Adding the driver to your game

[Killa]

Long story short - started golf 2 summers ago (all by myself so no real use from the first summer) and then took a beginners golf course last year and had some private lessons (only thing in my life I actually decided I want to be taught and not learn everything by myself). I have a 9 hole par 3 course (very short par 3, longest hole is 150, a couple of 110y and then the rest is even shorter) with a driving range, putting green and some pitching greens right next to my house. That's what made me start golfing even though the game always had an appeal to me.

 

Now I'm a 46 HCP but I only have 1 recorded round for HCP from last year and I practiced A LOT from that round. So in my mind I think I am somewhere in the high 20's realistically (shot an unspectacular 47 on a 34 par 9 hole course on Saturday). 

 

Now looking at that score it would be much lower:

a. if I hit more GIR

b. had a driver in my bag to actually use and not carry around.

 

To hit more GIR I need to work on my irons, but I'm fairly good with short irons (obviously since I got a very short course to play often) meaning my 60-56-52-P-9. I feel pretty confident when using those clubs. I practice quite a bit with my 7 and 5 and they are getting there slowly. My worst shot is a pull hook. I don't have many slices, topped or duffed shots. So let's leave the irons for another thread and go to b.

 

I have hit my driver (actively) on the driving range once two summers ago. After that (and after the beginner course) I decided to best leave it in the bag until I "master" other aspects of the game, only to occasionally take it out for some relaxation and frustration relief ;)

 

Now playing longer courses I see where a good driver would help me. A good drive would leave me with much shorter second and third shots that would be much closer to my current comfort zone (the green looks much bigger from 100 yards out than from 180 yards out). 

I have now been practicing with my driver for 2 days. So I've hit about 100 drives in the last two days. 

 

What I do is lay down my 4 and 5 irons and use them as alignment sticks. I space them about 18" apart. Then I stick two tees about 10" from another perpendicular to the irons and between them. I will then slowly swipe between them with the driver. So that is where I then place my actual tee. I will then hit some shots at about 25% speed, 50% speed and then end up with a perceived 75% speed. 

 

That looks like a very slow takeaway, and quite a slow start to the swing at 75%. I slow down to go faster. And at 75% I can probably hit 50% (will need to keep better statistics) fairly straight and about 200-220y carry. As soon as I want to "rip one" though, things get really messy, real fast. Total shanks, nasty hooks and low pulls are on the menu for strong shots. I know I just started practicing with a driver, but I feel as though if I really hit one good it should carry 250y easily if a 75% will get me 220... 

 

At 75% I concentrate on not too much rotation and loading, to drop the club at the top to get that inside to out path and to transfer my weight from the back to the front foot. I also incorporated the "duck legs" today after reading the boards yesterday. 

 

For the driver I have a well defined set up routine that leaves me with a pretty constant setup so that at least one thing is constant in my swing. How do you think I should proceed?

[Lihu]

33 minutes ago, Killa said:

For the driver I have a well defined set up routine that leaves me with a pretty constant setup so that at least one thing is constant in my swing. How do you think I should proceed?

First of all, your avatar is flickering a little too much and makes it difficult to read it unless I mask it off with another window. Like a plot from my work, which I should be doing anyway. . .

The part you wrote that you hit erratically when you "swing fast" is not all that surprising. It just means that you are swinging too hard or beyond what you can actually do. It sounds like your 75% effort swing is actually your 100% swing at least for now. Besides, 200 to 220 carry should be plenty of distance if you hit it straight and consistenly. I would probably focus on hitting that controlled swing straight to improve your current game.

[Killa]

9 minutes ago, Lihu said:

First of all, your avatar is flickering a little too much and makes it difficult to read it unless I mask it off with another window. Like a plot from my work, which I should be doing anyway. . .

The part you wrote that you hit erratically when you "swing fast" is not all that surprising. It just means that you are swinging too hard or beyond what you can actually do. It sounds like your 75% effort swing is actually your 100% swing at least for now. Besides, 200 to 220 carry should be plenty of distance if you hit it straight and consistenly. I would probably focus on hitting that controlled swing straight to improve your current game.

 

Changed the avatar :)

 

well the 75% might not be 75% at all :) it takes me like 1,5 seconds for the backswing. Feels slow motion :) I'll try to record a video this week. 

[phillyk]

One thing I see a lot with people who have trouble hitting driver is that they are not hitting up on the ball.  It's a weird concept for beginners because you want to do the opposite with virtually every other club.  For this, I try to get people to focus on a spot 4in behind the ball in their back-swing and as they transfer to the down-swing, switch your focus to the ball.  It keeps your swing center a little behind the ball which should allow you to swing up with the driver.  

