Four Keys to Hitting a 460cc Driver

[InnovexGolf]

Four Keys to Hitting a 460cc Driver By Kevin M. Downey, Innovex Golf Company © 2005, Kevin M. Downey The key to hitting the ball farther with the modern driver and golf ball (which spin much less off of a flat face than balls of the past) is high launch combined with a low spin rate. Our goal is to get enough spin to achieve lift, while minimizing (hopefully eliminating) drag. Assuming that you have a driver with enough loft, here are four things that you can do to increase launch and decrease spin rate, thus increasing your distance off the tee: 1. Tee the ball higher. The old adage has always been that the top of the driver should be about half-way up the ball when it is teed up. However, with a 460cc driver, I like to see you set the ball high enough on a peg such that the top of the driver is no more than 1/3rd of the way up the ball. Of course, this means that the standard 2 1/8” tee will not be long enough to accommodate. You will need a tee at least 3” in length, but likely a little longer than this. 2. Move the ball forward in your stance (towards your left foot for a right-handed golfer). The notion of playing the ball off of your left heel is no longer valid. We want to hit the ball on the upswing, thus increasing launch angle and decreasing the ball’s spin rate. In order to do this, we must move the ball forward in our stance. For some golfers, it will be enough to play the ball off of your big toe, while for others it may be necessary to move the ball all the way up so that it is positioned outside of your left foot. Experiment with different ball positions – but, whatever you do, move the ball forward in your stance! 3. Set up to hit the ball on the center of the face. Most golfers set their driver on the ground at address. This results in a high percentage of driver shots being hit on the heel-side of the face, especially when we tee the ball higher. Test yourself this way: The next time you are at the range and set up to hit your driver, once in the address position stretch your arms out and move the club up to the ball’s height. Notice where the ball is going to contact the face of your driver? On the heel side – or possibly the hosel – of your driver. This is a very common problem for golfers – and it’s an awkward adjustment. The solution is very simple however. Instead of setting your driver behind the ball such that the center of the face is aligned with the ball, move backwards a couple of inches (towards your back) such that the TOE of your driver is aligned with the ball. Now do the test again. Stretch out your arms and pick the club up to the ball’s height. Is the ball aligned with the center of the driver face? If so, put the club back down and fire! If not, keep moving back until it is. Don’t worry that once you set the driver down that it doesn’t align with the ball – the ball isn’t on the ground. It’s three inches above the ground! 4. Hit the ball on the upswing. The driver is now a specialty club – much like a putter. Our set-up, ball position – everything is different from any other club in the bag. You shouldn’t be hitting the ball at the bottom – or apex – of the golf swing like a fairway wood. The ball should be struck past this point – on the upswing. This will lead to a higher launch angle and lower spin rate – which is how we are going to hit the ball farther than we ever have before.

[Rockford35]

But I have a 380cc driver. All this information is completely useless to me.

R35

[Youngun5]

that company is based in KS, they're always hosting demo days at my local driving range,

shame taylormade has me hooked....

[InnovexGolf]

Post is instructional... not intended to be spam. Moderators - if you have a problem with the post, please feel free to delete. Thanks, Kevin

[Slingblade61]

Got yer tail feathers singed pretty good over at DG, huh?

No worries kid.

[InnovexGolf]

We simply want to inform as many golfers as possible... should have introduced here and there before posting. My fault there. We already sponsor five forums, and post there all of the time, so I've kind of forgotten about all of the intro stuff we should do. We are looking to sponsor here and DG actually, but we dont' know whom to contact. Kevin

[Slingblade61]

The "here" would be me and I'm not sure I'm ready to sell my soul to a sponser just yet.

at DG the man is Golfnooch and I couldn't predict what his response might be.

[InnovexGolf]

If you prefer to not have a sponsor, that's great. Hey, not everybody does. If interested, that's fine.

If you would like me to contribute to the forum, I'm happy to. If not, no hard feelings.

Kevin

[SiberianDVM]

I went to the range last night, and after warming up with a few iron shots, I decided to hit the big dog for a while. My driver is a Hogan C-S3, technically not a 460cc but close enough.

I remembered this thread and decided to try out the suggestions; for one reason or another, I actually hit some good shots!

I teed up with 3" tees, and my complaint here is they they break after 1 hit. Does everyone do that?

I set the ball up close to a line from my left foot instep, considerably further foward than with any other club. Normally I have not done this with my driver, due to fear of slicing.

Set up for center hit on face and on slight upswing, check.

The other things I tried to keep in the back of my mind was to get a full shoulder turn; when I don't do this I tend to slice; straight left arm on backswing with left hand extended away from my body; proper weight shift.

Afte swinging the driver for 20 balls, I finished with 5 balls hit with a 7 iron. That club felt so small and light after the driver!

On my next trip to the range, I probably won't be able to hit worth a damn, but this trip felt fine.

[dtessier]

After trying this out at the range last week with mixed results, it finally clicked this weekend. After hitting a few way out left because I was trying to compensate for my usual slice, I finally got it through my thick skull to trust the swing; the best way to cure a slice is to play one. My best drive of the day (best drive ever, actually) came on the final hole. 314-yard par 4, my drive was straight down the middle, ended up about 20 yards short of the green. I estimated the distance at 275-280. Not bad, considering my previous best was about 250!

Thanks again for the tip.