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The driver - to hover or not to hover?

Interesting how some have more tension hovering and others not as much tension - fascinating.
 
I didn’t even know this was a thing, I mean I guess I could give it a whirl.
 
I do not understand how it relieves tension to hover the driver. I have tried it a few times and have not been successful with it.
 
When I did it, I did not notice any more or less tension, but it felt different hovering it. Kind of hard to explain the feel you get. I am guessing tension has a lot to do with how much strength a person has in their arms too.

My left arm has gotten weaker than it used to be and I can tell if I hold something off the ground for a long time. I realize though that you only swing so many times a round and is not like swinging it 40 times during a practice session.

As a side note, I was watching some pros and caught a number of them hovering with their driver. Some would touch the ground but then hover just before striking, others complete hover, and others complete grounders. Golf is strange :ROFLMAO:

Jack Nicklaus hovered and Greg Norman picked up Jack's technique of hovering. It never dawned on me at all and I never really paid any attention to it. The two reasons Greg said he adopted the technique taken from Greg's website:

"First, it keeps my grip pressure constant. As you stand over a shot, you have a natural tendency to regrip, and each time your hands shift on the club - even a fraction - it has a major effect on the outcome of the shot. Second, it promotes a very smooth one-piece takeaway with the clubhead flowing straight from the ball. This is particularly true with the driver; there will be no tendency to snap the clubhead up quickly and vertically as there can be when the club is soled. "
 
Today I tried to cover the club with mixed results . Guess if I keep practicing results will come
 
Luchnia said:
When I did it, I did not notice any more or less tension, but it felt different hovering it. Kind of hard to explain the feel you get. I am guessing tension has a lot to do with how much strength a person has in their arms too.

My left arm has gotten weaker than it used to be and I can tell if I hold something off the ground for a long time. I realize though that you only swing so many times a round and is not like swinging it 40 times during a practice session.

As a side note, I was watching some pros and caught a number of them hovering with their driver. Some would touch the ground but then hover just before striking, others complete hover, and others complete grounders. Golf is strange :ROFLMAO:

Jack Nicklaus hovered and Greg Norman picked up Jack's technique of hovering. It never dawned on me at all and I never really paid any attention to it. The two reasons Greg said he adopted the technique taken from Greg's website:

"First, it keeps my grip pressure constant. As you stand over a shot, you have a natural tendency to regrip, and each time your hands shift on the club - even a fraction - it has a major effect on the outcome of the shot. Second, it promotes a very smooth one-piece takeaway with the clubhead flowing straight from the ball. This is particularly true with the driver; there will be no tendency to snap the clubhead up quickly and vertically as there can be when the club is soled. "
Click to expand...

Kuchar hovers. Finau has a very brief hover, I believe.
 
Luchnia said:
Do you hover the driver or ground it before you swing?

I have been doing some testing on the launch monitor and here are some interesting numbers when hovering the driver versus not hovering it. Take these numbers with a grain of salt because they are from my launch monitor, but they give you an idea of what is different. You data crunchers may see something totally different than I do.

When I hover the driver it appears I swing through the ball at around 5 degrees less launch angle which seems more strikes were better. I noticed not near as many mishits and yet I thought there would be more than when grounding the driver.

Notice swing speed, ball speed, and smash factor are pretty much identical, but the real differences are in the launch angle, apex, and the spin. It is fairly obvious when I ground the driver and swing, I tend to swing up more and get a lot more spin.

More spin can often indicate poor accuracy, but that is not always the case. I would really like to try this on the course and see how my accuracy is. I may have to give it a shot tomorrow.:


Not - hovering the driver yesterday:
  • 20 swings
  • Average Carry - 233.7
  • Max Carry - 247.5
  • Swing Speed - 96.0
  • Ball Speed - 140.5
  • Launch Angle - 19.9
  • Smash Factor - 1.47
  • Spin - 3675
  • Apex - 134.5

Hovering the driver today (17 more swings than yesterday):
  • 37 swings
  • Average Carry - 237.1
  • Max Carry - 258.9
  • Swing Speed - 96.0
  • Ball Speed - 141
  • Launch Angle - 14.3
  • Smash Factor - 1.47
  • Spin - 2832
  • Apex - 84.6
Click to expand...

