Driver Yardage struggle

[Bdill93]

Hi all,

So to get straight to the point, I simply cannot get my driver to achieve the distance that I believe I should achieve. The big stick is far from my longest club and Im struggling to understand why..

Heres a breakdown of the rest of my long club yardages (trackman)

4 wood - 226
3 Hybrid - 211
4 Hybrid - 197
5 Iron - 189
6 Iron - 178

I could go into great detail with all this but im trying to keep my post as simple as possible, I know how to set up properly, I just cant seem to generate the power/ it gets lost somewhere in transition.

On a good day, a nice straight drive might reach 230 total, but that means my carry is honestly only going 190-200 carry (on a good shot). Why cant I hit it further when the evidence suggests it should be within my capabilities?

Thoughts please!

 

[Neilds]

New driver, will solve all distance issues - on trackman (may not work when you get out in the course?)

 

[Kennysarmy]

gripping the club too tight in an effort to "steer the shot" ?

you need more loft?

 

[DanFST]

I bet you are hitting down on it.

 

[Bdill93]

gripping the club too tight in an effort to "steer the shot" ?

you need more loft?

Im at the standard 10.5 at the moment - can alter up to 12.5 (worth a try)

I dont consciously grip it any different... doesnt mean I dont but its not a thought ive had!

 

[Bdill93]

I bet you are hitting down on it.

I do have a tendancy to sky shots at the moment... but its at my left foot already! Not centre stance

 

[Deleted member 29109]

I've been through the same. With distances about 5 yards off yours.

What driver, shaft and ball do you use?

I've been through a few driver and shaft combinations before landing where I am now. I didn't have the ability to get a proper fitting, so had to learn with help from the web and a Garmin G80.

My issue, I believed was a combination of my driver been too heavy and far too much spin.

My swing pattern was/is over the top and a weak fade. With the odd destructive one out of the high toe that only goes 150.

I've always thought I preferred heavy clubs and shafts. Which do feel better to me, but having tried lightweight shafts I'm able to swing harder more constantly, and keep on plane.

I had a Ping G with a standard shaft. A real fairway finder but went nowhere. I noticed that I got almost no roll out, even down wind. So I started to tinker.

I cut the shaft down an inch. This improved my strike pattern and increased distance by a few yards. But still no roll.

So I bought a stiffer tipped low launch low spin shaft. Didn't really see much gain in normal conditions but into the wind was much better. But lost a bit of forgivness.

Then bought a premium Diamana shaft. Mid launch, mid spin, and turned the loft down a bit. This improved things dramatically and I was getting a nice flat trajectory and more noticeable roll out.
Then the hosel cracked over lockdown.

I bought a TS2, which is really light. An amazingly forgiving driver, but spun like crazy. Ball speed and carry went up about 10 yards compared to the Ping on the Garmin. But even on a drying course down wind I was only getting a few yards of rollout.
I changed the tip on the Diamana and put it in the TS2, but this combination didn't work. So the TS2 was sold.

I had pretty much decided to wait till I could go somewhere to get a proper fitting before buying another driver. But a Sim with an Evenflow riptide 5.5 shaft cought my eye. This is a low spin head with a mid launch/spin shaft with a flext that sits between regular and stiff. Sounds exactly what I need. Apart from jt being fade biased.

So on to the current setup. Initially the swing weight felt off and a bit heavy. But,
The first shot I hit with the Sim went 286 yards. It was down hill down wind, and I absolutely middled it. Boom, we have a winner.

I then topped the next 3 drives and really struggled with it for the rest of the round. Back to the drawing board I thought.

I wasn't comfortable with the standard skinny grip but didn't want to change incase I sent the driver back.

I decided to have a range session to play with the settings and work on my swingpath.
I bit the bullet and put on a midsized grip and after some tinkering I found a really good setup which has transformed the driver.

My carry is up past 220 and I'm getting significant rollout. Even into a strong wing I get a decent carry and plenty of roll.

Its not quite as forgiving as the Ping or Titleist, but I find the middle of the club face more often.

One thing to add. I have done all this playing with the same ball. Volvik vivids which are supposed to be low spin off the driver.

I've just bought some Titleist AVX to try to see if that helps, as they are supposed to be even lower spin with a low ball flight.

 

[DanFST]

I do have a tendancy to sky shots at the moment... but its at my left foot already! Not centre stance

Body is great at manipulating itself subconsciously. Balls at the left foot for a flop, still not hitting up on it. If you are on trackman, whats the Launch angle?

