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Mid handicap low trajectory and hook advice from low handicappers

Chump Fries

Chump Fries

Captain Awesome
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Mississippi
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8.8
I'm a mid/low handicapper that usually shoots in the low 80s with a 98 MPH driver swing. In the 5 years I've been playing golf, I've improved almost every aspect of my game. As I learned to hit down on my irons, it over time has messed with my abilities to hit my woods up in the air.

I now have a very low trajectory across my clubs. This works well around the green and inside 150 but I just can't get my woods up anymore and I'm fighting a low hook in my driver and low shots in my 3 wood and hybrid. I can't hardly fade the ball at all anymore.

My question is for low handicappers who have overcome the hook hurdle and have learned to get the ball back up in the air. What worked for you?



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Be interested to hear some opinions on this. I brought a tour striker about 18 months ago and while i learnt to hit down on the ball it lowered my ball flight. To hit it higher I feel like I've got to hit up on it. I still take small divots on or in front of the ball but it feels opposite of what I learnt with the tour striker.
 
I was a low hook machine off the tee this weekend - the rest of my game bailed me out for the most part, but I NEED to get rid of this issue. Probably will go have a lesson to square it away, but very interested to hear what people say.

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Just think about the simple physics regarding shot height: launch angle and spin. Whatever you're doing, you're delofting the club or hitting down or whatever and it's causing a low launch angle. Then couple that with the fact that you're playing a low launch/low spin driver shaft (http://www.mitsubishirayongolf.com/product.php?cmd=fubuki_zt&lang=en) and you get a low launch and not enough spin to get it up in the air.

Driver distance is about optimizing the launch angle and minimizing the spin (up until a point). My guess, without seeing your swing, is that you have the right equipment to achieve the high launch/low spin goal however your swing is negating it. Before changing your swing or equipment I'd try and find a launch monitor (at Dicks or other golf store) and get some solid launch angle/spin #'s.
 
My Big Bertha Alpha was actually the club I hit best on the launch monitor. I've got the heaviest weight in the toe, lightest in the heel, with the gravity core set to move the center of gravity lower to help me get it up in the air. The guy who helped me with the fitting suggested I try to stock shaft for a while (because I do have some swing issues) before ordering a custom shaft. I got this to replace my Titleist 910 8.5 with the Kaili shaft. The Fubuki ZT is a mid/high kick point shaft which should launch the ball pretty high. It's lower than their Alpha but higher than their K series. I'm already launching the ball much higher compared to my old 8.5 Titleist with the 10.5 head and the higher launching shaft.

I have the same problem throughout all my clubs it's just more forgiving in the shorter ones. I myself have a tendency to lock my hips and the resulting club position at impact is really closed because everything gets out of position. I have to mentally tell myself to rotate my hips to fix this. When I do this, I usually get a nice high draw with the new club. I can control my draw and hook most of the time, but I have a hard time holding the greens at 170 yards and longer.

I really didn't want to make this topic about patching my problems. I'm more interested to hear stories from guys who have fixed a low drawing ball flight as they have gotten better. In other words, how did you start getting the ball to go higher in your longer clubs? Drills? Swing thoughts? Grip changes?

How do I get the ball back up?
 
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I will occasionally get a low drawing ball flight with my driver and it's 99% of the time because my take is too far to the inside which leads to me getting stuck on my down swing. This usually leads to me either pushing it high right, or hitting a nasty low draw, depending on if I flip my wrists or not.

My fix is just really focusing on my my take away. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
 
That's a good tip. I haven't really paid much attention to my takeaway, but what I do is comfortable for me. I'll pay more attention to it the next time I'm on the range and see if I'm pulling it inside. I never push a ball high right, so I may be having other issues.
 
Hybrids are your friend. Like you, I hit the ball low and with a draw. I have my BBA set to 11 degrees and just picked up a White Tie shaft to see how that combo works. I haven't had to many issues holding greens with my long irons but I hit my hybrid much higher then I did the equivalent iron. Maybe it's worth looking into dropping your 4 and 5 irons and replacing them with hybrids.

Edit: Missed the comment in the OP about hitting it low with you woods and hybrid. I know when I start hitting it way to low it's because I've creeped further away from the ball and made my shallow swing even shallower.
 
