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Has ANYBODY ever overcome driver phobia?


BostonSal

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On 12/6/2021 at 12:09 PM, BostonSal said:

My problem is in not being able to hit down on the ball as I normally would. 

I can play a pretty parachute ball from foward in my stance with a 9-iron.

The contrived, exaggerated follow through to keep the swing on path that far forward is easy with a 36" shaft.

 

Playing a driver that way is for some reason a problem. The ball being teed high is a problem.  

And positioning a ball in a more comfortable position in the stance means you can't hit a tiny bit up at it.

 

I actually have the new TM 307cc 13.5º driver and can hit it much better than a big driver.

That isn't the point.  It's not just about the effect on the golf game. It's beyond that.

 

It's more about figuring out the modern driver for the sake of doing so.  Overcoming a problem that others don't seem to have.

All that I'm looking for here is to see if anybody else had the same problems and found a way to overcome it.

If not, so be it, but there's no harm in asking.

 

 

 

Then why not use it?  It could simply be that because of your swing speed and AoA the best fitting "driver" for you has more loft and a shorter shaft.  It's still a driver.  I got fit a number of years ago by the guy who fit Sergio for a driver at 43.5".  He told me that everyone thought Sergio was giving up distance for control because of the shorter shaft.  Actually, the fitter told me, he was gaining distance because his hands were so fast a heavier and shorter shaft allowed him to square the face better at a faster swing speed - at the time it was maximizing both distance and control.

 

For most players the large head gives better forgiveness - doesn't mean it works for everyone.

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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I’ve felt your driver pain. Finally went to Club Champion and was amazed how much using such a service could do. Was hitting a Titleist TS1 because I thought my slower swing speed dictated that head with an Air Speeder shaft. Guy put me in a Tsi4 with a 9 degree head, versus the 10.5 (have no problem getting ball up) I was playing using my same shaft and picked up 10+ yards. Head a little smaller than the other TSi heads, weight is moved forward that dramatically reduces spin and while the 4 is supposed to not be as forgiving as other heads, I found dispersion pattern best with the 4. I would have never considered the 4 just using the Titleist website describe who that head was best suited for. I thought fitting was a little voodoo (mainly because previous fittings were manufacturer oriented)  but this made me a believer that there are clubs that fit you better than others and it may not always be obvious. 

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Google “Hank Haney Driver Yips”

 

you are not the Lone Ranger here. I struggle with it but poster above had great tip-

Instead of looking at the ball, look at a spot on the ground in the middle of your stance (low point of swing) along your swing path.  Swing over that spot and catch the ball as the club starts up.  Transition into doing this and hitting balls with your eyes closed.  

 

I’ll add trying to relax and quit staring at the ball  Let the supercomputer find the ball as it will-    Your BRAIN   good luck  try above and know there is a fix…

 

Steve 

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Stay away from the deep face drivers that are about 60 mm face height.  Use a shaft that is about 55 +/- grams in weight, makes it easier to swing.  An undersize grip will help to rotate wrists to hit the ball with a little draw.  A face height of about 54 mm is more appealing and easier to control.  And no need to have the length longer than 45".

See a local small club repair shop or clubmaker like myself to help with your golf club and swing needs.

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On 12/6/2021 at 12:40 PM, cnosil said:

The simple answer is…practice.  We know you wouldn’t do that until April and then you would just play instead.   The only way to get better with any aspect of your game is devoting time to learning the skill.  With your hitting it only a couple of times a round you probably won’t get better.  

Sound advice!

Driver - Titleist TSi3 9.0  (Hzrdus Smoke Black RDX 6.0)

3 wood - TaylorMade SIM2 Ti 15 (Ventus Blue 7S)

5 wood - TaylorMade SIM2 Ti 19 (Ventus Blue 7S)

Irons - Titleist T100s 4-PW + 49 (KBS $-Taper)

Wedges - Titleist Vokey SM9 54D (KBS 610) & 58M (KBS 610)

Putter - Titleist Scotty Cameron - Phantom X 11.5

Ball - Titleist Pro V1 & Taylormade Tour Response (Blue/Pink Stripe)

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On 12/6/2021 at 11:40 AM, BostonSal said:

The bulbous, 460cc driver, particularly on an unweildy 46" shaft, has always been a nightmare for me.

 

The basic problem is that you can't hit down and through it as with a normal fairway wood shot.

The ball must be teed high, almost to the point of being a "ball above feet" sidehill lie from the tee.

The ball must be placed more forward in the stance and be hit slightly on the upswing.

You're almost standing in a different zipcode with the huge shaft.

And finally, because the lie angle is adjusted to allow for droop with the long shaft, you have to address the ball with the club's toe pointing to the sky.