Your numbers are similar to mine, and i'm annoyed if i'm getting it under 260. I wouldn't try and hide the problem with new gear.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

I do have a tendancy to sky shots at the moment... but its at my left foot already! Not centre stance

If you are skying shots then hitting down is almost certainly the problem. An negative angle of attack will probably be generating a lot of spin too.

 

[Bdill93]

Body is great at manipulating itself subconsciously. Balls at the left foot for a flop, still not hitting up on it. If you are on trackman, whats the Launch angle?

Your numbers are similar to mine, and i'm annoyed if i'm getting it under 260. I wouldn't try and hide the problem with new gear.

Annoyingly I didnt save the session (first go on TM) so I cant give you that LA data!

New gear isnt my plan, I know the faults in me somewhere!

 

[Bdill93]

If you are skying shots then hitting down is almost certainly the problem. An negative angle of attack will probably be generating a lot of spin too.

Ill get to work on striking up more!

Driver is one of either an M2 or the Callaway Razr X Black
Reg shaft

Ball varies - usually TM RBZ balls

 

[hairball_89]

Honestly? I'd just go get a lesson.

The yardages for the rest of your clubs show you can definitely hit the ball well enough. A decent pro will give you an idea of what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. My distances are probably 10(-15!) yards short of yours, but I recently had a driver lesson and now with practice and starting to carry 225+ with a driver when I get it right. When it goes *seriously* well, it's 240 and I wonder what I did!

 

[fundy]

Ill get to work on striking up more!

Driver is one of either an M2 or the Callaway Razr X Black
Reg shaft

Ball varies - usually TM RBZ balls

why would you try swing changes based on a few comments on the internet from people who havent seen you swing a club or launch monitor data? what if youre not solving the problem but compounding it?

if you want to try and self diagnose get an hour on a launch monitor and also get some video of your swing, or you could pay a pro for an hour to do it for you he should be able to advise if the driver is all, part, some or none of the problem too

 

[bobmac]

If you are hitting a 6 iron 178, swingspeed shouldn't be the problem.
I have 2 ideas.
1. Having a regular shaft may produce a hook so you may be guarding against it by swinging slower.
2. If you are skying it, the ball may not be as forward as you think.

Turn your front foot out about 30 degrees and tee the ball up high in line with your instep/big toe.

 

[Bdill93]

why would you try swing changes based on a few comments on the internet from people who havent seen you swing a club or launch monitor data? what if youre not solving the problem but compounding it?

if you want to try and self diagnose get an hour on a launch monitor and also get some video of your swing, or you could pay a pro for an hour to do it for you he should be able to advise if the driver is all, part, some or none of the problem too

I have a coach, he will address the issue - its just interesting to see and try things out mate! I play enough golf to be able to do it!

 

[pokerjoke]

With your distances with your other clubs imo your 60-70 yards short of where I would expect.
Get a professional to have a look

 

[Bdill93]

With your distances with your other clubs imo your 60-70 yards short of where I would expect.
Get a professional to have a look

Pretty much what Ive been thinking too - yardage wise!

 

[clubchamp98]

Ill get to work on striking up more!

Driver is one of either an M2 or the Callaway Razr X Black
Reg shaft

Ball varies - usually TM RBZ balls

Good luck with that.
It’s not easy to do I have tried.
I hit my 3 wood as far as my driver because of the extra loft.
Sounds like a shaft problem ,some shafts leave the face to delofted and some more kick is needed.
Most heads are very similar these days but shafts can help you deliver more loft that’s what happened with me .
I was -4 AOA by the way. Really struggled to change it as it was so natural

 

[jim8flog]

Ill get to work on striking up more!

Driver is one of either an M2 or the Callaway Razr X Black
Reg shaft

Ball varies - usually TM RBZ balls

Trying out different shafts with modern clubs is so easy and need not be that expensive.

I have tried quite a few with my TM driver. I either build them myself or buy off ebay. Then those that do not work get resold on ebay I even sell for more than I bought.

Do some research about what is likely to work for you first e.g. do you want a high kick point/ low launch or a low kick point/ high launch.

 

[Foxholer]

Definitely advise getting your coach to check your swing - having mentioned the comparitive lack of distance! That's the sort of thing (s)he has the equivalent of a degree for!!

And just to add to the tally of unobserved offerings.... From the distances with other clubs, it seems to me you 'should' be using at least a Stiff flex shaft. It's possible, but by no means certain, that you are 'protecting' the relative 'softness' of the 'Regular' (there's no real cross industry scale!) by swinging slower than you should/could. By 'upgrading to a Stiff fles (or a more appropriate profile that a fitter could determine) your Driver swing speed might increase simply because the shaft feels more stable.

As mentioned in previous posts, comparing alternative shafts is pretty simple these days!