Please tell me what I’m doing wrong

[LarryEdwards]

Ok, let me start off with that I am 100% new to the game. Went to the driving range for the first time today. I have my driver set at 11. Hit 75 balls and maybe 5 got decent loft. The rest were line drives about a foot off the ground. Please, any tips or opinions would be appreciated. 

[iacas]

Could be any number of things.

I know that’s not helpful but look over your setup and ball position and try again the next time.

[LarryEdwards]

Will do. Thank you

[MrGolfguy67]

Agree, it could be as simple as moving the ball closer to your left foot, even as far as on your left toe. And on the takeaway pull back slow & keep the driver head real low to the ground for about a foot.

[LarryEdwards]

12 minutes ago, MrGolfguy67 said:

Agree, it could be as simple as moving the ball closer to your left foot, even as far as on your left toe. And on the takeaway pull back slow & keep the driver head real low to the ground for about a foot.

Closer toward my body, or closer as in  moving my stance to the right a little? And I will try your swing tip. Thank you. 

I believe this is my problem right here. I’m definitely gonna give this a try. 

[Pretzel]

8 minutes ago, LarryEdwards said:

Closer toward my body, or closer as in  moving my stance to the right a little?

He was referring to shifting your stance a little to the right. That way the ball is "in line" with you left foot, but you're still the same distance away from it.

Also, just as a heads up, don't get too frustrated if it still happens. Golf is a hard game, and it's really hard if the first club you learn to hit is a driver since that's one of the lowest lofted clubs. By all means keep trying if you enjoy trying to hit the driver, but you might see some better successes at getting the ball in the air if you tee up the ball just barely off the ground and try swinging some short irons (PW, 9, 8, 7).

Just don't get down on yourself and keep practicing!

[MrGolfguy67]

Yes, that's a great tip. Looking at the golfer the same way as in this tip, the ball should be up even with your left foot

[Valleygolfer]

Probably ending up on your back foot. A lot of newbies do this. Also lifting eyes as you are coming through the ball can be part of the problem.  Keep your weight on your front foot and swing easy. 

[LarryEdwards]

1 hour ago, Pretzel said:

He was referring to shifting your stance a little to the right. That way the ball is "in line" with you left foot, but you're still the same distance away from it.

Also, just as a heads up, don't get too frustrated if it still happens. Golf is a hard game, and it's really hard if the first club you learn to hit is a driver since that's one of the lowest lofted clubs. By all means keep trying if you enjoy trying to hit the driver, but you might see some better successes at getting the ball in the air if you tee up the ball just barely off the ground and try swinging some short irons (PW, 9, 8, 7).

Just don't get down on yourself and keep practicing!

Yes I have read that as well. I actually was getting “ok” drives with my 5 wood. But you are saying to use a tee; but barely have it off the ground right?

[Pretzel]

28 minutes ago, LarryEdwards said:

Yes I have read that as well. I actually was getting “ok” drives with my 5 wood. But you are saying to use a tee; but barely have it off the ground right?

Using an iron you want the tee barely off the ground, otherwise it'll be too high and you'll have problems.

Using a driver or a wood, you want the tee to be higher. A good rule of thumb for woods and drivers is that half the ball should be above the top of the club when you set the club down next to it. Here's a couple of good examples for you.

Driver: 

The ball is half above the top of the face, and half below. You want to do something similar usually for your 3 wood or 5 wood, in terms of how high the ball is relative to the club.

Irons and woods:

You can see the 3 wood is teed up so that the ball is still a bit above the face of the club. That's because you want to still hit up with a 3 wood off the tee. The iron is teed up so the ball just barely sits above the grass, because you want to be hitting down with an iron instead of up (harder to hit down if the ball is way up in the air).

------------------------------------

When you're completely new to the game, it's a good idea to tee everything up when you hit it. It doesn't matter where you are, on the range or the course, or what club you're hitting, tee it up for a little while until you're able to make more consistent contact. Once you start to get the hang of it, then you can move and try to hit off the ground with your irons. Until then though, teeing it up will help make it a bit easier for you while you're still getting the hang of it.

Edited June 2, 2018 by Pretzel

[LarryEdwards]

I just actually finished a video talking about ball placement when teeing off. Thank you so much for the advice. Now I have a little more confidence when I go back to the range. 

[LarryEdwards]

Just tried all the above suggestions. Bucket of 75. 1, yes you read that right, 1 good drive. Straight and about 225. I don’t know what to do. I’m getting frustrated, and I know I’m not good enough to get mad, but I’m very frustrated. 

[iacas]

17 minutes ago, LarryEdwards said:

Just tried all the above suggestions. Bucket of 75. 1, yes you read that right, 1 good drive. Straight and about 225. I don’t know what to do. I’m getting frustrated, and I know I’m not good enough to get mad, but I’m very frustrated. 

Seek professional help.

Nobody here has any idea what your golf swing looks like.

[cooke119]

Are you, or have you taken any lessons? Aside from ball placement there is so much more to hitting a good drive as you have found out. My friend who is a good ball striker could not hit a drive to save his life the last time we played, duck hooked every shot into the trees. Went to the range a few days later and he was hitting them straight and long. Don't get to discouraged, we all suffer in the beginning, (and later as well). But as said so many time on TST, see a teacher for help.

[LarryEdwards]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

Seek professional help.

Nobody here has any idea what your golf swing looks like.

 

I have lessons Monday, I just wanted to at least be able to do the basics. 

[iacas]

14 minutes ago, LarryEdwards said:

I have lessons Monday, I just wanted to at least be able to do the basics. 

You don't really know what those are right now.

[Pretzel]

12 minutes ago, LarryEdwards said:

 

I have lessons Monday, I just wanted to at least be able to do the basics. 

If that was the second time you've ever gone to the range, you should adjust your expectations. Golf is hard.

It will take you probably at least a month before you hit even half of your drives well. That's if you're practicing 2-3 times a week. From the time it took me to get serious about golf (playing every day over the summer, taking regular lessons, etc.) it took me almost 3 years to go from shooting about 100 to shooting in the 70's regularly. That was after I had already gotten the basics. The basics will come a bit faster, and you'll likely be able to shoot around 100 after a year or a bit sooner with regular practice, but it still takes a lot of work.

Sorry, but golf is hard.

[freshmanUTA]

3 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

Sorry, but golf is really hard.

FTFY.