I'm noticing a strange trend with my driver...

[jkelley9]

So I've discovered something going on with hitting my driver.

I've lined it out pretty well and feel very confident with it now. I very rarely duff the ball, very rarely hit a massive slice, and let's say my miss it a stronger draw. But overall, I believe I'm performing pretty well with my driver. I'm averaging about 250 avg, unknown carry.

The strange thing is that I've noticed when I hit the ball FLUSH, it actually FEELS like a MISS. I feel like these shots are flush because they go a solid 265 yards without any exceptional bounce or roll. The ball flight looks really good but the feel of that hit is so awkward. It was never like that with my other 2 drivers in the past. It's a completely different sound too. 

When I hit the ball 250 with straight or with a baby draw that's actually a better feeling shot than when I crush/flush it. 

I'm in no (measurable) way swinging the club faster on those 265 shots. I've got swing speed lined out pretty consistently.

This is not just a once or twice thing. This has been many many times.

Any thoughts on this?

[mcanadiens]

Flushing a driver is a very rare thing for me, but the few times it happened, the feel was totally different. To me, it actually feels like nothing at all. Like it were a practice swing. 

[CarlSpackler]

Hitting the ball on the sweet spot makes a HUGE difference. There is a sudden burst of adrenaline that makes you feel like you could wrestle a bear with one arm tied behind your back.

[Jeremie Boop]

Typically, for me, a flushed shot has a different trajectory and flight. Not a large difference, but noticeable. Basically it seems to "float" more, and those drive tend to be pretty long.

[colin007]

That's the feeling of the sweet spot, or rather that you don't feel much at all. When you're slightly off that spot you're getting more feedback coming up the shaft into your hands.

But yeah, catching it perfect on the sweet spot be like...

 

[jkelley9]

Except when I flush my driver it feels like a miss. It's a little clanky feeling with a weird clunk sound. Unlike my last two drivers (callaway diablo octane and tm r11) when I hit them flush it was an easy-breezy feel like I someone above mentioned it felt like a practice swing with no ball. Also, when I flush an iron shot it feels like I didn't even hit the ball, feels very nice.

This is the one exception with this driver. It feels to me like a miss-hit. So bazaar. 

[Rainmaker]

Just a guess but you might be catching it a bit high on the face?  This would give you a higher launch with less spin so it could potentially go farther if you're launch angle is really good.  If you wipe the driver face clean before you hit you can probably see the ball mark.  Failing that you could use foot powder or tape . . .

[jkelley9]

16 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

Just a guess but you might be catching it a bit high on the face?  This would give you a higher launch with less spin so it could potentially go farther if you're launch angle is really good.  If you wipe the driver face clean before you hit you can probably see the ball mark.  Failing that you could use foot powder or tape . . .

I have a black driver face (tm r1) that pretty easy to see where the ball hit and I do usually wipe the face clean often. The times I'm talking about are right in the sweet spot ((smash zone) (slightly above the actual center of the head). So I'm certainly hitting it flush in terms of impact spot but maybe it's the swing itself that's giving me this feel?

[allenc]

15 minutes ago, Rainmaker said:

Just a guess but you might be catching it a bit high on the face?  This would give you a higher launch with less spin so it could potentially go farther if you're launch angle is really good.  If you wipe the driver face clean before you hit you can probably see the ball mark.  Failing that you could use foot powder or tape . . .

Yes this.  Hitting the ball right in the center of the face feels the best and provides the highest "springiness" but on most drivers it better to hit it higher on the face.  Those will actually feel worse in some way but you will be making contact at or above the center of gravity which will give you higher launch and lower spin.  Also the loft will be higher higher in the face which may be a more appropriate loft for you.

[Strat-Pack Rick]

@jkelley9 Just curious but what are you hitting and do you like it ? It sounds as if you are disappointed in the feel of the club but the results are good enough to look past that. My driver, when i flush it in the sweet spot feels about like everyone elses description. Like the ball was in the way of a perfect practice swing. This is the first time Ive heard of a great drive feeling terrible.Maybe you are missing the sweets pot a little but you just have a hot faced driver. Rig up a gate drill to make sure your in the center. Heck, you might be able to squeeze out 280. Nothing wrong with that. Good luck with it !!

