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What is YOUR key to hitting that Driver?


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Yeah, we all KNOW what to do, it's doing it that's hard :-)

 

 

 

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Not rushing the backswing. Gives your body time to get in sync and position for the speed you develop on the downswing. Seemed to help me this past weekend.

 

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I find that aside from the obvious: smooth takeaway and tempo, grip pressure is often overlooked. Simply keeping my grip pressure light through the takeaway and in the beginning of the downswing is a huge key for me. Grip pressure will always tighten up at impact when it's needed most. It's tension that kills most drives...

 

 

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Lots of good advice so I will go with my first impulse - there is no substitute for confidence and confidence comes from sound fundamentals honed by practice.

 

So, be sure that you have a driver that fits, take lessons, developed a sound pre shot routine that includes visualization and practice, practice, practice.

 

 

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SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

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It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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The biggest key for me is a solid address position. I was fortunate to have my parents require me getting lessons when I started playing so I'm fairly sound on my mechanics which helps a bunch. After that I just try to make a good turn back and through while staying level with my head. Doesn't always work out but more often then not it's playable.

 

 

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2 things I see most people do that wrecks their drive - over swinging and putting the ball too far back in their stance. But mostly over swinging.

 

So that's what I am working on. Ball forward, and smooth swing.

 

 

Nobody really pays enough attention to what you do before you even make a swing at the ball.

So if you paid the greatest amount of attention to your set up routine and shot visualisation, you would find a lot more drives in the fairway.

With that in mind, focus on the key factors of the shot. What does the shot look like? Fade, draw, straight?

Next, get your ball position and alignment correct. Next get your grip correct. Now get your stance set.

Now you have the perfect platform to execute the shot you visualised.

Driving is probably the hardest shot in golf, but is usually paid the least amount of attention. If you follow these simple but critical steps before even making a swing, then I guarantee your driving stats will improve. Ignore any other factors about your swing - get you set up correct first.

 

 

I like to think that driving the ball is the thing I do best on the course. I am fairly accurate, and long enough to play most courses. The biggest tip I have is to pick a small target, trust yourself and hit it. If you think too much, try to steer it into play, or control the shot, you are destined for the trees|lake|bunker|desert ect... You have hit hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of perfect drives on the range and course during your golfing career, so you know that they are in there. You just have to let them out. The swing happens way too fast to micro manage any part of it. I think that Ron Popiel said it best. Just set it and forget it!

 

https://youtu.be/tLq27iOW0R0

 

Do all the work before you take it back. During the swing, no thoughts, only a dial tone..  

 

 

Lots of good advice so I will go with my first impulse - there is no substitute for confidence and confidence comes from sound fundamentals honed by practice.

 

So, be sure that you have a driver that fits, take lessons, developed a sound pre shot routine that includes visualization and practice, practice, practice.

 

 

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Yep.

All seem to be crux of the matter.

Set up, set up, set up, to include ball position, is the one thing I have seen all good drivers of the ball work on and master. Small target is a common denominator as well while that unrealized overswing is the killer that is most common too.

Cheers.

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Aim small miss small

 

 

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Driver: Nike Vapor Flex with Mitsubishi Rayon Fubuki ZT60x5ct S-flex shaft and stock grip.

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Aim small miss small

 

 

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Totally agreed about the small target mentions in the last two posts. I even remember the round where I figured this out its so important.

 

 

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Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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A couple things that help me (some have been mentioned before):

 

- Tempo

- Consciously trying to ensure my face is looking at the target at impact (without any crazy manipulation)

- Shallowing my swing plane so that I return the club on the same angle as it was at address

 

The last one has been extremely tough and I'm still working on it.  But the times I've got it right have led to much much straighter drivers.

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I am still searching desperately for driver help. I have major issues off the tee box.

 

I have started really concentrating on loading my weight and swing into my right heel. What I have noticed is that if I don't rush it my transition is much more smooth.

 

The biggest thing that has helped though is keeping my head behind the ball.

 

Well I'm off to hit some... the quest continues...

 

 

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Lately it's starting with a semi-bowed left wrist as I begin my backswing. This helps me keep from flipping the club. I try to maintain that feeling all the way up, and then back down through contact.

 

 

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I am still searching desperately for driver help. I have major issues off the tee box.

 

I have started really concentrating on loading my weight and swing into my right heel. What I have noticed is that if I don't rush it my transition is much more smooth.

