Help with Driver

[MNMGA2023]

I used to struggle with a pretty bad slice and tried a bunch of things to fix it...this season I went to a much stronger grip (bottom hand almost completely underneath the grip pointing up, and top hand turned in so that the "V" between my pointer finger and thumb, points at my trail shoulder)...anyway, this has almost completely fixed the slice....I'm hitting further and straighter than ever.  HOWEVER, maybe once every 6 or 7 drives, I hit a horribly embarrassing duck hook.  

 

Is this just an issue with the grip being a little too strong on those shots?  When I hit it good, I'm straight and 280-300 yards.  But the lack of consistency has me baffled.  I'm close to just going back to aiming left and hitting my slice 230 yards.  

[cnosil]

14 minutes ago, MNMGA2023 said:

I used to struggle with a pretty bad slice and tried a bunch of things to fix it...this season I went to a much stronger grip (bottom hand almost completely underneath the grip pointing up, and top hand turned in so that the "V" between my pointer finger and thumb, points at my trail shoulder)...anyway, this has almost completely fixed the slice....I'm hitting further and straighter than ever.  HOWEVER, maybe once every 6 or 7 drives, I hit a horribly embarrassing duck hook.  

 

Is this just an issue with the grip being a little too strong on those shots?  When I hit it good, I'm straight and 280-300 yards.  But the lack of consistency has me baffled.  I'm close to just going back to aiming left and hitting my slice 230 yards.  

Without seeing a video of your swing it is impossible to tell.   My opinion, your grip is too strong and is a compensation for other issues in your swing.   Going back to your old grip will still have the same swing issues.  

[MNMGA2023]

I have PLENTY of swing issues!

[Neurotica]

Likely a path issue but just a guess without video. I’m struggling with the same issue / compensation with my grip and have committed to a more neutral grip and sorting out my path to more from the inside for a straight or draw ball flight instead of over the top WEAK cutty fades and slices. Very difficult to do after many years of OTT. 

 

[Swood1994]

43 minutes ago, MNMGA2023 said:

I used to struggle with a pretty bad slice and tried a bunch of things to fix it...this season I went to a much stronger grip (bottom hand almost completely underneath the grip pointing up, and top hand turned in so that the "V" between my pointer finger and thumb, points at my trail shoulder)...anyway, this has almost completely fixed the slice....I'm hitting further and straighter than ever.  HOWEVER, maybe once every 6 or 7 drives, I hit a horribly embarrassing duck hook.  

 

Is this just an issue with the grip being a little too strong on those shots?  When I hit it good, I'm straight and 280-300 yards.  But the lack of consistency has me baffled.  I'm close to just going back to aiming left and hitting my slice 230 yards.  

I was in the same boat when I started playing golf competitively. I was playing hockey (defenseman) at the same time so i had a nasty slice. similar to you i made my grip super strong with my right thumb running pretty much down the side of the grip. My only suggestion and generic at best would be to first video yourself to see what the takeaway and downswing look like. If I had to guess without seeing it (from my experience as a slicer) the club is being taken inside on the takeaway thus cause an over-the-top downswing with an out to in path. Again I could be wrong and I am only speaking from my experience. If these are true I would weaken your grip slightly (still strong in comparison to neutral), and work on bring the club back on out outside the plane and then setting the hands in the downswing. The feel should be finishing the swing at the 1 O'Clock position almost as if you're trying to draw it. Hope this helps a little in the end you have to do what works best for you! good luck!

 

[MNMGA2023]

1 minute ago, Swood1994 said:

I was in the same boat when I started playing golf competitively. I was playing hockey (defenseman) at the same time so i had a nasty slice. similar to you i made my grip super strong with my right thumb running pretty much down the side of the grip. My only suggestion and generic at best would be to first video yourself to see what the takeaway and downswing look like. If I had to guess without seeing it (from my experience as a slicer) the club is being taken inside on the takeaway thus cause an over-the-top downswing with an out to in path. Again I could be wrong and I am only speaking from my experience. If these are true I would weaken your grip slightly (still strong in comparison to neutral), and work on bring the club back on out outside the plane and then setting the hands in the downswing. The feel should be finishing the swing at the 1 O'Clock position almost as if you're trying to draw it. Hope this helps a little in the end you have to do what works best for you! good luck!

 

I played baseball and hockey growing up...so the swing path issues are burned into my muscles and very difficult to fix....I appreciate the help!

[elight]

I would venture to guess that if your typical (new) shot is dead straight, then you're still not closing the face much, but rather have a straight path with a square face. Which is great - most of us (including me) would be thrilled to hit it dead straight 280-300 yards 85% of the time!

When you over-close the face but maintain that straight path, now it's going to hook left. If it's a REALLY bad hook, then it's probably something a bit more than just closing the face a few degrees. I would certainly experiment with a more neutral grip, since your standard shot (square face) does not require the face to be closed beyond square. The strong grip might be encouraging the occasional over-closing of the face while not doing much if anything to set up the square face that you usually want.

For me, hitting only 1 out of 7 drives poorly is a life goal. That's two bad drives per round. Many (most?) professional players will have that. I would suggest aiming more toward the center-right side of the fairway. Your straight shots will still be on the fairway, and your hooks will hopefully be in the left rough instead of in the trees.

[NM01]

Would need to see the swing but the extra strong trail hand is just a masking of issues and when you don’t time things right you will hook it.