My struggles with Drivers and the solution (Perhaps)

It’s been 2 years since I played this game. Since day 1 I’ve struggled with the dreaded slice. On good days I can drive pretty straight averaging 220 yards. However good days are rare and I usually end up looking for my ball in the bushes or seeing my balls splash into the water.

My fairway wood is pretty solid and my mates can’t understand why I can’t hit driver. Furthermore I’ve shorten my driver to 44.5 inches and it doesn’t work often enough.

So last night I was at the range hitting only my driver. I tried various swing drills, thoughts but nothing works. Out of frustration, I took a full backswing and coil up my body. Held it there for a second before spinning my abs, totally ignoring my hands. The result was a perfectly straight drive that actually flew over the net that’s roughly 250 yards away. In my mind, I was trying to mimic a big big overswing like John Daly just out of frustration. However my mates said my swing doesn’t look like too much of overswing. I tried it for the rest of the basket and the shots were generally good until I tried out towards the end and the shots were all over the place so I stopped since it’s meaningless to swing further.

anyone tried doing what I did? Going from a shorter backswing to a big full backswing and are there any potential problems that may come out of this?

When my "normal" driver swing isn't working very well I'll do this. Sometimes it works but it never seems to work for long. I always go back to my shortened backswing for consistency.

I think a full turn and leaving the hands at the top as you describe while the lower body is working is the key -- good luck with your find.

I would stick with trying to keep your swing long. I used to have a long, past parallel swing when I was younger (20's-30's). My swing has gotten gradually shorter over the years (58 now) and I'd give anything to be able swing it long and hit it long like I used to.

I have settled on a shorter back swing and the 200-220 yards of accuracy I get from it. Plus I hit most of the FW's that way. Whenever I resort to a full back swing I always hit big slices and end up in the tall weeds and woods.

Thanks for the comments guys. I’ll try it for a couple of weeks more and update this thread.

I just tell myself that I need a new shaft

All jokes aside, you're likely trying to swing too hard which is throwing off your tempo.

I have two drills I use when my driver gets squirrelly (aside from just hitting 3w/3i off the tee instead):

1) I learned this from Jim Furyk I believe - but it is to alternate between my 7i and driver on the range to try and mimic my 7i swing with my driver. This slows down your tempo, squares up your body, helps with your balance, and keeps you from over-swinging.

2) I learned this from MeAndMyGolf - this one is more for when I get to the course already and have 30 minutes to figure out my swing, but it is to try and stop your follow through with the butt end of the club ("top of the grip") facing the target. If done properly, it will look like a 3/4 follow through/punch shot swing. Again, helps slow down your tempo and maintain control all the way through the swing.

Other than that, if what you're doing just is not working, don't continue doing it. Get one professional lesson for just your driver and at least then you'll have a basis of understanding as to where your inconsistencies are coming from. But to just continue doing what you're doing (if it isn't working) is only going to cement bad habits which is going to make it harder to correct down the line.

Backswing length vs shoulder rotation. Many pros have a short backswing but still get 90*+ dhoukdsrcritation abd get behind the ball. Others like Daly and bubba have long back swing plus full shoulder rotation. The key thing is the shoulder rotation.