Can't hit driver on sim

Lynchburg14

New member
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
5,718
Reaction score
10
Location
Newport News
Handicap
10
So recently I have struggled to hit driver indoors on the simulator. It's real bad, a few normal ones then it looks like I've never golfed before. Don't have the problem with any other clubs. Even tried not to look at the numbers to make sure I was not swinging to hard. Then I went out and had no problems at the real range/course.

What's wrong with me?

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
Feel too enclosed with the longer club? Changing your swing because of it
 
Feel too enclosed with the longer club? Changing your swing because of it


Exactly what I was going to say. Happens to me all the time.
 
Feel too enclosed with the longer club? Changing your swing because of it
I thought I felt like I had enough room but that could be it. My swing did not feel smooth at all

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
So recently I have struggled to hit driver indoors on the simulator. It's real bad, a few normal ones then it looks like I've never golfed before. Don't have the problem with any other clubs. Even tried not to look at the numbers to make sure I was not swinging to hard. Then I went out and had no problems at the real range/course.

What's wrong with me?

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Does it look funky on the screen or is the ball flight in the bay telling you it's bad?

The confined space thing is likely, but some sims also penalize you severely for fat hits, off-center hits, etc. Voice of experience.
 
Showing me way more slice or hook than I hit outside. Bit 3wood is straight and further

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
I deal with the same issue. Gave up on hitting anything indoors.
 
Took me a long time to learn to hit on the simulator. Feeling enclosed, then sometime you get a group watching you which doesn't help. Once I started to feel more comfortable, I was able to let it rip and realize I was not going to hit the ceiling or something.
 
Took me a long time to learn to hit on the simulator. Feeling enclosed, then sometime you get a group watching you which doesn't help. Once I started to feel more comfortable, I was able to let it rip and realize I was not going to hit the ceiling or something.

Or lose a ball. I know guys who claim they play better on a sim because there's no FOLB - fear of losing a ball.
 
I've hit a driver on a simulator exactly one outing. After #TheGrandaddy, with the Epic. It tried telling me I was hitting 200 yard snap hooks. That might have been my last round with a simulator. amsmith and I took off for the course and confirmed that was utter BS.
 
With the driver it's a huge struggle for me as well. 3 wood on down its rockets or crisp contact on irons.

There is some kind of disconnect with me on not seeing the how the ball comes off the driver and flies. Sure it's just a short delay but I just feel a disconnect. I can hit 3 wood 255 all day long but I have no idea where the driver is going. On course I have zero issues with a driver and it's the best club in the bag.

I wish I knew the real issue but there is zero consistency
 
Maybe try choking down on your driver for a few shots on the sim, see if the shorter club length changes your sub conscious swing?

Because it could be one of those things that you start to think you can't hit driver on a sim and it becomes a self fulfilling thought
 
Maybe try choking down on your driver for a few shots on the sim, see if the shorter club length changes your sub conscious swing?

Because it could be one of those things that you start to think you can't hit driver on a sim and it becomes a self fulfilling thought
The Epic 9° was the first driver I have even hit on a sim with truly repeatable results. Once I settled on a head and shaft combo I hit 12 shots that had great grouping. Not one flier. So before I disected all the numbers it was a clear winner.

Now next week I will get on the local Sim and see if it was a fluke.
 
The indoor swing is a real thing. I love sim golf but its a whole different animal. This is why you should demo outdoors if you can.
 
I'm very much in the same boat. Can't hit on a sim to save my life. Incredibly frustrating when trying to decide if I want to purchase a club.

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
 
I work at a SIM place and I agree. You're afraid you'll hit the wall behind you on your backswing. See it all the time.

I don't think I could play in a place that had a rear wall. I've played in three venues, two extensively, and the smallest bays were about 16'W x 20'D x 12'H
 
Does the hard plastic tee have anything to do with it

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
I know it is a frustrating experience. I think it is partially the lack of time between swings and partially the desire to hit it well. Seeing a ball flight on a screen makes you try to adjust and i think that the curve on the screen exaggerates how much the ball really curved. Perhaps looking at how far offline the ball is might help.

Sorry to hear you are struggling and I know your are very frustrated!
 
I know it is a frustrating experience. I think it is partially the lack of time between swings and partially the desire to hit it well. Seeing a ball flight on a screen makes you try to adjust and i think that the curve on the screen exaggerates how much the ball really curved. Perhaps looking at how far offline the ball is might help.

Sorry to hear you are struggling and I know your are very frustrated!

Good point by you. My first sim experience was on a SportsCoach unit, and I'm currently playing HDGolf. The biggest adjustment for those of us who made the switch was that the ball flight on the HDGolf large screen has very little correlation to your actual measured ball flight. That is shown quite accurately on the smaller, hole overhead view. Of course, the error gets corrected when the sim puts the ball down in the proper place, but the initial feedback on the big screen can lead to a lot of WTF reactions.
 
Last edited:
A few of reasons come to mind. Most importantly to me, you are not getting the chance to 'walk off' your bad shots. Golf is not meant to be a repetitious sport. You need time to refocus. Never hit more than 2 driver shots without swapping out other clubs in between. BTW: Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and add 10% to the distance shown. Or if you can have the distance turned off and just show the ball flight... concentrating on keeping ball in play. Use impact tape to evaluate your strikes. It will not take long to adjust to using the impact tape to know whether you hit the ball well or not. How about your footwear? I know plenty of indoor players who bring their golf shoes. I can hit in sneakers... some absolutely can not. Do a 'drop test' on hard surface to see the bounce of the simulator balls vs each other... or real balls you have in your bag. Plenty of sim balls are of poor quality... direction and distance penalty! Another thing I do is put a narrow strip of white tape along the top line where the crown meets the driver face. The black face and crown of my woods do not make me feel comfortable when hitting in the darkened booth. There are certainly other tips but these have worked for me. I play a once week scramble indoors as well as a half hour practice session on a different day. Have I fallen in love with simulator golf? Absolutely not but at the same time I can honestly say I start the outdoor season better than when I only went to the gym! A 5 month layoff was a killer to my early season game.
 
So recently I have struggled to hit driver indoors on the simulator. It's real bad, a few normal ones then it looks like I've never golfed before. Don't have the problem with any other clubs. Even tried not to look at the numbers to make sure I was not swinging to hard. Then I went out and had no problems at the real range/course.

What's wrong with me?

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

I don't know but I have the exact same problem. Irons? No problem. Hybrids, no problem. Put a wood or Driver in my hands, and I look like I have never hit a club in my life. The struggle is real. It has gotten to the point where I just hit the Driver to get a feel of it. Good luck!
 
So recently I have struggled to hit driver indoors on the simulator. It's real bad, a few normal ones then it looks like I've never golfed before. Don't have the problem with any other clubs. Even tried not to look at the numbers to make sure I was not swinging to hard. Then I went out and had no problems at the real range/course.

What's wrong with me?

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

I'm the same way. I know it's mental but to me it's the tee height. I can't adjust it like I can outdoors and always feel like it's teed up "too high" and find myself adjusting my swing.
 
Today hit driver great outdoors

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top