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Why is Driver So Hard to Hit?

Mmaynard11

Mmaynard11

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Albatross 2024 Club
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I don’t know about all of you, but I tend to struggle from time to time with the driver. My typical shot shape is a fade, but when things go bad it turns into a very bad fade. Even with 90+% of my strikes being center face.

On the flip side I can hit my 3w just as long and straight down the middle…

Is it a mind game, swing path or just the added length of the driver?
 
I think it's a bunch of things. Swing speed, length and desire to see the big numbers all play a part.

You also tee the ball up higher and further ahead than anything else. So it's a different feel.

I know when I want to crush a drive is when I have the worst drives.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. I don't take my own advice but there it is!
 
For me it’s swing. And the longer shafted club doesn’t necessarily help.
 
I would say the combination of more club length and less loft adds to the difficulty of making consistent contact.
 
Longest club in the bag, and as such it exposes swing issues more than any other club in the bag.

It’s hurtful. :LOL:
 
In my case there are two things that cause me most issues with the driver. One is the swing path and two is the ball/body position - ball/body position affecting swing path and apex. When I keep those things in check, life is good with the driver. I have hit some of my longest drives ever this year which is kind of cool for my age.

I really just need to spend some more time practicing the big stick, but since my 4 wood is usually money and gives me a high FIR percentage and yardages are very close to my driver, I really don't need the driver much at all. Sometimes I don't use it at all during a round.
 
Driver is the strongest part of my game. My bad shots are fades that go too far right and I know it’s either a few of the things I did wrong:

-went a bit too inside out.
- shoulders/stance not squared to target
- ball position too far back where my club face was still a bit open through impact.

it also helps to have the right shaft for your swing too. Love the ventus black 7x so much that it is impossible for me to duck hook and I only have to worry about queefy fades.
 
i feel ya here. there's no other club i swing as poorly as driver. but it's 100% me. tension is a big part.
 
McLovin said:
i feel ya here. there's no other club i swing as poorly as driver. but it's 100% me. tension is a big part.
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Tension? You mean squeezing the grip as hard as you can and locking your arms isn't good?
 
Greg Kulbick said:
Tension? You mean squeezing the grip as hard as you can and locking your arms isn't good?
Click to expand...

don't forget about not turning your shoulders or hips at all
 
I think that a lot of people stand on the tee with driver in their hand and just try to hit it as hard as they can, and don;'t swing with the same tempo that they do with other clubs

I know I suffer if I try to really go after one because my tempo will change with the faster speed and I struggle to square everything up
 
Boy, do I feel you. I dont't understand it. How that extra 2" or whatever it is makes a club that much more difficult and inconsistent is just baffling to me.
 
For me, it was that I was not hitting the centre of the club face. two seasons ago, I started cleaning driver club face before a round, to see where I was hitting it. Turns out I was hitting to high on the club face and to close to the heel.

Started teeing the ball lower and setting up a couple inches further from the ball. Its really helped reduce floaters and slicing.
 
I recently started teeing the ball a bit lower, and it has helped me find the center of the face more. This in turn has helped with finding more fairways. (Disclaimer: I stink.)
 
I'll speak generally since I'm not sure about your specific game of course. But I'm an above average driver of the ball for my handicap, and what I see in a lot of poor drivers:

1) Setup issues. A lot of golfers, particularly higher cappers, don't understand that the driver swing should be the same as every other club - if you make the right adjustments at address and use a proper tee height.
2) Mindset. I think the driver gets in a lot of golfers' heads because of their past struggles and/or its reputation - either scared of it and trying to direct it/thinking too mechanically, or getting a case of the machos and trying to kill it after watching Bryson on TV/trying to outdrive their buddies, which leads to overswinging and letting the basics break down.
 
I relate to this struggle @mmaynard11 . My driver is longer than my 3w by a fair bit but if I miss hit it, I am well right of where I am aiming. My 3w is much straighter and can even produce a draw at times. This has made me rethink what I hit off the tee which has produced better scores in the long run.
 
mmaynard11 said:
I don’t know about all of you, but I tend to struggle from time to time with the driver. My typical shot shape is a fade, but when things go bad it turns into a very bad fade. Even with 90+% of my strikes being center face.

On the flip side I can hit my 3w just as long and straight down the middle…

Is it a mind game, swing path or just the added length of the driver?
Click to expand...

I used to be a terrible driver of the ball! Get you a BB B21 driver! It’s rediculous!
 
The extra length and lower loft combined with the lower spin rates(some have half the spin of a 3 wood) make it tougher to hit straight. My miss with a driver is smaller than most of my buddies and I still hit a fairway wood off the tee on about 5 holes each round.
 
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Longest club, lowest backspin, lowest loft. Lot's of things going on that make it an unforgiving beast to hit consistently well.
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
I used to be a terrible driver of the ball! Get you a BB B21 driver! It’s rediculous!
Click to expand...

The B21 is simply the most accurate driver I have ever played, It keeps nearly every drive in play for me. My big miss right is consistently in the right rough, not too far off the fairway.
 
There are a lot of moving parts that need to be exact, and a tiny miss can have disastrous results, unlike other clubs that are far more forgiving with a small miss.

But to me one of the most difficult aspects is the inside-out swing path, which is crucial to square the face, and with such a long club it's hard to get it right every time, that's why a shorter shaft with a closer setup to the ball makes life a lot easier in this regard, the path is just easier to execute.
 
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Drivers are just too long most of the time. Consider chocking up, or even cutting the shaft. I've found from personal experience that I hit the ball further and way more in control with a shorter driver.
 
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