Unconventional Driver Address

[N8theGr8_1988]

Disclaimer: lengthy post ahead... I'm a lefty who struggles with slice, especially on driver. So much so that my last round the driver only made it out of the bag on holes 1 & 18 (with dismal results) and I had more success driving straight on more drives with a 3 wood out to about 215 yds. It was so bad that I'd considered giving up the game before I've even gotten started good. I'm aware that most slice stems from having an open clubface at impact, so this morning I made it a personal mission to fix this issue at any cost. What I settled on was a combination of a stronger grip position (I was gripping with the "V" shape in my hand pointed at the wrong shoulder, which was giving me little to no stability through the backswing) and positioning my hands farther forward of the ball. Now I've seen a LOT of instructional videos that say this is a terrible thing when hitting driver. It's more of an iron/wedge position. However, ball placement remains just inside my forward foot, as with all driver shots. The first thing I notice is that at address, my clubface is perfectly square to the ball/target line. With this combo of ball placement/grip/hand positioning the difference in my ball flight is night and day. I started by hitting plastic practice balls because they do give a pretty accurate depiction of flight without the distance.

     The balls were flying so straight that I got a couple of sleeves of my Laddies out and gave it a go (empty farm land adjacent to my lot that I have permission to hit on.) I didn't have a lot of time this morning to drill, but every one of the 6 balls flew straight, with one even having a slight draw! I was ecstatic because prior I've never been able to hit consecutive straight drives. Ever. I'm just wondering if hands forward on driver is so bad, then why is it the only position that I'm able to hit good shots? Just curious if anyone can answer this? On another note, I'm skipping my round this weekend for a much needed range session to test my driver swing again, and to tune up with my iron play.

[sofingaw]

I’m no expert, good player, or swing guru, but I’m pretty sure that hands forward at address for driver is actually the best, and is present in virtually every good player. 

Looks like you’re on the right track to me! Good luck keeping them straight!

[saevel25]

If you have a face-on view, the ball should be inline with your lead shoulder.

Hands inline with the ball is OK. I would be wary of forward pressing more than that.

[Vinsk]

20 hours ago, N8theGr8_1988 said:

I'm aware that most slice stems from having an open clubface at impact,

What was your ball flight pattern? 

1. Straight then curved left? This means your clubface was ‘square’ to target but open to path. (Out to In)

2. Right then curved left? Face was right of target and open to path.

3. Left then curved more left? Your face was left of target line and open to path.

Edited July 18, 2018 by Vinsk

[billchao]

19 hours ago, N8theGr8_1988 said:

I'm aware that most slice stems from having an open clubface at impact

I believe most people slice because of their path.

[Shindig]

21 hours ago, N8theGr8_1988 said:

I'm aware that most slice stems from having an open clubface at impact, so this morning I made it a personal mission to fix this issue at any cost.

An open club face at impact is going to cause a push (ball starts straight but at an angle towards your right), not a slice or even a fade.  Plenty of people hit high draws with an open clubface at impact.  I think you are trying to solve the wrong issue.

[Vinsk]

9 minutes ago, Shindig said:

An open club face at impact is going to cause a push (ball starts straight but at an angle towards your right), not a slice or even a fade.  Plenty of people hit high draws with an open clubface at impact.  I think you are trying to solve the wrong issue.

Guys....

[Moxley]

7 hours ago, Shindig said:

An open club face at impact is going to cause a push (ball starts straight but at an angle towards your right), not a slice or even a fade.  Plenty of people hit high draws with an open clubface at impact.  I think you are trying to solve the wrong issue.

If it's open relative to the path, then it'll be a slice or fade ( ignoring any gear effect) . If by open you mean relative to the target, maybe, but only if path was to the right by the same amount.

 

[billchao]

37 minutes ago, Moxley said:

If it's open relative to the path, then it'll be a slice or fade ( ignoring any gear effect) . If by open you mean relative to the target, maybe, but only if path was to the right by the same amount.

This is why "open" isn't a good term. Open to what? It's could be different things if it's to the path or to the target.

[N8theGr8_1988]

When I say "open" I'm talking in relation to the target. In my many hours of driver practice recently I've figured out 3 key factors that cause my swing to break down (usually happens when I get in a hurry or if I start trying too hard to nail the ball.) Grip strength/angle of wrists, squaring my clubface in relation to target (perpendicular seems to be best,) and getting an in-to-out swing path. Usually if my grip and clubface are correct the only way I'll slice one is if I'm coming down too steep on the ball. This causes the meat of the club to "miss" the ball to the inside, causing a glancing blow which sends my shot careening from right to left (remember I'm a lefty.) When all 3 of these factors are dead on, I'm hitting solid, straight drives that carry 245-250 on average. A select few get out closer to 260. Those tend to be when I get a full hip rotation on the backswing which allows me to uncoil on the downswing. If I concentrate too much on the big core rotation, a lot of times that's when I'll end up inadvertently coming more over the top causing the slice. Not sure if that's the right way to put it, but that's what I've gathered on my own from my mechanics in relation to the shot.