From the what you wrote, I'd venture a guess to say that you are also most likely releasing the club inconsistently, sometimes early, sometimes too late with the longer clubs.  It's a hard thing to talk about online, but I'd recommend getting a swing aid like the orange whip or something similar.  It'll teach good rhythm and release.

[Lihu]

25 minutes ago, Killa said:

 

Changed the avatar :)

 

well the 75% might not be 75% at all :) it takes me like 1,5 seconds for the backswing. Feels slow motion :) I'll try to record a video this week. 

That's probably normal for it to feel really really slow. I know it feels really slow to me too, but it might be just fine.

When you practice, you might even considering even slower. Have a look at this thread:

 

[Hategolf]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

As soon as I want to "rip one" though, things get really messy, real fast. Total shanks, nasty hooks and low pulls are on the menu for strong shots. I know I just started practicing with a driver, but I feel as though if I really hit one good it should carry 250y easily if a 75% will get me 220... 

 

 

First, I will say that it will take you a long time to play better golf if you want to learn yourself. You will have to hit a lot of balls, you will make a lot of mistakes that can turn in to hard to break bad habits just because you were missing a small piece of the puzzle, and all that will delay your learning process....with all that said, it can be done if you want to just keep the ball in play make a few puts and have fun.

The problem when you try to swing faster or harder for that matter, is that you loose your posture and your connection points. You swing faster, you loose your balance a little, your arms get too far away from your body, your hips pops out which pushes your arms away from your initial position..next thing you know, you got closer to the ball by a couple of inches and the shank and a bunch of weird shots appear. 

It is very difficult to swing thru the same spot over and over when you swing fast, specially with longer clubs, woods and drivers, unless you learn to keep your posture and to stay connected, not just at address. 

Watch staying connected, good posture before, thru and after impact drills to get an idea. 

Once you are able to make decent contact when swinging faster not harder...you can work on ball direction...fixing slices, pulls, push and such. 

Remember swinging faster is the effect of using your legs first, being loose, have a softer grip and still being connected..

Get a used 5 wood and practice with it, then move to a 3 and then driver...

Good luck.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Hategolf

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, Hategolf said:

The problem when you try to swing faster or harder for that matter, is that you loose your posture and your connection points. You swing faster, you loose your balance a little, your arms get too far away from your body, your hips pops out which pushes your arms away from your initial position..next thing you know, you got closer to the ball by a couple of inches and the shank and a bunch of weird shots appear.

In fact, you might actually be swinging slower, but with a lot more effort. Also, something like a backswing that moves as fast as your normal forward motion is completely unnecessary and leads many times to bad sequencing.

Slow swings make for good golf.

[phillyk]

12 minutes ago, Lihu said:

In fact, you might actually be swinging slower, but with a lot more effort. Also, something like a backswing that moves as fast as your normal forward motion is completely unnecessary and leads many times to bad sequencing.

Slow swings make for good golf.

Well, relaxed muscles with good tempo make for good golf.

[Hategolf]

12 minutes ago, Lihu said:

In fact, you might actually be swinging slower, but with a lot more effort. Also, something like a backswing that moves as fast as your normal forward motion is completely unnecessary and leads many times to bad sequencing.

Slow swings make for good golf.

True dat....

I'll tell you... I fell like I have to have the patience of a saint while I wait to finish my back swing, the hardest thing for me.  

[Killa]

Thanks for the input guys. I know I don't want to learne everything myself so I do get lessons. Just wanted to figure out a baseline for the driver and then get lessons to start fixing flaws. 

 

I did read that thread yesterday and practiced according to it today. 

And that slow swing was something I picked up from a Rory YouTube video - the driver swing path is just so much longer you really need to take time for it to develop or you rush the shoulder and hip turn while the clubhead is still way back in the downswing. 

 

I'm thinking of going to a range nearby that has a shot tracker for rent for pretty cheap ($20/hr) so that I would get the basic numbers and then reevaluate at the end of the season after multiple lessons and practices. 

[Hategolf]

1 minute ago, Killa said:

I would get the basic numbers and then reevaluate at the end of the season after multiple lessons and practices. 

I cant' believe I am saying this but...for now..FORGET THE NUMBERS...you need to figure out a way to make a good fundamentally sound swing as often as possible...the numbers will sky rocket once you get it right...focus in the process of putting the driver swing together...distance, accuracy..all doesn't really matter..because you know what?..you might just begetting away with some faults more times than others until you know exactly what produces a long accurate shot on your swing.