Pop ups are driving me to despair! Help please.

[Joefree]

Hello all, how are you?

im really happy with my game at the moment, my short game is on point, 9 out of 10 shots with my irons are bang on target and my fairway woods are working a charm...But, I'd say about 60% of my drives are pop ups and the rest are painfully short, even when I think I've nailed it they go under 200 yards most the time, I have been known to drive over 300 yards in the summer months (I'm 6'3"). I should add, that they are all going reasonably straight, which is a small consolation haha.

 

i really don't think I'm hitting over the top or swinging the club down too steep, are there any other things that can cause this heart breaking pop up???

 

i've uploaded a couple of videos, you can laugh at my facial expressions if nothing else haha. 

 

Any help would be greatly appriciated, i have recently lost faith in my local pro and don't know where else to turn.

 

 

 

[Lihu]

It seems like a ball as a target could help us figure out why you're "popping them up"?

Even if you have a foam ball, we can see where it's impacting on the face?

 

29 minutes ago, Joefree said:

im really happy with my game at the moment, my short game is on point, 9 out of 10 shots with my irons are bang on target and my fairway woods are working a charm...But, I'd say about 60% of my drives are pop ups and the rest are painfully short, even when I think I've nailed it they go under 200 yards most the time, I have been known to drive over 300 yards in the summer months (I'm 6'3"). I should add, that they are all going reasonably straight, which is a small consolation haha.

Those are really nice features for your game.

[Joefree]

11 minutes ago, Lihu said:

It seems like a ball as a target could help us figure out why you're "popping them up"

Yes, I agree. I don't have foam balls I'm afraid. I'm going to the range tomorrow with my camera and a bucket of balls to try and replicate the fault on camera, strangely enough, it rarely happens on the range.

 

as for where it's impacting on the club face, I have lots of sky marks that can answer that question. I'm obviously hitting high on the face and  sometimes even the crown. 

Edited February 14, 2017 by Joefree

[iacas]

You should post something there, too. Hitting a ball - swings without a ball are often quite different than swings with a golf ball.

Popups are most often caused by someone hitting down on the ball with their driver.

Second on the list is a weight/balance issue - their weight is too close to the ball or moving toward the ball or something during the downswing, so they go under it (or heel it). Check your balance.

Sometimes people do tee the ball too high. Sometimes people fail to create the proper secondary axis tilt (though this often leads to the first issue: hitting down slightly).

[Joefree]

3 minutes ago, iacas said:

Second on the list is a weight/balance issue - their weight is too close to the ball or moving toward the ball or something during the downswing, so they go under it (or heel it). Check your balance.

This adds up, i can see from watching my swing that I've developed a lateral sway and I'm moving forward and backwards. Which I'm suprised about, I didn't realise that was something I did. 

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, Joefree said:

This adds up, i can see from watching my swing that I've developed a lateral sway and I'm moving forward and backwards. Which I'm suprised about, I didn't realise that was something I did. 

I more meant toward the toes (from the heels).

[Joefree]

9 minutes ago, iacas said:

You should post something there, too.

wow, well I've certainly made some improvements since then, that's awful!

ill probably feel the same about this post in 6 months haha.

1 minute ago, iacas said:

I more meant toward the toes (from the heels).

Well, my local pro recently taught me to have all my weight on my toes, maybe I'm still doing that subconsciously. I think my balance certainly needs working on, even if it's not the cause on my pop up drives. 

[JDP]

Shoulder turn is too flat. 2 videos below that demo very well turning 2 n fro. The 2nd video is a drill and its especially nice since you don't have to think about why/how, etc. but perform the action and you will well on your way down the right path.

 

 

[Joefree]

56 minutes ago, JDP said:

Shoulder turn is too flat. 2 videos below that demo very well turning 2 n fro. The 2nd video is a drill and its especially nice since you don't have to think about why/how, etc. but perform the action and you will well on your way down the right path.

Thanks, I like the drills, I'll definitely try that. 

My shoulder turn is flat as I've really been trying to swing around my body (just with my driver) so as not to come in to steep. Maybe I've over done it a little, I'll definitely have a play around with this on the range tomorrow.

[b101]

I had this a while back and the main thing that caused it was my angle of attack being at -8 degrees (hitting down on the ball steeply). This can often be combined with it flaring right and/or very low. There was a great drill I had for this which solved it. Pop a ball on a mid sized tee (about half-way to driver size). Play the ball relatively forward in your stance - about halfway between the middle of your stance and your left toe - and try to pick it off cleanly with a 7 iron. No shots high off the face, off the sweetspot. About 3 weeks of this completely sorted the issue for me.

This may not entirely be your issue, but if you're popping it up, you're almost certainly not hitting up on the ball. Weight transfer and keeping a bit more steady on the backswing would be something else I'd look at. Keep going with the swing threads, they do definitely keep you honest!

[Joefree]

In case anyone is interested, after working on all the feed back I've been given, I did reduce the amount of pop ups I was having, but, I had to fight so hard to keep the ball down it was ridiculous!

I dragged my old driver (taylormade superfast 9.5 dog stiff shaft) out of retirement and haven't had skied a ball since, I've played 4 rounds of golf. I did read some pro reviews of my other driver (aero burner 9.5 stiff) and they did all day it went high for them and gave them a little too much spin. 

Im surprised, but it turns out, it might have just been the club? Seems odd that it would make that much difference what with it being the same shaft weight and face angle. 

 

Thanks for sll uour help, the shoulder angle tip has really improved my ball striking with all my clubs.