My ball has like a home run trajectory; high and deep and long. I get lots of height and slice on every drive. 

 

So so after reading all of this you are going to tell me that I need to change everything I do. My problem is that I am averaging 260 yards per drive and just about every round I will hit a 300 yard drive. I am shooting now in the 88-92 range. Pretty much all golfers who I play with for the first time laugh at my set up and swing but yet I outdrive them. I have been told many times that if I could manage to control my drive (lower trajectory and straighter ball flight) that I could hit the ball 300 yards on average. I did grow up playing hockey and had a big slapshot. 

 

I have tried going to the driving range a few times to better my stance and ball placement with my driver. The problem is that I just can not hit the ball. I duff it more often than hitting it solid. I actually have less control of my ball. So the question to all of you is do I just stick with what I am doing or keep on trying to change everything to attempt to better my game. 

Create a My Swing thread in the Member Swings section. It could be anything, but anything is also fixable. 

[Hardspoon]

It sounds like you actually do want to fix this; otherwise you wouldn't be posting here!

Whether you start a MySwing thread here, or get a lesson from a local instructor, that will start you on the path of improvement. It may not be easy, and you may have periods where you play worse than you did before, but once you start down that road you may find it as addictive and rewarding as others here have. 

My two cents: it's certainly worth a shot.

[yai]

13 hours ago, Lefty-slice said:

Hey guys I need help with my driver. So to start off I am a lefty and hit my driver with a massive slice. I have a Callaway x hot driver and it has the changeable club face. I have it set on a closed face and it has kept my slice at bay but it is still a massiveslice. The loft is 10.5 degrees. 

 

I am 33 years old now. Used to play from the ages 18-22 on a once a week basis. I then stopped, hurt my back, had two spinal fusion surgeries and have picked up golfing again this year. I have been playing about once a week now. I am six feet tall and 250 pounds. I work out quite often and am really solid. I can pound the golf ball. I have a John Daley like exaggerated swing that I get my whole body into.

 

When I hit my driver it really slices to the left. I had learned to just aim to the right and let the ball come back to my fairway. Like I aim at the fairway parallel to the hole I am playing and let the ball shape like a banana. Dogleg lefts are my specialty. I tee the ball up slightly ahead of my front foot and I put it out to the end of my reach. To be honest I have an ugly, ugly swing. The good problem is that I can just pound that golf ball. My ball has like a home run trajectory; high and deep and long. I get lots of height and slice on every drive. 

 

So so after reading all of this you are going to tell me that I need to change everything I do. My problem is that I am averaging 260 yards per drive and just about every round I will hit a 300 yard drive. I am shooting now in the 88-92 range. Pretty much all golfers who I play with for the first time laugh at my set up and swing but yet I outdrive them. I have been told many times that if I could manage to control my drive (lower trajectory and straighter ball flight) that I could hit the ball 300 yards on average. I did grow up playing hockey and had a big slapshot. 

 

I have tried going to the driving range a few times to better my stance and ball placement with my driver. The problem is that I just can not hit the ball. I duff it more often than hitting it solid. I actually have less control of my ball. So the question to all of you is do I just stick with what I am doing or keep on trying to change everything to attempt to better my game. 

If you post a video of your swing, i think id be able to help you straighten it out. A small fade you can score well with. A massive slice is something that is causing you to lose distance and is probably inconsistent. Im a better than scratch golfer, so dont think im a hack that cant golf trying to give you advice. 

[DannyMac]

Like other posters above have stated, post a My Swing thread.  I'm very curious to see your swing and your progression. Good luck!

[DaveP043]

I'll pile on with the rest.  You have two choices.  You can keep going the way you're going, hitting the ball a reasonably long way with lots of curve.  Or you can learn to hit it straighter.  I don't believe you'll be successful making that big a change on your own, you're going to need some instruction.  You can definitely get some good instruction here, by posting some videos in the My Swing part of the forum.  Read the hidden info at the top of that page to learn about camera angles and how to post.  Alternatively, you may be able to find good in-person instruction near your home.  Either way, you may play worse while you're making the changes.  In the long run, it'll be worth the effort to become a better player.

[Jeremie Boop]

13 hours ago, Lefty-slice said:

Hey guys I need help with my driver. So to start off I am a lefty and hit my driver with a massive slice. I have a Callaway x hot driver and it has the changeable club face. I have it set on a closed face and it has kept my slice at bay but it is still a massiveslice. The loft is 10.5 degrees. 

 

I am 33 years old now. Used to play from the ages 18-22 on a once a week basis. I then stopped, hurt my back, had two spinal fusion surgeries and have picked up golfing again this year. I have been playing about once a week now. I am six feet tall and 250 pounds. I work out quite often and am really solid. I can pound the golf ball. I have a John Daley like exaggerated swing that I get my whole body into.

 

When I hit my driver it really slices to the left. I had learned to just aim to the right and let the ball come back to my fairway. Like I aim at the fairway parallel to the hole I am playing and let the ball shape like a banana. Dogleg lefts are my specialty. I tee the ball up slightly ahead of my front foot and I put it out to the end of my reach. To be honest I have an ugly, ugly swing. The good problem is that I can just pound that golf ball. My ball has like a home run trajectory; high and deep and long. I get lots of height and slice on every drive. 

