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Little help please

SuperStroke
Richie

Richie

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Hi there, long time reader first time poster. Firstly what a great community you have here.

Little background on me, I am on 13 handicap my misses are a pull or hook, my good shot is a draw which is what I try to hit with my swing.

Before Christmas I decided to treat myself to a club fitting at my golf club which i had never done before. They got me on the trackman which unfortunately I didn't keep the numbers from, but I got fitted for a titleist 913 d3 with a rip phenom stiff shaft. My average swing speed was 99mph.

My previous club was the srixon z-star with the standard Miyazaki dromos in regular, which I am sure was probably not the best for me. Anyway I was hitting this 913 club really well so went ahead and got it.

Had a practice during the week and went out for my usual round on the weekend and hit duck hook after duck hook. A little bummed I thought oh yeah just a new driver thing just need some more practice to get used to it. Anyway 3 months later and after a lot of practice and I am marginally better, but hitting possibly 3 fairways a round. My old driver I was hitting probably 10 or so. I seem now to be hitting every shot under the sun with it pull hook slice etc. my shots with my irons haven't changed in this time.

My question is when is it time to give up and say well maybe this club isn't right for me, should look for something else? Or do you think I just need to spend some more time on it?

Oh and I also played with my dad the other day who had a razr fit with a reg shaft (which i am sure is not the right setup but just interesting) and had a few shots with that. When I hit a good shot with the d3 and then one with the razr, the razr was a lot further and more accurate for me.

thoughts/help please?
 
Wondering if the club was in the same settings during the fitting as it is right now. Have you moved everything back to neutral and tried to self diagnose from there?
 
First, welcome to THP. Second, I'd get another fitting and insist on a printout with the numbers. Also, it might just be not the correct shaft for you in that club.
 
Richie said:
I am on 13 handicap my misses are a pull or hook, my good shot is a draw

I got fitted for a titleist 913 d3 with a rip phenom stiff shaft. My average swing speed was 99mph.

When I hit a good shot with the d3 and then one with the razr, the razr was a lot further and more accurate for me.

thoughts/help please?
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First off, welcome!!

Second, you're trying to straighten a pull/draw. Some of that could have been your old club/shaft but if you're hitting "duck hooks" with the 913, it's time to look at swing and not so much equipment. Usually a pull results from an "over the top" swing with closed club face. A draw/hook CAN then ensue from this. You also state that your "good shot is a draw". A draw would start to the right of your intended target and curve back to the left (for a right handed player). On your "good shots" is this what you see?

Without seeing your swing it's really difficult to pinpoint an exact cause for the reason your hitting it left. Best advice I can give you is to see a PGA pro. Next best is pay close attention to your setup and posture. Make sure your lines are all going in the same direction. This video may help you visualize what I'm referring to...

 
I would get a lesson - it will save you a lot of time, hassle and money in the long run.
 
You guys are right, a lesson is the best place to start. Also yeah it is definitely a draw and they set the club to d4 which is neutral but 10.25 loft. I told the. At the fitting I don't like opening and closing the club to mask any problems.

I was just a bit frustrated that my driving seemed to go so wrong as soon as I got the new club, but even if it is wrong for me a lesson will confirm this and I'm sure they will help me out at the club.

thanks for the advice
 
Thanks for starting this thread. Great topic, and a problem I deal with a lot. I appreciate all the advice offered here, and there is already some good info.

I am no great player, and I don't know your swing, but I know the result quite well! In almost every case, my pull hook is a result of me getting in too much of a hurry. In particular, my transition from the top of my swing, where I get in a hurry and get my body turned ahead of the club. It *might* help you to practice taking the club back slower than normal and actually forcing yourself to make a brief pause at the top of your backswing. That works for me, or at least that's my "on the course" fix.

But who am I kidding? Go see a local pro to get you straightened out!
 