Negligible difference in carry distance and ball speed. Big difference in launch angle and apex. Spin number would be affected by the launch angle. Now if you teed it slightly lower when you didn't hover would you have the same outcome?
 
So swinging 2 days in a row.. but did you swing the day before starting the experiment?

It could be argued that the 20 swings on day 1 loosened you up for day 2

But to answer, no I don't hover, I just couldnt be comfortable I dont think
 
greekelite said:
So swinging 2 days in a row.. but did you swing the day before starting the experiment?

It could be argued that the 20 swings on day 1 loosened you up for day 2

But to answer, no I don't hover, I just couldnt be comfortable I dont think
Click to expand...
I swing pretty much swing in my practice net every day except on the weekends when I play, although I swing through irons up to the driver. Once it gets too hot in my shop for the summer, I normally don't practice as much cause I might get a heat stroke o_O

This was the first time I tested hovering versus not hovering doing a number of swings on two different days. I really don't know what the long term results would be or results from testing on multiple days. I can imagine I may have mixed results by testing on different days. My swing is not that grooved and needs a lot of work.
 
I usually ground, but I am going to try hovering to see if it makes a difference for me
 
I've only tried hovering a few times over the years on the range but really can't remember how it went... time to try it again
 
sounds like Martin Chuck...."waggle, tap -tap-tap- Fire".
 
Tried it before, not a fan.
 
Always been a grounded type guy, may give hovering a go on next range session and see how it works

Sent from my XP8800 using Tapatalk
 
I hovered for a while as a youth and let it go and forgot about it. Thanks for posting, I will give it a go on the range tomorrow.
 
I have never tried it as i like to really relax before i swing. Nice results for you maybe i should try!
 
I’ve tried hovering before, and could never get the right feel for it. But I will say that, not long ago, I started paying attention to the driver at address more. I keep it on the ground, but very lightly and no pressure. Just gently touching the ground. I’ve noticed better, more consistent contact, even on mishits.
 
I pretty much hover all my clubs at address. Some higher than others. Just a mental block I have against presetting the low point of my swing in back of the ball..

I have also seen many players play quite well while not hovering their club(s)

It's an individual thing I guess. .
 
ShootzGolf said:
I do both. I ground the driver behind the ball to check tee height and get set up. Then I hover for my swing.
Click to expand...

I haven't really thought or noticed this before. I think this is what I do. I'll have to pay attention next round.
 
I do not hover. I have tried it before and tend to leave the club face open at impact when hovering.
 
2 rounds ago I have started to hover the driver.
I have found that keeping the tension in my arms has certainly helped. I believe that it keeps me more focused and I have found that I am more accurate..... except when I come over the top 😡 which has been less and less.
I would say in the last 2 rounds I ha e probably found 20out of 28 fairways.
I kinda like it and may try to hover my irons next.
The putter, I have no idea what I can do about that
 
I have hovered for years, but recently I have lost my driver swing so I decided to start with it on the ground and take it back low and slow. My drives have been much better and more consistent. I also have been in places down the fairway that I have not been in some time. Who knew that could happen. Interesting data on your trial.
 
I've never tried this, but thought about it a couple of times. I think my concern is that I'd not be hitting up on it as much as I like, and have been known to top a driver on the odd occasion! Wouldn't hurt to give it a whirl at the range though, what's the worst that could happen.....?
 
I've tried it before but never committed to it. This year I'm sticking with it. So far, the results have been very good. It takes some getting used to. At first it felt like I was gripping a little tighter. Now it just feels like i'm keeping my grip pressure the same throughout the swing.
 
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