Driver Fitting.

[chico]

Just had a driver fitting and one of the big factors was AOA. I have quite a negative AOA which seems to result in high spin and is costing a loss of distance.
My question, am I better trying to find a club solution or a lesson solution. Would lessons help more than tweeking club set up. TIA

 

[fundy]

Just had a driver fitting and one of the big factors was AOA. I have quite a negative AOA which seems to result in high spin and is costing a loss of distance.
My question, am I better trying to find a club solution or a lesson solution. Would lessons help more than tweeking club set up. TIA

If youre prepared to work at it then definitely the lesson, if not buy a low spin new shiny option

 

[HomerJSimpson]

In my mind its simple. Get a lesson(s) and improve the angle of attack. Once you can improve your launch angle it'll give the fitter more options, you'll get better distance and less spin and so with a good fitting should see some distance increase as well

 

[Foxholer]

How high do you tee the ball up?

 

[chico]

How high do you tee the ball up?

Usually have a third to half the ball above the face. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Foxholer]

Usually have a third to half the ball above the face. Hope that makes sense.

I meant 'on what height tee'. But I guess you must use a fairly tall one to get that.
What I'm suggesting is that to increase the AofA (reduce the number of the negative value) you get the feeling that you are 'hitting up on it' (even though you won't be). Teeing it higher- with long wooden tee or Orange plastic one should encourage that, especially if ball is (very) slightly further forward in the stance. FWIW PGA Tour players have around -1.5 AoA and still launch around 17*.

FWIW, I don't think I'd be a fan of having the a third to half the ball above the face. That would seem to actually encourage hitting down on the ball. I hover the Driver with the ball pretty much in the impact area.

Of course, a lesson is the best way, as the Pro should be able to spot and tweek the setup to correct the 'problem' pretty much immediately!

 

[Ethan]

There are a range of factors influencing AOA. A decent pro will be able to help you identify which are going on with you. It could be something relatively straightforward like ball position. That is worth a go first because it will affect the fitting of the driver, although driver adjustability gives you some flexibility.

 

[chico]

I meant 'on what height tee'. But I guess you must use a fairly tall one to get that.
What I'm suggesting is that to increase the AofA (reduce the number of the negative value) you get the feeling that you are 'hitting up on it' (even though you won't be). Teeing it higher- with long wooden tee or Orange plastic one should encourage that, especially if ball is (very) slightly further forward in the stance. FWIW PGA Tour players have around -1.5 AoA and still launch around 17*.

FWIW, I don't think I'd be a fan of having the a third to half the ball above the face. That would seem to actually encourage hitting down on the ball. I hover the Driver with the ball pretty much in the impact area.

Of course, a lesson is the best way, as the Pro should be able to spot and tweek the setup to correct the 'problem' pretty much immediately!

Thanks for the reply, I usually use long wooden tees that's why I'm not quite exact. I was playing this afternoon and tried the long orange tees, then tried having the club a few inches behind at address, in the hope it bottomed out before the ball. The upshot of this however is I don't have a launch monitor out on my round so how would I monitor change?

 

[Foxholer]

The ball flight should indicate it. That's also why a 'lesson' where the pro watches your setup, the swing and flight is likely to be an 'instant fix', with or without a launch monitor.
Too much spin will cause 'ballooning' where the ball seems to rise in its arc.
With long wooden tees, I'd suggest you hover the Driver with ball in impact position and think 'hit up on the ball' (without hitting the ground first obviously).. And, as I posted earlier, with the ball slightly further forward than as now.

 

[chico]

The ball flight should indicate it. That's also why a 'lesson' where the pro watches your setup, the swing and flight is likely to be an 'instant fix', with or without a launch monitor.
Too much spin will cause 'ballooning' where the ball seems to rise in its arc.
With long wooden tees, I'd suggest you hover the Driver with ball in impact position and think 'hit up on the ball' (without hitting the ground first obviously).. And, as I posted earlier, with the ball slightly further forward than as now.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll give your suggestions a try. Funnily enough the reason I went today was because my drives were ballooning and thought a lower lofted driver would possibly sort it.