I don't actually have a 3 wood, have a 3 hybrid and don't feel the need for one but use 3 wedges which I find more useful. I didn't really feel that the pull was a problem before as it was only every now and then with my old club as it still is everything except my driver now. I just meant that now my driving has become a big problem since I bought this new driver. But it will be user error I am sure.
 
How is the weight of your new driver or shaft different from the weight of your old driver shaft?
Sometimes a lighter shaft will make it easier for one to cast or cast earlier.
 
Take the 913 to a fitter if this is an option and let the pro tell you if this club is right for you. If the club is the proper fit, then it could be a timing issue. I was born a hooker and been hooking all my life. I know the pitfalls of a hard day on the curb :D. What happens to me when I get the yanks, snaps, ducks,etc. is my timing gets way out of sorts. I start swinging at the ball like it just stole my last chew of tobacco :angry:. My fix when I get the hurkie Jerkies is to: Move the club back nice and slow on the take away and think of solid contact at the moment of impact. Count a slow one pausing a sec and then on the count two, accelerate through the ball. I don't understand why folks like you and myself, think we have to rush the club back and all it does is put us back in those hooker clothes for some action in the woods :bulgy-eyes:
 
Durty ole hookar :laughing:
 
Welcome to THP Richie, the pro at your golf club cannot help you? If he fitted you and knows your swing that seems to be the best option to me.
 
HjHay22 said:
Durty ole hookar :laughing:
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I could show you a video of this ole hooker in action, but you might sue me for busting ya ribs laughing :D
 
I'm not going to offer help as I'm not able to fix my own flaws, but just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoy Mark Crossfield and his equipment reviews.
 
With my driver I have to take a much weaker grip, as I roll my hands over very hard through release. It may help for you to weaken your driver grip some since closing the club face early can result in low and left hooks. If other clubs are working fine for your then the grip probably isn't a problem, and as others have stated I would get re-fitted for the driver.
 
Welcome to the thread!! I'm not an expert either so I can't give you advice on the technicalities of a swing, but I can offer this.

First off, I'm going to assume that since you were really consistent with your old club that your swing, stance or any other part of your setup has changed. Only you can know this.

Second, why are so many people jumping on the "lessons". That's an option, but lets step back a little. Do you still have your original driver? If you do, put it in your bag and hit the range or a course. Hit balls with both clubs side by side and see what's going on. If you are still hitting your draw with the original driver and a duck hook with the new one, then it's obvious the problem is with the club. Now before all of THP goes and gets your golf bibles and hits me with them, it may be his swing or whatever, but it's being caused by his new driver or the set up. It could also be the club itself, who knows. Something is happening. If this is the case, then maybe at that point lessons are a way to go to figure out what you are doing. Even then, I would have an instructor watch you with the original driver and with the new one to see if they can pick up on what is different. If you hit a duck hook with your original driver as well, then you will know that you have changed something in what you are doing.

Lastly, this is the problem with buying a club based off of a launch monitor. They can be very accurate tools, and can put you in the right direction, but if you can, never buy a club that you can't hit at a range so you can actually see the ball flight. Every time I hit in front of a trackman, it says I have a slight fade, but would more often than not be in the fairway. Unfortunately that does not translate to what I know about my game. I'm more apt to have a pretty healthy fade which puts me just off of a fairway or a full blown slice. Actually, according to my stats I'm about 1/3 right, 1/3 fairway and 1/3 left. Coach THAT!! LOL
 
go back to where you got fit for it, tell them what's going on, and tell them they need to fix it. that's what i'd do.
 
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Texasbrons said:
Welcome to the thread!! I'm not an expert either so I can't give you advice on the technicalities of a swing, but I can offer this.

First off, I'm going to assume that since you were really consistent with your old club that your swing, stance or any other part of your setup has changed. Only you can know this.