 

The biggest thing that has helped though is keeping my head behind the ball.

 

Well I'm off to hit some... the quest continues...

 

 

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Stay behind the ball. That's a key point straight out of Harvey Penick. Keep working on it you'll get there!

 

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I like all the posts about tempo. It's a solid swing key with any stick and most importantly off the tee.

 

For me, I have to keep my hands slightly behind the ball which for someone reason helps me turn behind the ball better. If I use good tempo and turn my left shoulder behind the ball it keeps everything moving in the same direction.

Balance and tempo my friend

 

 

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Stay behind the ball. That's a key point straight out of Harvey Penick. Keep working on it you'll get there!

 

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i read his little red book a year ago I will revisit it!! Thanks!

 

 

 

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I am still searching desperately for driver help. I have major issues off the tee box.

 

I have started really concentrating on loading my weight and swing into my right heel. What I have noticed is that if I don't rush it my transition is much more smooth.

 

The biggest thing that has helped though is keeping my head behind the ball.

 

Well I'm off to hit some... the quest continues...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Loading the right foot/heel is usually about keeping the knee in or bent too. It can get over complicated. Often times the feeling of not loading the right foot is really just a matter of swaying, even if it is just a little. The move over the right foot can start with swaying back and then one has to move forward as the body tries to get back in balance. This is where ones head can get over or 'in front" of the ball too trying to get back to center or balance.

Something Jack did was hover or lift the club off the ground just a little, half an inch or so, before he took it away. Trying this makes setting the weight on the right foot easy with out having to move into it or sway back at all to do it. Its pretty easy to feel the weight over the right foot when the hands are hip high or parallel to the ground as the sway into the right side is eliminated, because the club, arms, and then upper torso move back over the right side and on top of the right foot without the effort of moving the knees or anything else to do it.

Hovering the club Jack style has helped many people feel and find the weight shift into the right side while keeping balance, as well as keeping the head behind the ball as your center, or sternum, is not moving back and forth in an attempt to find a weight shift.

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I tried 2 things my last time out and had some pretty good success.

  1. Left elbow down
    I try to remind myself to keep my left elbow (I'm right handed) pointed toward the ground at all times.  I find that when my left elbow points out I'm forced to "time" my swing to get the face square and use a lot of hand manipulation; keeping the elbow down keeps everything on plane and allows me to rotate through the ball.
     
  2. Slight pause at the top
    I tried to have a nice little pause at the top of my backswing where I can "set" the downswing; helps me get the weight on my back foot and forces/encourages me to transfer weight into my front foot.

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Loading the right foot/heel is usually about keeping the knee in or bent too. It can get over complicated. Often times the feeling of not loading the right foot is really just a matter of swaying, even if it is just a little. The move over the right foot can start with swaying back and then one has to move forward as the body tries to get back in balance. This is where ones head can get over or 'in front" of the ball too trying to get back to center or balance.

Something Jack did was hover or lift the club off the ground just a little, half an inch or so, before he took it away. Trying this makes setting the weight on the right foot easy with out having to move into it or sway back at all to do it. Its pretty easy to feel the weight over the right foot when the hands are hip high or parallel to the ground as the sway into the right side is eliminated, because the club, arms, and then upper torso move back over the right side and on top of the right foot without the effort of moving the knees or anything else to do it.

Hovering the club Jack style has helped many people feel and find the weight shift into the right side while keeping balance, as well as keeping the head behind the ball as your center, or sternum, is not moving back and forth in an attempt to find a weight shift.

I tried the hovering thing last year and loved it. I don't do it with irons but with the driver it has helped. I did notice yesterday that keeping that right knee "tucked" (not sure if that is a good term) allowed a shorter backswing with a much better transition. I was most certainly hitting it straighter. Thank you for the tips guys!

 

 

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For me my driver improved dramatically by learning how to shallow the club in transition.For some reason the driver loves this angle of attack and lets me hit real solid high draws.When I was steep my driver was my worst club

IMG_8721.PNG

Keep it in the short stuff

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My drives were going straight but not very long......180-200 yes. I read an article in GD about Angle of Attack and decided to setup with my right shoulder dipped lower than my left. My drives picked up to 200-220. That single setup thought has increased my drives. By dipping the right shoulder at address, you open the driver face to provide a positive angle which yields a higher flight. I like it.

