Quick Tip

[par_par_par_treble]

Hi All,

does anyone have a quick tip/drill to help me launch the ball higher with my driver??

i am going to have a lesson with it, but its pretty difficult at this time of year.

Cheers

 

[RGuk]

It's not exactly a tip, but I tend to settle more into my right side (60% right, 40% left) and let the knee soften even more during the backswing. It keeps my head down and stops me getting too much in front of the ball on the way down.
Faldo book (D.L.) would say tee up a 3 wood on a high tee (maybe not a whopper!) and learn to hit up with your 3 wood.
Alternatively, you could try the opposite of the striking down drill, place a headcover 9-12 inches in front of the ball, and swing without hitting it.
How wierd....I had exactly the same problem yesterday, my driver felt like about 5 degrees!!!
The problem is that if you striking the irons crisply with a downward blow you need to find the set-up or swing thought to avoid this with the driver!!! argh....golf!

Dave

 

[par_par_par_treble]

I think I probably put too much weight on my left side, which I started to do to resolve the dreaded reverse pivot. Must be over doing it now. It’s so frustrating when I know I can smash a driver for miles, but only manage a good connection every other shot.

 

[Junior]

Tee it high, keep your head well behind the ball and release the club on an inside path to 1 o'clock.

 

[viscount17]

this game is weird p3t. I too suffer(ed) from the dreaded reverse pivot but now lose distance from launching too high - so much so that I have a lesson on Thursday.
Be certain of that you seek!

 

[par_par_par_treble]

thanks for your responses...

just been to the driving range in my lunch break - tried to focus on keeping my hands nearer to me on the way back thru, so the shaft was on a shallower plane - seemed to do the trick. lets see what Saturday brings

 

[RGuk]

I think I probably put too much weight on my left side, which I started to do to resolve the dreaded reverse pivot.

Are you left handed? the reverse pivot is when all the weight stays on the left side (for a r.hand player)???

Dave

 

[par_par_par_treble]

im right handed

i thought a reverse pivot was when the weight transfers the wrong way - i.e. left to right, on the down swing?

 

[madandra]

keep the ball inline with your left pinkie toe, swing the club back trying to keep it on the ground as long as possible before your arc takes it away and let the loft on the club lift it high.

 

[USER1999]

While we are talking driving, any one got a clue how to solve this:

I either hit a soft but powerful fade, with nice flight, or, a flat pull 30° left, about 10 ft off the deck. Not sure whether it is plane related, but a card wrecker none the less.

Can't hit the bad version on the range, only on the course, normally eighteenth tee.

 

[John_Findlay]

If I want to hit a high drive I usually just aim high with my shoulders, i.e. raise your left shoulder a little, if you are right handed. Seems to work for me. Be mindful to keep the weight centred though, otherwise you can fall onto the back foot on the way through which'll make you slice or worse.

 

[John_Findlay]

Sounds like tension is making you come over the top, Murph. Used to suffer it myself. Think I cured it by practicing hitting balls on the range with my left hand only. Can't get your right shoulder coming over the top if you do that.

 

[par_par_par_treble]

a soft but powerful fade

that cant be possible

 

[RGuk]

i thought a reverse pivot was when the weight transfers the wrong way - i.e. left to right, on the down swing?

well, yes, of course that would be a reverse pivot, for sure! but not the full story!!! I think of it as not moving to the right and leaving the weight on the left leg/knee, but you are right also....read this..

(Butch Harmon)

...."let’s take the reverse pivot, which occurs when players don’t shift their weight fully to the right on the backswing.
They leave their weight on the left side and then, on the downswing, shift their weight away from the target instead of toward the target. It’s a real distance-killer, among other things"......

I tend only to ever notice the first bit in most players. Sorry.

Dave

 

[RGuk]

If I want to hit a high drive I usually just aim high with my shoulders, i.e. raise your left shoulder a little, if you are right handed. Seems to work for me. Be mindful to keep the weight centred though, otherwise you can fall onto the back foot on the way through which'll make you slice or worse.

Couldn't have put it better.....raise the left side, settle in to the right side, exactly

Dave

 

[RGuk]

I either hit a soft but powerful fade, with nice flight, or, a flat pull 30° left, about 10 ft off the deck. Not sure whether it is plane related, but a card wrecker none the less.

Firstly, a soft fade means a gentle fade, yes? (i.e. the ball moves gently left-right with a solid powerful trajectory/distance.

Secondly, the flat pull is not as bad as you may think....I hit these now and again trying to drive the short dog-legs right. Essentially, you are hitting exactly the same shot (plane and path) but the face is turning over leading to the pull and de-loft. It seems terrible but it's actually the opposite of the nasty push that bugs players like Els or Cabrera. I know it's hard to be happy with such a disaster "smother" but mathematically, you are really close to success. Without seeing your swing, It's hard to say for sure, but for me this type of shot comes when things collapse through impact. You have developed a nice shot which works as long as you don't get the face turned over and you don't slice unless you get sloppy? (yes?). Work on extending your arms through impact (at the range with mid-irons) beware the "creeping grip" that is gradually getting stronger (more to the right on the grip)....oh, and try a game teeing it up in the middle of the box and accepting the fade under pressure. Ultimately, if you want to get rid permanently, set your grip dead neutral and practice with a spare shaft or length of pipe aimed well right to promote a new path. REMEMBER, with a fade or straight pull you are playing a balancing act with your face angle as the only control. If you can tweak it a little more from the inside, you could end up very straight indeed. Sounds a disaster, but you could be close to GOLD!

Dave.

 

[USER1999]

Thanks Dave, I think this makes a lot of sense. Have you seen me swing, because this is it to a tee.
I am off to the range tonight, (where as usual I can hit in to out and hit a straight shot - no pressure). I think you are probably right in that I do correct things with my hands (they are quite active), and this could well be part of the problem, as well as a tendancy under pressure to come over the top.

Who would have thought it could be so complicated, just twatting a ball down the middle?

Oh, and yes, a soft but powerful fade is as described above - think Monty.

 

[USER1999]

Tried putting a tee down 6" behind the ball, and offset about an inch outside the line last night, to check if I am coming over the top to an out to in path.

Any one got any more tees, I am running out rapidly.