I think the trick will be finding a hybrid that doesn't have a strong draw bias but has a high launch. For example, the X Hot 2 Hybrid is a a high launch, but it pretty much anti-slice. The Pro Versions of hybrids are usually encourage a lower/piercing trajectory. There isn't much out there for us that a anti-draw with high-launch. There probably isn't much market for guys like us.
 
chumphries said:
I think the trick will be finding a hybrid that doesn't have a strong draw bias but has a high launch. For example, the X Hot 2 Hybrid is a a high launch, but it pretty much anti-slice. The Pro Versions of hybrids are usually encourage a lower/piercing trajectory. There isn't much out there for us that a anti-draw with high-launch. There probably isn't much market for guys like us.
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But that is where loft becomes your friend. I replaced my 3 iron with a 24 degree hybrid which launches plenty high. I bet a higher lofted X2Hot pro will still give you good heighth and if not, swapping out the stock Aldila green shaft might be the next step.
 
if i get into a funk with ball flight or too much fade or draw i just go to the range or even while on the course i will try to help it with my finish position

if your hooking with a low ball flight i will try to hit the ball higher with i nice high finish. the same thing with a high fade flight i will try to hit the ball lower with the finish positions, when you do this the rest kind of takes care of itself. those are the stock flights that go with those shot shapes.

its hard to hit a low fade and a high draw they kind of counter each other.
 
I'm not going to lie, I think too much about clubs is being talked about here when that's not the reason for this.

Without seeing your swing it's hard to determine what could be causing this as there are multiple things. I have a feeling that the clubs you play isn't one of this reasons.

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Golf Ghost said:
I'm not going to lie, I think too much about clubs is being talked about here when that's not the reason for this.

Without seeing your swing it's hard to determine what could be causing this as there are multiple things. I have a feeling that the clubs you play isn't one of this reasons.

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Mine comes from not rotating my hips. When I rotate my hips, everything lines up better. I just just curious what process helped others get over their low hook funk (like the guy who practices a high finish to work on the high fade).
 
I fought a hook for a while 2 seasons ago. I started taking lessons from our assistant pro and the first thing he had me do was weaken the grip in my right hand. It was a struggle at first but definitely helped take the big hook out of the equation. As far as ball flight goes, I was hitting it pretty low last year and realized I had been taking the club back pretty shut. At the range I started focusing on really opening the club face on the way back, and its helped me get a little height on my shots.
 
I struggle with the same thing. Closing my face and shutting the clubface basically will smother my ball low and left. It's really bad when I come over the top. I work on taking it back in one piece, on plane. I've also adjusted my grip so I'm not so closed at the top. If I don't fix those things my body only has 2 options, duck hook, or hold off just right. It's gotten better but I still have a lot of work to do. Good luck. I am about the same handicap and SS.
 
When things are bad for me, it tends to be about ball position and posture. I have the same faults as you. When the ball gets forward of center and I have to move a bit laterally to get a good strike, the result is too much shaft lean and a bit of a closed club face. I have worked on a more vertical takeway and try not to wrap the club around the body as much. Combine that with good posture and BAM higher straighter shots.
 
OhioMatt said:
Hybrids are your friend. Like you, I hit the ball low and with a draw. I have my BBA set to 11 degrees and just picked up a White Tie shaft to see how that combo works. I haven't had to many issues holding greens with my long irons but I hit my hybrid much higher then I did the equivalent iron. Maybe it's worth looking into dropping your 4 and 5 irons and replacing them with hybrids.

Edit: Missed the comment in the OP about hitting it low with you woods and hybrid. I know when I start hitting it way to low it's because I've creeped further away from the ball and made my shallow swing even shallower.
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You're going to like that White Tie shaft. I put one of them on with a SLDR head and the ball comes off the club head so smoothly. I have a pretty shallow swing plane as well, although it has been getting a bit steeper.
 
Mid handicap low trajectory and hook advice from low handicappers

I think once you get near the single digit arena, a player will have a pretty good grasp on their swing. When things start to go sideways you just need to spend a little extra time on your fundamentals and make sure your grip, setup, ball position etc are correct.

Lately my driver has been doing the low pull hook. I took a step back, watched a few videos of an instructor I like and realized my ball position had gone off track(way too forward). Next range session I was back in the zone and it was such a simple fix. So in short, I'd say start simple and make sure you've got the basics in order, it very well could be the easiest of fixes.
 
Sorry for the delay in responding. If you want to add trajectory you simply need to add spine angle at address. Combine this with the ball placed off the inside of the left heel.

The spine angle will tilt you shoulders and allow you to make a more upward strike with your woods and long irons. This angle can even be used with mid and low irons. The swing will remain the same but the spine angle will give you loft.

i can't stress enough that trying to fix a swing flaw with a bad fox only makes things worse. Good luck with the swing advise and let me know how it works out.
 
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