How to Improve Angle of Attack with Driver
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One more thing that commonly prevents hitting up with driver. This one has been implied in some posts, but not explicitly called out. If you have a problem with coming over the top (OTT) you must get rid of that or you’ll never achieve the proper AoA.
Good information in this thread; strike issues are my focus this offseason. I'm working through Adam Young's "The Strike Plan" and his book "The Practice Manual". In the former, he has a drill for driver called the "3 Tee Drill" in which you place a short tee about an inch behind a long tee and another short tee about 6" in front of the tall tee and swing through the tees clipping the short one, then the tall one and missing the last tee. Its a great drill which can be done in the yard without a ball.
I am teeing the ball on a 3.25" tee well off my left heel or instep and launching the ball high with terrific hang time.
I am teeing the ball on a 3.25" tee well off my left heel or instep and launching the ball high with terrific hang time.
Put a tee only an inch or so (not 6 inches or whatever the normal recommended distance is) in front of the ball. In your case, you say only a -2*, which is nearly level with the odd 0* strike. Maybe start at 3-4" in front to get that thought of hitting up. Move the tee closer as you go. Down to an inch and your thoughts will really be about hitting up without hitting that tee.
As mentioned elsewhere- strong left side and keep your head behind the ball and your trail shoulder under your chin as you go through.
As mentioned elsewhere- strong left side and keep your head behind the ball and your trail shoulder under your chin as you go through.
razaar
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One of the keys to better ball striking is to have the hands over the target foot at impact with all normal shots. It's a matter of holding lag and driving the forearms through the ball position while remaining centred and holding the trail side of the body down and under. Bobby Jones wrote about it so it is not new.
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Good drills, but...
It always cracks me up when an instructor suggests planting some alignment rods a few yards out on the driving range. Yeah, just try that at the typical driving range. Besides the dirty looks, you literally take your life into your hands. Not ONE instructor ever acknowledges this issue. Similar is the issue of planting alignment rods around your body at the typical bay at the driving range. Most of us have to practice at driving ranges that have concrete pads and mats!
Note: This video was taken on the tee box at a golf course. Probably a private club during a time when the course wasn't open. Again, most of us don't have the opportunity to practice under those conditions.
To help hit up on the ball, after I set up to it, I slide my right hand down my leg and then grip the club. Gets me into a good position to hit up on the ball.
I do this as well but still manage to override it and live in the -2/5 AOA range
focus on the back or bottom of the ball and not the top... this helped me
I do sit on the nuetral to positive side of AoA, due to release of hands … have experimented with ball forward inasmuch as outside left foot by 2-3 in (75 mm) and also elevating tee. The higher is giving my ball greater elevation , consciously set it tee higher and watched ball fly few days ago even got a beautiful draw around the fairway 255 metres (280y) that’s long for me … it’s proving itself by finding fairways more often , also think the stealth driver is very complimentary to me ) good luck finding your key .
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Learn to keep your head BEHIND the ball. What @mikeg_74 suggested is after the same objective. You can't see the back of the ball if your head is in front of the ball.
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Not to Hijack the thread however how do you like the books?
I've read "The Practice Manual" and it has helped me a ton. I've often thought about working through his Strike Plan videos but haven't pulled the trigger on that yet. Maybe if I get my swing work to a comfortable spot before the end of the offseason I will get started on it. I'm sure it's fantastic I've always heard good things.
"The Strike Plan" is actually a streaming video series, which I think is very good. Young gives clear explanations and quite a few drills. I really like his philosophy around developing skills first and worrying about technique only to the extent that it supports the skill. "The Practice Manual" is a book and also very good, but quite dense...not a quick read at all (I'm about halfway through). In the first section of the book, Young gives a thorough explanation of ball flight laws which serves as the basis for the rest of the book, much of which is about how we learn.
That sounds interesting. Thanks for the insight.
I keep a lot of weight/pressure in my back foot while hitting driver. This helps me as well.
I have made some progress on this lately. I have made some swing changes and some setup changes with the driver. From a swing change perspective I had tended to have a some slide which led to to OTT and down with the driver. I have been working hard on getting a bit of a shift onto the left side then straightening the left (lead) leg. Doing that keeps me from sliding ahead of the ball. I do a lot of drills in my office when I just do the takeaway and practice getting the club back to impact. I do most of these with an iron but the move translates to the driver.
I have adjusted the setup as well. I had always tried to keep the ball inside the left heel and that hasn’t changed. With the drive I have changed where I set the club at address to be about 3 inches behind the ball. That helps me get my body tilted away a bit. I also changed ball position in terms of positioning on the club. When I start setup I hover the club with it centered on the clubface. I used to start with the ball centered when the club was on the ground. When you pick the club up from that position like it would be at impact the ball is near the heel of the club. Now I hover at first for address but I do set the club on the ground at the end of my setup before I start the swing. I just can’t get comfortable with the a full hover.
Here are some stats from my Trackman session yesterday.
This has a positive AoA and the stats aren’t on this but the club is coming straight through or slightly in to out. The carry numbers are up almost 10 yards right now with about 4-5 mph more ball speed.
I feel like I am on the right track.
I have adjusted the setup as well. I had always tried to keep the ball inside the left heel and that hasn’t changed. With the drive I have changed where I set the club at address to be about 3 inches behind the ball. That helps me get my body tilted away a bit. I also changed ball position in terms of positioning on the club. When I start setup I hover the club with it centered on the clubface. I used to start with the ball centered when the club was on the ground. When you pick the club up from that position like it would be at impact the ball is near the heel of the club. Now I hover at first for address but I do set the club on the ground at the end of my setup before I start the swing. I just can’t get comfortable with the a full hover.
Here are some stats from my Trackman session yesterday.
This has a positive AoA and the stats aren’t on this but the club is coming straight through or slightly in to out. The carry numbers are up almost 10 yards right now with about 4-5 mph more ball speed.
I feel like I am on the right track.
Setup. Ball position forward, tee height and back shoulder a little bit lower than the front shoulder.
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After watching the driver section of "The Strike Plan" I tested tee heights on the range and got what felt like the best strike using a 3.25" tee, versus the 2.75" tee I had typically used. I have a Trackman session scheduled for Thursday and so will get some hard numbers.
I need to work on this... I was most -2 and at best 2.5... what is a good AOA
Have you heard about putting a towel about 6 inches behind the ball to work on ball first contact with irons? Well, for driver, I move the towel a few inches in front of the tee, and I know I've hit up on the ball when the towel doesn't move.