Never hovered in 60 years!

[ManinBlack]

Lost the tee I usually use at the range yesterday & used one that turned out to be too long. The first shot, understandably, came off the top of the face. So I thought I'd try hovering the club off the ground, something I've never tried before. The results were dramatic. The strike felt so pure & the ball was going miles with a beautiful, soaring, flight.

I thought of two things. Firstly, I often I find little bits of turf embedded in the sole of the driver after a shot, although I don't feel the club brushing the ground. Second, watching the golf at the weekend, I noticed that Rory had his ball teed up so that the bottom of the ball was level with the top of the club, & he was hitting it quite well! I read on the interweb that some players do this with irons too & they say that it gives them a better grip & smoother takeaway. Will try this on my next visit.

Has anyone else had this experience?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

MiB - Rory also swings the club at 327mph. He is playing a different game to the rest of us. I have read this before, apparently it relaxes your arms as well so that is another good point. I tried it but did not have control over the club, it became a slash. That says more about my game though. You have a controlled swing so that makes a difference. If it works, keep going.

 

[Capella]

With driver and fairway woods off the tee I do hover the club. It just makes more sense to me. I want the club to bottom out before I hit the ball, so I feel I need a little bit of room under the clubhead at address, if I want to take it back in the same arc that I want it to come back on. (Does this make sense? It does in my head, I am just not sure I am describing it very well).

 

[ManinBlack]

With driver and fairway woods off the tee I do hover the club. It just makes more sense to me. I want the club to bottom out before I hit the ball, so I feel I need a little bit of room under the clubhead at address, if I want to take it back in the same arc that I want it to come back on. (Does this make sense? It does in my head, I am just not sure I am describing it very well).

No, that makes perfect sense & for some reason, I feel as if I'm in the right place at the top to swing down hard, without worrying about where the ball is going to go.

I tried it today with a 5 iron & wedge & the result was lots of clean hits, no fats, no thins & mostly straight. I read that Nicklaus used to hover with every club, including the putter & I think I'll, try it with the putter next time I play. I asked the Range pro what the explanation could be but he didn't know. He's going to video my swing to see if it looks different.

The difference is so noticeable I'm really excited to get out onto the course on Saturday.

 

[chrisd]

I did it with my driver yesterday and know exactly what you're saying. I found that, at address I had to have more wrist hinge than normal to hold the club square and when I held it through the swing the result was awesome. In fact I bought my clubs in to work today so I can pop off to the range mid afternoon to give it another try out - I'm glad I read this before going

 

[Qwerty]

I've Been dabbling with a bit of Hovering recently, its only a small thing but it does seem to produce an improved strike for me.I think its maybe because it promotes a slower takeaway as I can get a bit quick

At first glance I initially read the thread as 'Never Hoovered in 60 Years'...

 

[ManinBlack]

I've Been dabbling with a bit of Hovering recently, its only a small thing but it does seem to produce an improved strike for me.I think its maybe because it promotes a slower takeaway as I can get a bit quick

At first glance I initially read the thread as 'Never Hoovered in 60 Years'...

I have hoovered in my time but never ironed in 69 years

 

[Deleted member 15717]

Kuchar hovers everything but I would probably put that down to his one-plane/flatter swing, so it avoids bottoming out too early. I did experiment with it, as I have the same tendency with a flatter swing, however, wasn't consistent enough with it

 

[ManinBlack]

Kuchar hovers everything but I would probably put that down to his one-plane/flatter swing, so it avoids bottoming out too early. I did experiment with it, as I have the same tendency with a flatter swing, however, wasn't consistent enough with it

Kuchar puts his flat looking swing down to having long arms &, I would guess, short legs (I've tried to discover his inside leg measurement without success! ). I am the same build, 6' tall with 30½" inside leg. My swing, one plane like Kuchar, looks very flat so perhaps that's why it works for me.

Thinking more about it, there just seems to be much less tension in the swing. Hard to explain the feeling, but definitely feels different.

 

[snell]

Kuchar puts his flat looking swing down to having long arms &, I would guess, short legs (I've tried to discover his inside leg measurement without success! ). I am the same build, 6' tall with 30½" inside leg. My swing, one plane like Kuchar, looks very flat so perhaps that's why it works for me.

Thinking more about it, there just seems to be much less tension in the swing. Hard to explain the feeling, but definitely feels different.

I'd like to see you explain that search history "Matt Kuchars Inside Leg" :rofl:

 

[ManinBlack]

I'd like to see you explain that search history "Matt Kuchars Inside Leg" :rofl:

A pro who has taught me in the past went to Jim Hardy's school in the States & Kuchar was there. I asked him to ask Kuch but I think he forgot.

 

[Jimaroid]

Now that we've approached the end of sensible debate, may I be the one to finally say...

Your house must be very dusty.

 

[snell]

A pro who has taught me in the past went to Jim Hardy's school in the States & Kuchar was there. I asked him to ask Kuch but I think he forgot.

I would imagine it was more that he didn't want to ask the question :lol:

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Tried it and didn't like it. I suffer from a quick takeaway and I find already having the club in the air exacerbates this. However it looks like the OP may have found something working for him and should be interesting to see the results next time he's on the course

 

[ManinBlack]

Welll, I really can't explain this. Went back to the range this morning it was still working. One of the shots I just can't play is a ¾ 5 iron / punch shot, which would be very handy on the windswept course where I play. I tried a few to the 120 yard target &, lo & behold, most of them hit the target & flew dead straight. Won't get a chance to take this onto the course until Saturday, & the forecast is poor, so I may have to wait until next week. The improvement in ball striking is so noticeable that I'm expecting my regular PPs to be suitably impressed. Half waiting for the wheels to come off but no sign of it yet.

 

[mikeb4]

I started hovering the ball whilst using the Driver (only) and it works for me, has stopped me from slicing i would highly recommend it (use an orange tee to)

 

[ScienceBoy]

I started hovering the ball whilst using the Driver (only) and it works for me, has stopped me from slicing i would highly recommend it (use an orange tee to)

How highly do you recommend hovering?

 

[FairwayDodger]

I've been hovering the driver for a few years now, no plans to go back.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Tried it again tonight. Not very successful with the irons. There was some success with a driver but nothing that would get me doing it on the course.

 

[Superstriker]

One of the greatest minds in golf (Gerry Hogan). Said hovering the club is more ideal than farting down your left leg. I studied this fact thoroughly.And I can hover, no problem. But hovering and farting down your left leg is to difficult