 

I know that I can't be the first one to find all of these things disconcerting.

I have to assume that others have faced the same concerns but found a way to overcome them.

 

Now to be honest, using  a faiway wood / driving iron tandem off the tee doesn't really hurt me.

I'm not playing from the tips at my age.

The other geriatric seniors with whom I play aren't exactly bombing their drivers past my fairway wood tee shot.

I'm rarely the guy hitting first from the fairway.

 

Still, not hitting the driver is avoiding a part of the game that should be played.

I try to hit driver on a couple of wide open holes.  Sometimes I find the ball and sometimes I don't.

I can hit a big banana in either direction, but if I try to hit it straight, 

I'm essentially letting the club choose the direction of the banana,

 

If anybody out there ever found the driver to be a scorecard saboteur, 

avoided hitting it,

but then discovered a way to overcome it,

I'm all ears.

 

It just doesn't appear to be a normal golf shot to me.

Swing that way at any other club and you get a dead top hitting the ball on the upswing.

 

 

 

 

Nothing requires you to play a 46” driver or any specific loft. You can easily order a shorter length driver.

two options

1) take lessons to learn to hit up on driver

2) get fit and let the fitting determine length, loft, weight, specific shaft that works for your swing as is

On 12/6/2021 at 12:09 PM, BostonSal said:

My problem is in not being able to hit down on the ball as I normally would. 

I can play a pretty parachute ball from foward in my stance with a 9-iron.

The contrived, exaggerated follow through to keep the swing on path that far forward is easy with a 36" shaft.

 

Playing a driver that way is for some reason a problem. The ball being teed high is a problem.  

And positioning a ball in a more comfortable position in the stance means you can't hit a tiny bit up at it.

 

I actually have the new TM 307cc 13.5º driver and can hit it much better than a big driver.

That isn't the point.  It's not just about the effect on the golf game. It's beyond that.

 

It's more about figuring out the modern driver for the sake of doing so.  Overcoming a problem that others don't seem to have.

All that I'm looking for here is to see if anybody else had the same problems and found a way to overcome it.

If not, so be it, but there's no harm in asking.

 

 

 

Nothing says one has to hit up on driver or tee it high. For some swing speeds getting a positive angle of attack will help increase distance but that doesn’t mean one needs to hit up.

One of my friends is an older golfer who likes to see the old ball flight of a low launching ball that steadily climbs. He played his tee low and had a slight downward angle and it didn’t negatively impact his distance.  He also just played whatever stock length for driver was and played his preferred loft. 

Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4

Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white

Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid

Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120

Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60

Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1

Ball: Titleist Prov1

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23 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Nothing requires you to play a 46” driver or any specific loft. You can easily order a shorter length driver.

two options

1) take lessons to learn to hit up on driver

2) get fit and let the fitting determine length, loft, weight, specific shaft that works for your swing as is

Nothing says one has to hit up on driver or tee it high. For some swing speeds getting a positive angle of attack will help increase distance but that doesn’t mean one needs to hit up.

One of my friends is an older golfer who likes to see the old ball flight of a low launching ball that steadily climbs. He played his tee low and had a slight downward angle and it didn’t negatively impact his distance.  He also just played whatever stock length for driver was and played his preferred loft. 

Exactly!  Most people were told that you have to tee it high and hit up with a driver; myself included, which is why I typically have +5º AoA.  However, my miss is typically low on the club face because my tendency is to drop my right shoulder in the downswing to "hit up".  When I focus on keeping it level, I make better contact.

On our many mounds if I am on a rather steep upslope, hitting driver off the deck isn't really a problem, and sometimes necessary to keep the ball low and under tree branches!  This weekend Bubba and Leishman hit driver off the deck with much better results than I do!!

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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You've got to find one that works.  I played a 2 iron for my 2 years of high school golf and it definitely never really hurt me.  My uncle passed and I inherited his old GBB Hawkeye driver and one day it just kind of clicked. I was able to hit down on that driver and still get distance (I was young and strong and didn't know anything about AoA, spin characteristics, etc.). That thing would literally spark from time to time and it was a pretty cool effect.  Over time as I practiced more, read a lot of Golf Digest articles and watched TV, it just became natural.

Granted, the driver is still the reason why I either score or don't score on any given day.  I live by the motto "Long and Wrong." If I'm in the fairway, I'm going to be hitting a ton of wedges into a lot of holes. If I'm spraying it, lots of punches and penalty strokes.  