[dchoye]

I used to think I need to feel something when I hit the ball with the driver. But this past season I had my longest drives feeling like I squash marshmallows 

I remember a comment that a LD champ said after he hit a record distance that he "felt nothing " and he knew instantly he hit a long one 

Edited December 4, 2016 by dchoye

[jkelley9]

15 hours ago, Strat-Pack Rick said:

@jkelley9 Just curious but what are you hitting and do you like it ? It sounds as if you are disappointed in the feel of the club but the results are good enough to look past that. My driver, when i flush it in the sweet spot feels about like everyone elses description. Like the ball was in the way of a perfect practice swing. This is the first time Ive heard of a great drive feeling terrible.Maybe you are missing the sweets pot a little but you just have a hot faced driver. Rig up a gate drill to make sure your in the center. Heck, you might be able to squeeze out 280. Nothing wrong with that. Good luck with it !!

I have an R1. The face is black and I can usually see the imprint of the ball on the face after I hit one. Each time this happens where I hit a monster drive (which I don't know until I walk out there, my depth perception is terrible) I look down and it's right in the middle of the "hot spot."

The unusual thing is, usually most of my drives feel pretty buttery all over the face. Even if I miss it a solid 1-2 cm off center. The ball will fly weirdly of course (although with the driver a lot of times it's still in play) but will be shorter; 200-230 yards but will feel pretty smooth. When I hit the hot spot my shot feel kind of wanky/clunky and I look down and the mark is right in the middle of the hot spot. This is usually embarrassing when playing with a group because I'll say something like "crap..." right after hitting it, thinking it was a bad shot. Then I'll walk out to my ball and I'm 30 yards farther than every body @ ~265 or so  

I'm wondering if it has to do with the weights in the head. I always forget what weights I have an where, but I have something like a 10g weight on one side and a 1g weight on the other. I'm wondering if with my new in-to-out swing with a slightly closed face at impact (draw setup) that the driver has feedback that is awkward due to those weights and the swing path?

9 hours ago, dchoye said:

I used to think I need to feel something when I hit the ball with the driver. But this past season I had my longest drives feeling like I squash marshmallows 

I remember a comment that a LD champ said after he hit a record distance that he "felt nothing " and he knew instantly he hit a long one 

This was the same for me with my other 2 drivers.

[Keep It Simple]

Wow, this thread is so interesting because I can actually relate!

My driver is a Taylormade SLDR (430cc head).  Shaft is 65g X-stiff.  I tee the ball 1-1/2" off the ground placed just inside my left foot (more in line with my heel so not teed up as high or as far forward as what would be considered optimum).

Trying to squeeze out some extra distance I have hit some massive drives that felt like total mishits.  It is not a good feeling or sound.  It is not the sweet spot feel/sound everyone is describing.  It actually feels like the crown of the driver is going to crack open so maybe contact is high on the face.  

Definitely weird.  Never experienced this with the R11 I had previously.

 

 

[Buckeyebowman]

On 12/2/2016 at 0:15 PM, jkelley9 said:

I have a black driver face (tm r1) that pretty easy to see where the ball hit and I do usually wipe the face clean often. The times I'm talking about are right in the sweet spot ((smash zone) (slightly above the actual center of the head). So I'm certainly hitting it flush in terms of impact spot but maybe it's the swing itself that's giving me this feel?

I would have to say no! There were many excellent comments delivered above. Many baseball players have said the exact same thing. When they caught one "flush", they barely felt the contact of the ball with the bat! But they knew it was going out of the park!

I don't think it's the swing that's giving you this feel, it's the construction of the club head coupled with the clubshaft. Those are the only things that can communicate any kind of feel to your hands during a swing. I'd advise you to encourage and develop that feel!