Second, why are so many people jumping on the "lessons". That's an option, but lets step back a little. Do you still have your original driver? If you do, put it in your bag and hit the range or a course. Hit balls with both clubs side by side and see what's going on. If you are still hitting your draw with the original driver and a duck hook with the new one, then it's obvious the problem is with the club. Now before all of THP goes and gets your golf bibles and hits me with them, it may be his swing or whatever, but it's being caused by his new driver or the set up. It could also be the club itself, who knows. Something is happening. If this is the case, then maybe at that point lessons are a way to go to figure out what you are doing. Even then, I would have an instructor watch you with the original driver and with the new one to see if they can pick up on what is different. If you hit a duck hook with your original driver as well, then you will know that you have changed something in what you are doing.

Lastly, this is the problem with buying a club based off of a launch monitor. They can be very accurate tools, and can put you in the right direction, but if you can, never buy a club that you can't hit at a range so you can actually see the ball flight. Every time I hit in front of a trackman, it says I have a slight fade, but would more often than not be in the fairway. Unfortunately that does not translate to what I know about my game. I'm more apt to have a pretty healthy fade which puts me just off of a fairway or a full blown slice. Actually, according to my stats I'm about 1/3 right, 1/3 fairway and 1/3 left. Coach THAT!! LOL
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This is the most sensible approach. There is long term value in getting lessons, but it would be short sighted to start altering your swing to fit this one club. Fortunately for you that this club is among the most adjustable on the market. Start playing around with all that adjustability. If that doesn't work then whatever it is that's not working with your swing and causing a hook (assuming all other things constant) is more likely a result of the wrong shaft, not a problem with the driver head.

I had the exact same experience with my Razr Fit. I was hitting my TM R9 Super-Tri TP with slight draw and my Razr Fit with stock shaft was hooking everything left. I swapped out the stock shaft for one with more stable tip (just an example; not saying this is the solution for you) it was back to attacking fairways with confidence. Now you couldn't pry that club outta my bag it's so consistent.
 
Welcome to :thp: forums sir!

I would look to get another fitting in for your driver at a different location and see what the results are.
 
Ok a quick update, I decided to get a lesson from a different pro as I thought there would be no pressure to tell me that its my swing more than the club.

Anyway he said the club is fine my swing is really good and only wanted to change 1 small thing. He said my backswing was too long meaning that sometimes I would be behind the ball causing a duck hook and sometimes I was in front of it causing a straight block to the right, so I worked on shortening my backswing and it looked promising, just need a bit more practice to get comfortable.

p.s. he wouldn't even let me pay for the lesson as he reckoned i didn't need one just a little tweak, which I thought was really nice!

thanks for the good advice thp people :act-up:
 
Richie said:
Ok a quick update, I decided to get a lesson from a different pro as I thought there would be no pressure to tell me that its my swing more than the club.

Anyway he said the club is fine my swing is really good and only wanted to change 1 small thing. He said my backswing was too long meaning that sometimes I would be behind the ball causing a duck hook and sometimes I was in front of it causing a straight block to the right, so I worked on shortening my backswing and it looked promising, just need a bit more practice to get comfortable.

p.s. he wouldn't even let me pay for the lesson as he reckoned i didn't need one just a little tweak, which I thought was really nice!

thanks for the good advice thp people :act-up:
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That's nice, I'm glad you got this figured out, most of the time it's our swing that's causing the issue. Welcome to THP and enjoy the 913


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2
 
Richie said:
Ok a quick update, I decided to get a lesson from a different pro as I thought there would be no pressure to tell me that its my swing more than the club.

Anyway he said the club is fine my swing is really good and only wanted to change 1 small thing. He said my backswing was too long meaning that sometimes I would be behind the ball causing a duck hook and sometimes I was in front of it causing a straight block to the right, so I worked on shortening my backswing and it looked promising, just need a bit more practice to get comfortable.

p.s. he wouldn't even let me pay for the lesson as he reckoned i didn't need one just a little tweak, which I thought was really nice!

thanks for the good advice thp people :act-up:
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THat is awesome that he helped you out for free!! Just goes to show that there are some people out there that are willing to help. Plus, I'm sure if you decide to pursue long term lessons, you know who you are going to contact or refer to other people to. Good luck!!
 
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