I can't operate the driver!

[Basher]

Having bother with driver guys!

A few weeks ago I was spanking my drives, pretty long and straight. A short, more rounded swing to promote a shoulder turn and decent downswing and follow through often resulted in a lovely straight drive.
Doing what I did before and I'm slicing and pushing the ball right. I presume somethings changed.

Is there so much of a difference between hitting the irons and driver?

I have a fairly upright swing with the irons which gives good results. Obviously I cannot maintain the same swing with the driver, but I seem to use it to the other extreme. ie a very low and rounded swing, with not a particularly high follow through.

Is a visit to the pro recommended because at the moment my head's in bits when I address the ball on the tee!

 

[Imurg]

Welcome to my world - mine hasn't worked for 5 years.....

 

[Piece]

Having bother with driver guys!

A few weeks ago I was spanking my drives, pretty long and straight. A short, more rounded swing to promote a shoulder turn and decent downswing and follow through often resulted in a lovely straight drive.
Doing what I did before and I'm slicing and pushing the ball right. I presume somethings changed.

Is there so much of a difference between hitting the irons and driver?

I have a fairly upright swing with the irons which gives good results. Obviously I cannot maintain the same swing with the driver, but I seem to use it to the other extreme. ie a very low and rounded swing, with not a particularly high follow through.

Is a visit to the pro recommended because at the moment my head's in bits when I address the ball on the tee!

Getting ahead of the ball at impact? Weight sliding too much left at impact?

 

[CrapHacker]

Ok, mad ramblings of a bad driver, coming up:

I have ALWAYS struggled with the big dog. Always !

I have a slightly upright swing as well, and it works fine ( by my standard ) for the irons and hybrids. I get the feeling that I'm getting the club in a decent position at the top which means I can swing down through the ball, to a natural balanced finish ( all things being relative, of course )

But when I use the same swing with the longer clubs, it all goes tits up. Big time. The swing too easily turns into an out to in swing, with a big slice, but when I concentrate on keeping my shoulders more square, and keep my right elbow nearer my body, I get an in to out swing. But then I can't get my hands working through the ball so I get a weak pushed fade.

Either way I get totally fed up with it.

So, for a while now I've been practising using the 'baseball drill'. Where I stand upright and swing the club like a baseball bat.

Then bend at the hips and use the same swing.

This gives me a slightly flatter backswing, and is more natural for a one plane swing. And it feels much better, to boot.

BUT

I often go a little too flat and end up with a big pull hook - the exact opposite of what I'm used to.

So, I've recently tried dropping my hands at address just a fraction of an inch. This gives me more of th efeel of keeping the clubhead in front of/level with my hands on the backswing, rather than losing them behind me on the way back.

By doing the baseball practise swing, and then dropping my hands just that fraction I seem ( repeat SEEM ) to be getting into a better position at the top of the backswing.

Which is letting me feel more natural on the downswing, and, atm, giving me better results.

I know full well that I will pretty soon take this hand dropping too far, and will cause yet another swing fault, but I think that if I can groove something semi permanent in the meanwhile, it will give me a better tee shot.

Basically it's all about the backswing, keeping the club parallel to the line half way back. getting into a good, natural position at the top, with the arms parallel to the line of the shoulders. And then having the room to just swing naturally down to a natural follow through.

This is all new, and totally unproven, but I hope that if I explained my logic, it might give you a eureka moment to work on your own swing.

GL

 

[CrapHacker]

I'm trying to get here

rather than here

 

[G1BB0]

found this guy on you tube last night, some very good video's

http://www.youtube.com/user/4golfonline#p/u/3/O0nsIxJnPQY

 

[Crow]

CrapHacker, we must have been separated at birth, you've described my driver woes exactly, excpet that I don't have a working fix at the moment.

The most annoying thing for me is that I can hit it fairly well at the range and am capable of hitting it long and straight but on the course my mind usually gets filled with rubbish and it all disappears.

I think I've started around half of my medal rounds this year hitting it OB on the first tee.
Not a good way of getting your handicap down.

 

[bobmac]

rather than here

There's nothing wrong with that at all

 

[CrapHacker]

rather than here

There's nothing wrong with that at all

For me there is.



From there I go back, round, and then up, and normally end up with a reverse pivot. The downswing then starts with a little ( ok, big ) cast at it, and then mayhem begins.

 

[bobmac]

The downswing then starts with a little ( ok, big ) cast at it, and then mayhem begins.

I think you mean a throw at the top not a cast. A cast is when you lose the angle between your shaft and forearm.

Think of your in to out loop at the top of your swing and reverse it so it loops out to in. Film it and see the difference.

 

[CrapHacker]

The downswing then starts with a little ( ok, big ) cast at it, and then mayhem begins.

I think you mean a throw at the top not a cast. A cast is when you lose the angle between your shaft and forearm.

Think of your in to out loop at the top of your swing and reverse it so it loops out to in. Film it and see the difference.

Don't have the facilty to try out my Michael Winner skills atm ( Calm down dear, it's not even a golf swing )


A throw is probably right. Basically at transition I shift the line of my shoulders to the left of target, so when I swing down along the line of my shoulders, I've opened right up, hence the out to in.

What I'm trying to feel at the transition is keep my left shoulder in place just a fraction of a second longer, so I get the feeling of swinging underneath it, so when I release the clubhead my whole body shape is much more aligned to the target.

I dunno if that's sensible or sustainable, but I have to think of something to concentrate on while I'm practising, or my muscle memory just kicks in and all I'm doing is repeating a 20 year old swing fault - making it even more permanent.