 

 

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For me I used to slice the ball something awful but then I changed a few things and I'm fitting much straighter and still keeping my distance up. I moved the ball up in my stance to just inside of my front foot and I also pushed my hands forward in front of the club head. Probably not the best thing to do and I should look at lessons to improve on a proper swing plane but it's worked for me. 

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Not only my driver, but some of the best advice my instructor ever gave me may sound a bit silly.   But when getting set to hit the ball he told me to "stick my butt out".   Thankfully, he didn't say suck your gut in.  

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swinging from in to out, up and away, and *letting* (not making) the wrists turn over. thats my swing thought with the driver in hands.

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Nike Vapor Fly - 8.5* Stiff


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15 HCP

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Love this thread, and there have been some good things posted. Let me throw in a couple things that are worth noting:

 

1. Physical limitations play a big role in actually getting anything out of a driver. Even some of the best tour pros average 280 off the tee with driver. So don't think it is really that important. But flexibility and the being able to generate speed to make the club work for you are really key.

 

2. If McIlroy is hitting up on the ball with driver, you should be too. But seriously, the lower loft on driver does need an upward path to assist the spin to creat good trajectory.

 

3. The head, sternum, hands, and back hip need to all be behind the ball at impact. And ball to far back or forward is a distance killer waiting to happen.

 

4. Think of "last second speed". Smooth flow of your swing until the last moment then pour on the speed with your bottom hand.

 

I've been blessed with good athletic ability but the other pieces I live by. I play a 44" driver and average 290-300 off the tee hitting a fade most of the time.

 

Cheers

Burk

 

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The key to hitting my driver is putting it in a vice, so the driver can't escape. I throw some boxing gloves on and whack the head a couple of times. Some upper cuts and a few jabs. With the following swing thoughts - "that's for the terrible hook on hole 2, and that's for that push fade on hole 6 and this one's for that topped tee shot!“

 

I kid, I kid of course, because driver abuse is real :)

 

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TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

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I always fought a horrid slice. I saw somewhere that an LPGA player wrote "face your fears" under the bill of her golf hat. The philosophy being, push the ball toward the thing that scares you, whether that be water/sand/etc. or that dreaded slice. So I started intentionally trying to push the ball out to the right at impact which has helped me swing inside-out instead of the slicing outside-in (for a righty) motion that I had naturally. I now generally see my ball go straight or draw (sometimes too much).

 

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  • 1 month later...

I've read through quite a bit of the threads and comments. Golf life/life golf, yeah.

 

And as I have always seen that Driver is the thing that gets the least mention or attention. Not getting off the tee and the rest of the references to Its lack of proficiency is what we see. And its always the case on or off the course because if your hitting it well is worth talking about and the guy that can hit it well gets talked to about it. If your not, per norm, its not something that is broached for us ams and mortals. A personal thing and rightly treated as such.

 

So I have always wanted to ask, en masse as it were, what is your key to hitting that driver?

 

I gotta to tell ya there are some keys or basic concepts out there that to many, myself included, have missed and then have had to struggle with or even find in an attempt to hit that big stick like we should and could. And some sound advice for that dreaded Driver (swing), and that guy starting out could save him some of that grief to many of us have known all to well.

 

Thanks.

Confidence.

 

I've been hitting the fairway with every fairway woods consistently before I put a driver in my bag. By that time about a year and a half, when I'm on the tee I only see fairway and I just hit it. It's been like that for me since my 3rd year of golfing, 1998.

 

Certain clubs like driver and 5 woods I don't think about swing at all, it's just a mean to an end. Just acquire the target and fire. If it's not broken why fix it. Just recently I tee the ball higher an pick up 20-25 yards, some guy was trying to explain the technical mumbo jumbo to me about optimized launch angle, I just nod and move on:). They are the 2 clubs that I'd never change my approach of hitting.

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I hit my driver much better when I keep the bottom of the head flat.  More center strikes and much great distance.  If the toe starts to point upwards then I know there are duck hooks just waiting to quack in the near future. Also when the toe comes up my swing becomes flat because my hands drop low and I generally creep too close to the ball.  Somehow keeping the sole square to the ground helps me take the club back on a better path.  It feels weird but I bust that melon when I remember to square that sucker up. 

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Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
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LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Low and slow take away. Working on a better pivot. Then fire. Have a nice in to square path going, makes working the dang thing a lot easier.

 

I am working on matching my arm plane with my shoulder plane. Getting much better results.

 

 

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