Tee shots

[Neddy]

I have had a series of lessons recently, and the good news is I am hitting my iron shots better than i ever have. Straight, decent distance with a nice flight to them.

I am still seriously struggling off the tee though. My swing path is much improved. I am hitting it straight most of the time with the very occasional slight pull/slice but nothing too destructive.

My problem is trajectory/spin.Played a quick 9 last night and i hit 3 drives that felt like they came off the sweet spot of the club, they flew straight but they only flew about 160 yards into a slight breeze. It was like I had hit a 5 iron...

I am guessing I am flicking my wrists at it and adding loft, something i used to do with the irons but have trained myself out of by really working on getting my weight forward and through the ball. I've also moved the ball back in my stance slightly which has helped with the irons but i can't seem to break the habit on my tee shots and it's holding me back!

Little help?

 

[RGDave]

Hi Neddy. Good to see a Staff/Shrops lad on the forum.

I was in the same boat as you just 2 weeks ago.

I "thought" as you did, but hitting the infamous "pitching wood" shot with the driver i.m.o. simply can't be adding loft. Logic would suggest even if you did create extra loft, it wouldn't be that bad.

My problem was more about weight, ball position, tee height. I can't say it'd be the same for you, but I was basically catching the driver right at the bottom of the swing, ball was coming off the top of the face with massive unwanted backspin etc.

The other day, I deliberately re-created the swing to play a high cut shot (round some trees on a short par 4) and got a HUGE 186 yards off the shot My playing partners were wondering how they'd hit their hybirds and 4 irons the same distance.

What I'm trying to say is; get the mixture wrong and the recipe will fail.

Get back to basics down the range. Tee the ball a little higher (if you've been going low), don't try to mash it, swing through without excessive weight shift and see how you go. I fixed myself, but it took a good few balls.

Then again, some more knowledgeable might come on and say it is easily possible to only hit 160 yards by adding loft. (I don't believe that, cause with my slow swing and stupidly high woods, even I can't get that bad!!)

 

[Neddy]

Thanks for the reply Dave. Hit the range this evening and the 3 wood was going beautifully. Driver was seriously misbehaving but I'm much happier than i was last night when i wasn't getting any distance out of anything!

Focussed on swinging slightly shallower and with the 3 wood at least it seemed to do the trick. I made a slight grip change in my last lesson which i am still getting used to. Think expecting too much too soon might have had something to do with my frustration!

 

[JustOne]

Quick question for comparison... how far would you normally expect to hit a driver into a slight breeze?

 

[Neddy]

Probably no more than 190 Just One. It wasn't a disastrous shot by any means but i could just tell by the ball flight that it wasn't quite right.

Went out tonight and hit a couple of reasonable ones. Beginning to realise a 3 wood off the tee is a better option for me on a lot of holes.

 

[JustOne]

The thing that I've noticed that causes the biggest loss of distance is standing too upright as the entire swing becomes very 'arms' orientated in a 'lift and fire' kinda way, any power gained from a good turn and weightshift is then lost.

Even with a driver swing you should feel that you have a reasonable spine angle (posture) at address and that your turn enables you to feel that your back is facing the target somewhat.