 

So so after reading all of this you are going to tell me that I need to change everything I do. My problem is that I am averaging 260 yards per drive and just about every round I will hit a 300 yard drive. I am shooting now in the 88-92 range. Pretty much all golfers who I play with for the first time laugh at my set up and swing but yet I outdrive them. I have been told many times that if I could manage to control my drive (lower trajectory and straighter ball flight) that I could hit the ball 300 yards on average. I did grow up playing hockey and had a big slapshot. 

 

I have tried going to the driving range a few times to better my stance and ball placement with my driver. The problem is that I just can not hit the ball. I duff it more often than hitting it solid. I actually have less control of my ball. So the question to all of you is do I just stick with what I am doing or keep on trying to change everything to attempt to better my game. 

Short of following the previous suggestions of a my swing thread *which I agree is the best option*, I would suggest maybe not having the ball forward of your lead foot. This could be a partial cause of the big slice. For myself, when I let the ball get too far forward I notice I start catching the ball as swing arc is moving left instead of right *for you it would be to the right instead of to the left* which will cause the ball to pick up slice spin instead of draw spin. You might try lining the ball up with the inside of your right heel at set up at the range sometime just to see how it works.

[Strandly]

15 hours ago, Lefty-slice said:

Hey guys I need help with my driver. So to start off I am a lefty and hit my driver with a massive slice. I have a Callaway x hot driver and it has the changeable club face. I have it set on a closed face and it has kept my slice at bay but it is still a massiveslice. The loft is 10.5 degrees. 

 

I am 33 years old now. Used to play from the ages 18-22 on a once a week basis. I then stopped, hurt my back, had two spinal fusion surgeries and have picked up golfing again this year. I have been playing about once a week now. I am six feet tall and 250 pounds. I work out quite often and am really solid. I can pound the golf ball. I have a John Daley like exaggerated swing that I get my whole body into.

 

When I hit my driver it really slices to the left. I had learned to just aim to the right and let the ball come back to my fairway. Like I aim at the fairway parallel to the hole I am playing and let the ball shape like a banana. Dogleg lefts are my specialty. I tee the ball up slightly ahead of my front foot and I put it out to the end of my reach. To be honest I have an ugly, ugly swing. The good problem is that I can just pound that golf ball. My ball has like a home run trajectory; high and deep and long. I get lots of height and slice on every drive. 

 

So so after reading all of this you are going to tell me that I need to change everything I do. My problem is that I am averaging 260 yards per drive and just about every round I will hit a 300 yard drive. I am shooting now in the 88-92 range. Pretty much all golfers who I play with for the first time laugh at my set up and swing but yet I outdrive them. I have been told many times that if I could manage to control my drive (lower trajectory and straighter ball flight) that I could hit the ball 300 yards on average. I did grow up playing hockey and had a big slapshot. 

 

I have tried going to the driving range a few times to better my stance and ball placement with my driver. The problem is that I just can not hit the ball. I duff it more often than hitting it solid. I actually have less control of my ball. So the question to all of you is do I just stick with what I am doing or keep on trying to change everything to attempt to better my game. 

Well, you've got a few inches and over 100 pounds on me and I probably hit the ball as far as you do (and straight) so if I were you, yeah, I'd find an instructor or at the very least watch some youtube videos and visit a driving range to practice what you watched.

[70sSanO]

I can't help you with your slice, obviously you are cutting across the ball, but how straight do you hit your irons?

As everyone has said, you need to get some lessons or post a video of your ugly swing because there are people here that can probably help.

I do think you should stop embracing your John Daly image and work on developing a solid swing.

John

[Buckeyebowman]

On 8/12/2016 at 0:20 PM, Jeremie Boop said:

Short of following the previous suggestions of a my swing thread *which I agree is the best option*, I would suggest maybe not having the ball forward of your lead foot. This could be a partial cause of the big slice. For myself, when I let the ball get too far forward I notice I start catching the ball as swing arc is moving left instead of right *for you it would be to the right instead of to the left* which will cause the ball to pick up slice spin instead of draw spin. You might try lining the ball up with the inside of your right heel at set up at the range sometime just to see how it works.

You read my mind! Lefty-slice, if you're not into posting vids and reading or listening to instruction, and are just looking for a tip, I wouldn't tell you to change everything! That's a sure way to really screw yourself up. Change only one thing! Your ball position. Try it at the range, during a round, wherever. Just move it back 1/4 inch. See what happens. Then move it back another 1/4. Experiment. There's more than one way to hit a golf ball.

On 8/12/2016 at 2:19 PM, Strandly said:

Well, you've got a few inches and over 100 pounds on me and I probably hit the ball as far as you do (and straight) so if I were you, yeah, I'd find an instructor or at the very least watch some youtube videos and visit a driving range to practice what you watched.

BAZINGA! When she was at the top of her game on the LPGA Tour, Lorena Ochoa was 5'6", 130lbs. and could drive the ball 290!

[70sSanO]

While ball position might help someone with a decent enough swing to begin with, I highly doubt ball position will eliminate a banana slice with an inconsistent swing.  I know how important ball position is for me and being to replicate the correct spot.

I still don't know how well the OP hits his irons and if the issue is only with his drives.

The emphasis to fix the slice seems to be based on being able to hit 300 yard drives on a consistent basis, not necessarily learning to play better golf.

John

[Porkrind]

I was in a similar situation a year ago and decided to find an instructor. For the sake of my back I'm glad I did and still do every other week.