DRIVER HELP NEEDED

[Lost Golfer]

I am hitting my irons pretty well (for me) but am having serious issues with my driver. As a result I teed off yesterday with my 4 iron all round. My driver striking is so bad. A lot of the time I’m hitting low pulls going about 100 yards. Even when I hit it good it’s really low and I’m using a 10.5 degree driver. I have taken numerous lessons and have been told to swing up on the ball and try to drive it out to 1:00. It goes well a few times but mostly crappy and it is costing me numerous shots on the course. It’s not working and I’m losing hope. I went to 4 iron yesterday just to keep it in play and it worked ok but I gave up distance. Anyone having this problem and if so how did you deal with it? I’ve tried teeing the ball higher, concentrating on swinging up and out but nothing seems to be working consistently. I’m wondering if I should step back to a 3 wood and see if that works with the idea that a 3 wood is easier to hit than a driver. I have tried getting better tempo but dribbled my one drive about 10 yards yesterday. I’m so frustrated and want to go to the range and spend time working on it and get some confidence but I don’t know where to start. I’ve been trapped in a swing hard hit it hard swing and have recently tried to swing with a golf “swing” not “hit” tempo. It works on my irons but not my driver. I’m so confused and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[OGputtnfool]

It's hard to say much in the way of help without video. The easy answer is lessons, but if they're not working, then I'm not sure what to say. Do you hit the ball well during the lessons? You mentioned the 3wd. Do you have one you're confident with? Maybe it's time to switch pros/instructors...

 

[RealPretendPsychic]

I’m not sure if I’m hitting up or down on the ball, but I recently moved back the ball in my stance with driver to avoid that low pull hook. Seems to be working so far.

 

[Luchnia]

You probably want to get a video of your driver swing first. If not, you need to find someone that can watch you that can see what it is that is causing you issues. This can be challenging, but you can watch a video and really see what is going on. Could be ball position, body movement, head movement, arms pulling in, and all sorts of things.

I videoed my driver swing from side and rear views and after studying it some realized what I needed most. I was quite surprised that my swing was decent and it was really my head and upper body movement that caused me the most issues. Once I got that under control I hit so much better. I do have to watch as sometimes I will pull my left arm in a bit.

 

[pattyboy21]

Without changing anything about your swing, especially as you're hitting your irons well, maybe try these subtle changes and see if they might work:

1) Set up with your left (leading) shoulder a bit higher than you do with your irons
2) Set up with the shaft vertical and your hands even with the back of the ball
3) Swing with the same tempo as you would with a 7-iron

Hope you find your way with the driver; it sure makes the game enjoyable!

 

[Lost Golfer]

Thank you for the responses and suggestions. I’m going to the range tomorrow and see if I can work through it. I’ll meet my buddy and have him video me. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.

 

[OGputtnfool]

Thank you for the responses and suggestions. I’m going to the range tomorrow and see if I can work through it. I’ll meet my buddy and have him video me. Hopefully I can figure it out soon.

Post up the video here if you want. Plenty of us have been through what you're going through.

 

[Gyro25]

I found I had much better contact with I checked down a little, and even better when I shortened the shaft a little.

 

[davidmcc669]

When my driver goes bye bye - one thing that I find useful is the feet together drill. If you have never done this drill - look it up on YouTube and try it - basically you hit balls with your feet together and the ball in the center of your stance. Feels weird - but gets you in tempo and you should be able to hit moderately straight drives with nice easy swings. Then add some speed - keeping feet together - but don't fall over. Stay in balance with full - easy swings. If the ball curves - either way - you likely have a grip issue. Fix your grip until you can hit nice straight shots using this drill with a slow easy tempo. You should be able to eventually get it out to 200 yards or so. Then spread you back foot a bit wider and continue -- and wider until you feel comfortable. Easy smooth swings. Then add speed. Once you get your back foot wide - see how you are hitting it and note at what point in your stance - as you widen it - where it all goes wrong. See if that works. It won't solve everything but it will get you hitting in balance and tempo.