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Can't play driver off front foot = less distance?

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NDeCelle

NDeCelle

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Saratoga Springs, NY
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I am trying to maximize the distance off the tee but when I play the ball off of my front heel (toe especially) I do nothing but hit a big slice. When I play the ball more towards the middle of my stance I hit it straight but don't feel I am getting the distance I should be getting.
I currently am hitting the Ping G2 with the Aldila NV 65-S shaft.
Have you helped anyone with this problem before? And if so, is there anything specific I should work on?

Thanks!
 
I had a similar problem. I tried to tee it up off my left foot to hit it longer but it would slice for days. What I find gives me the most distance is to tee it up in line with my left nipple (right handed obviously), and slightly open my stance. This allows me to be able to fire my hips through and get more force behind the ball. I take the driver back slightly inside and try to finish high and along my target line. I have been doing it for a few days now and am hitting it farther and straighter than I ever did!

Hope this helps!
 
i have done this 1000 times, so ill post it before the mods get to ya:

this is a section of the forum "Ask the pro". THP has a pro here, andy- the Mods ask that you let Andy respond to the original post - before offering your advice. i have done it too - wanting to help, but i dont realize what section im in until its too late!
 
Ahh, the old nipple alignment trick! :D

23_lw said:
I had a similar problem. I tried to tee it up off my left foot to hit it longer but it would slice for days. What I find gives me the most distance is to tee it up in line with my left nipple (right handed obviously), and slightly open my stance. This allows me to be able to fire my hips through and get more force behind the ball. I take the driver back slightly inside and try to finish high and along my target line. I have been doing it for a few days now and am hitting it farther and straighter than I ever did!

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
 
Guys, this is the Ask the Pro section. Please keep this thread clean until Andy has responded.

Thanks
 
Hawk said:
Guys, this is the Ask the Pro section. Please keep this thread clean until Andy has responded.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Sorry, but it was not originally posted here. It was moved after our posts.
 
Thanks for the tips... I will give it a try and let you know the results.

Looking forward to hearing from amollerud as well!
 
The driver ball position off of the front heel is a starting point. If the ball is moved up from here you should have a more fade biased setup. If you move it back a touch it should be more draw biased. Moving the ball around shouldn't be more than a ball or 2 in either direction. With the ball forward many players I have seen tend to cut the swing off too early and the club is coming back to the inside too soon and the fade shows up. Try moving the ball to where it should be, and place a tee infront of the ball an inch or two. The goal here is to swing down and hit the ball and try to keep the driver moving out to the secondary tee. If you can get here, your shots should be much straighter.
 
If I may add a comment/observation.

Many times, when people play the ball off of their front toe/heel, the sole the driver directly behind the ball. This causes your shoulders to align well left of target, and then you cut across the ball with your swing. Something to try is instead of soling the club directly behind the ball, do so about 6 inches or so (so that the middle of the club is more or less in line with the middle of your stance). This will square your shoulders and also encourage a slight upswing on the driver - a double benefit. You might find yourself adding 20-30 yards to your drives.

Good luck and report back if this works for you.
 
Thanks for the advice... I will give it a shot today hopefully!
 
NDeCelle said:
Thanks for the advice... I will give it a shot today hopefully!
Click to expand...

You are welcome. Shawn Clements on youtube has some great vids describing this in detail. If you have some positive results I recommend checking him out.
 
Hey everyone, thanks for the help. I finally got a chance to really put this to use and it worked well. Trajectory and accuracy both improved and played a great round (too bad a 3-put cost me the lowest round of the year haha). I will definitely check the video out. Thanks again!
 
NDeCelle said:
Hey everyone, thanks for the help. I finally got a chance to really put this to use and it worked well. Trajectory and accuracy both improved and played a great round (too bad a 3-put cost me the lowest round of the year haha). I will definitely check the video out. Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it worked for you. And congrats on the low round.
 
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