Try exaggerating the set up (weight in your heels, high front shoulder, etc.) and let it rip for about 20 swings. Just try to knock the snot out of it and have some fun. You never know, something might just click like it did for me. 🙂

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:wilson_staff_small: F5 17 degree hybrid w/Rogue Black 85X

:wilson_staff_small:C300 Forged 3-5 w/C-Taper 130X

:wilson_staff_small: FG Tour V6 5-6 w/C-Taper 130X

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51 minutes ago, Rtracymog said:

You've got to find one that works.  I played a 2 iron for my 2 years of high school golf and it definitely never really hurt me.  My uncle passed and I inherited his old GBB Hawkeye driver and one day it just kind of clicked. I was able to hit down on that driver and still get distance (I was young and strong and didn't know anything about AoA, spin characteristics, etc.). That thing would literally spark from time to time and it was a pretty cool effect.  Over time as I practiced more, read a lot of Golf Digest articles and watched TV, it just became natural.

Granted, the driver is still the reason why I either score or don't score on any given day.  I live by the motto "Long and Wrong." If I'm in the fairway, I'm going to be hitting a ton of wedges into a lot of holes. If I'm spraying it, lots of punches and penalty strokes.  

Try exaggerating the set up (weight in your heels, high front shoulder, etc.) and let it rip for about 20 swings. Just try to knock the snot out of it and have some fun. You never know, something might just click like it did for me. 🙂

I think if I want to hit a large displacement driver, I need to find a slightly shorter and more shallow faced one like the Tour Edge E522.

By appearance, at least, that one has promise.  I think I could get away with hitting down at it because I don't want to deal with a special "driver swing."

I

Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods;    Epon AF-906___driving iron;   Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; 

Titleist T100S___48°;     Edison 2.0___53º;     Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º;   Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter;   

Titleist Pro V1x___ball

 

 

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I’m learning stack and tilt . With that you keep the ball in same place whatever club you’re swinging.

plus you don’t need to hit up on the driver either.

never manipulate your golf club while swinging.

Ping G 400 Max 10.5   
willwood irons 4 to pitching wedge Edisonwedges 49 53 57

taylormade big toe 60

Toulon design Las Vegas 

 

                                 
 

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On 12/6/2021 at 8:40 AM, BostonSal said:

The bulbous, 460cc driver, particularly on an unweildy 46" shaft, has always been a nightmare for me.

 

The basic problem is that you can't hit down and through it as with a normal fairway wood shot.

The ball must be teed high, almost to the point of being a "ball above feet" sidehill lie from the tee.

The ball must be placed more forward in the stance and be hit slightly on the upswing.

You're almost standing in a different zipcode with the huge shaft.

And finally, because the lie angle is adjusted to allow for droop with the long shaft, you have to address the ball with the club's toe pointing to the sky.

 

I know that I can't be the first one to find all of these things disconcerting.

I have to assume that others have faced the same concerns but found a way to overcome them.

 

Now to be honest, using  a faiway wood / driving iron tandem off the tee doesn't really hurt me.

I'm not playing from the tips at my age.

The other geriatric seniors with whom I play aren't exactly bombing their drivers past my fairway wood tee shot.

I'm rarely the guy hitting first from the fairway.

 

Still, not hitting the driver is avoiding a part of the game that should be played.

I try to hit driver on a couple of wide open holes.  Sometimes I find the ball and sometimes I don't.

I can hit a big banana in either direction, but if I try to hit it straight, 

I'm essentially letting the club choose the direction of the banana,

 

If anybody out there ever found the driver to be a scorecard saboteur, 

avoided hitting it,

but then discovered a way to overcome it,

I'm all ears.

 

It just doesn't appear to be a normal golf shot to me.

Swing that way at any other club and you get a dead top hitting the ball on the upswing.

 

If youi like the feel of irons better than woods, find a driver head that is front weighted - with the weight toward the face. It will swing more like an iron. With certain swing styles it will be more accurate and will be easier to make center of the face contact. For those types of swings it can often hit the ball farther as well.

 

 

 

Callaway 816 Alpha DBD driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, Alpha 815 3 hybrid, RAZR X Forged cavity back irons 3-AW, 54-14 MD4 wedge, Maltby MS+ wide grind 60 degree lob wedge, 37 inch Rife Swithback Two putter. All clubs overlength - 47 inch driver, 45 inch 3wood, 44 inch 5 wood, 41 inch 3 hybrid, 39.5 inch 5 iron with other irons in line with that. All clubs graphite shafted and X-flex except flex of putter.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/6/2021 at 2:39 PM, alfriday101 said:

1.  Instead of looking at the ball, look at a spot on the ground in the middle of your stance (low point of swing) along your swing path.  Swing over that spot and catch the ball as the club starts up.  Transition into doing this and hitting balls with your eyes closed.

THIS.  I actually look at about 2 in behind the back of the driver which is near the middle of my stance like @alfriday101 said.  I'm not sure if he's saying you should do that on the course, but, I do this on my drives when I play.  

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