different swings

[Harold]

Hi,
I am a beginner and have just purchase a driver, i have been hitting my Mizuno f60 3 wood pretty well so bought a Mizuno MP600. I have been told that you have a different swing with your driver then you do with your irons. Is this true and what is the difference in swing?

Regards
Harry

 

[Ethan]

Not a different swing, but a different effect from the same swing. The reason is because the ball is pegged up on a tee, and the loft of the driver is a lot less than an iron.

Most of the difference is taken care of by ball position. You need to hit down on an iron to squeeze it into the turf (compression). If the ball is in the middle of your stance,l this should happen normally because the club is coming down to the ground at that point.

With the driver you need to hit up slightly (although top pros hit very very slightly down on it, although less than with irons, but they have lots of clubhead speed). If you have the ball more forward in your stance, the clubhead should be starting to rise again from the bottom of its arc when you hit it.

Try not to think about trying to hit up, because you will lift the shoulders, just find a ball position where it happens naturally.

 

[USER1999]

The swing plane is also slightly flatter, but again, that tends to happen naturally as the clubs get longer through the bag. ie: a 4i is longer in the shaft than an 8i.

I have a totally different swing with my driver, but this is not advisable, and if I was starting again, I would not go down this route.

 

[JustOne]

I have been told that you have a different swing with your driver then you do with your irons. Is this true and what is the difference in swing?

They told you that you need a different swing but didn't tell you in what way?

I think that hitting a driver ISN'T like hitting an iron.
Your swing plane is flatter (due to the shaft length) and your angle of decent has to change otherwise you're going to be taking a divot, just like you do with your irons. Also, in a conventional swing your weight tends to stay more behind the ball with a driver than it would with an iron.

 

[Ethan]

I have been told that you have a different swing with your driver then you do with your irons. Is this true and what is the difference in swing?

They told you that you need a different swing but didn't tell you in what way?

I think that hitting a driver ISN'T like hitting an iron.
Your swing plane is flatter (due to the shaft length) and your angle of decent has to change otherwise you're going to be taking a divot, just like you do with your irons. Also, in a conventional swing your weight tends to stay more behind the ball with a driver than it would with an iron.

That is true, but the basic swing is the same, except that the ball position and shaft length vary, and the other aspects, such as hitting down on the ball with irons, follow directly from those.

 

[Harold]

Thanks for your replies, I have been down the range this week and worked on my swing, there isn’t that much of a difference between my swing now and I find I am hitting the ball straight more consistently. Now I find myself trying to hit the ball too hard to get more distance with not that much consistency. Where do you draw the line?

 

[bobmac]

Where do you draw the line?

Hit it as hard as you can, but no harder