Cannot get my drive up in the air anymore!!! Why?

[greatdane]

When I first started playing a year ago, every drive was a high looping slice. Then I got a different driver(TM R5 Draw Face). Well I started hitting alot more line drives then (but straight). But NOW I cannot get the ball off the ground more than 10 feet with a hard hook back into the ground! These things have some major top spin on them! It's embarasing! I hit 30 in a row every one doing the same thing, up fast and down faster! HELP

 

[Rockford35]

Sounds like you have too strong a grip.

If you're a righty, try and move your right hand on the grip so that the "V" of your thumb and forefinger are pointing at your right shoulder. This is a weak grip. It'll feel goofy at first, but it will help with you turning over and smothering the ball. Be patient - swing changes take time.

If you're a lefty, do the opposite to what's listed above.

R35

 

[eclark53520]

Yup, what Rock said.

I went through the same exact system you did. Big slice, to fix it I took a very strong grip. Well, that's a bandaid for a bad swing. Once i fixed my swing plane, it was causing problems so i had to weaken my grip.

 

[Rockford35]

Yep, great term there - band-aid.

What this fortifies in your mind is being more on plane. Being so open will inhibit that close down on the face and get a better feel for a release rather than a smother.

In the end, being on plane is key. Once you get the feel of where you should be thru the swing, the grip will return to "normal" and you'll be cured.

Warning: none of the above will fix your putting.

R35

 

[anonymous golfaholic]

I feel the op. I mastered the smothered duck hook. The only positive is you rarely hit the the ball OB.

Everyone is different obviously but just changing my grip didn't help me get rid of it. It helped but it would come back occasionally. In my opinion, a neutral or slightly weak grip is the best way to go. So I would definitely take Rocks advice as far as the grip goes. But if you're doing what I was doing, weakening your grip won't completely fix it.

I was shutting the club face during my take away. At the top of my backswing the face was jacked completely shut. At that point there was hardly anything I could do to hold it off coming down. This resulted in a lead arm chicken wing on my follow through and all kinds of nasty hook spin.

The way I finally cured the problem was to make sure I had the club face square through out my backswing. During the start of backswing, when the shaft is parallel to the ground, the clubface should be perpendicular to the ground in order to be square, if it's shut, it will be facing the ground. If you can keep the face square or even slightly open during the backswing(along with a weak or neutral grip), it makes it very hard to hit the smothered hook. Your ball flight will be significantly higher and your fade might come back if you don't release the club through impact. Even draws will have a higher trajectory.

I hope this helps.

 

[greatdane]

I bought a cheap 13 deg driver to help get the ball in the air more! Now to fix my swing....
These tips make sense but, it doesn't seem like I am swinging any different than when I first started though??? Maybe a change in equipment will help some?

 

[Rockford35]

It won't matter what club you have in your hands, if the face isn't square at impact, you're effed.

Golf is a simple, simple game if you think about it. As long as the face is square during the moment it compresses the ball, you're fine. How the clubhead gets there is your own adventure.

More loft won't help. It might make the duck hooks more spectacular, but it won't help.

I suggest investing a few bucks in a couple lessons from a local pro. He'll be able to "straighten" you out in no time flat. Money well spent, IMO.

R35

 

[nututhugame]

I bought a cheap 13 deg driver to help get the ball in the air more! Now to fix my swing....
These tips make sense but, it doesn't seem like I am swinging any different than when I first started though??? Maybe a change in equipment will help some?

Any reason to ho is a good one, but seriously... It may also be in the setup. For a moment there I was hitting my big stick with almost a descending blow (with an early release) and got the same result as you've been getting. A new club wont help, albeit fun to get. I checked my setup from top to bottom and remembered that with driver you should be having a slightly ascending blow. Doing that while checking other things off the list, (swaying, squatting, lifting my head, ball position, etc...) got me back in the ballpark I was supposed to be in.

 

[greatdane]

Welp went to the range last night (with my old driver TM R5) and couldn't hit a lick! I tried changing grips and different ball positions. Most off my drives looked like a major league curve ball and went about as far too! The only 2 drives that I hit good, I felt like I turned my left wrist right at the point of contact and kept my weight back some. They went strait and kinda high about 250 yards. But when I tried to duplicate it ...duck hook, after shank left, after duck hook left, after worm burner!!!! AAARRGGHHH!
I was even pulling some irons left now! I never use to hit a hook, now its ALL I'm hitting.
Is it possible to be putting to much weight forward? Are you suppose to turn your wrists at impact any?

 

[nututhugame]

I don't think you should turn your wrists consciously, like rolling them over. The release should happen naturally with your turn. I mean picture trying to have a decent follow through without release... couldn't happen. It's not something you have to try to do. When people use a strong grip I think it's because that grip puts the clubhead @ square at the impact point in their turn (or swing). It's just like precocking the release if that makes sense to ya... like they do that to not have to roll their wrists in an exaggerated fashion. They can stay "connected" through impact without having to manipulate w/ their wrists.

As for the weight... the driver being the one club you want to have an ascending blow with, you probably don't want all that weight on the front like you do with irons. That's part of what I was doing wrong just not that long ago. Too much weight in front and smothering the ball with a descending blow. I was doing just what you are a couple of weeks ago. Take what I say for what it's worth cause i'm definately no pro, but I feel like I can relate because of having just worked through it. Any advice I give are just my findings in that same struggle.

 

[greatdane]

Thanks for the tips fellas... I played a round this weekend and my driver still stunk but, I did hit a couple ok drives! I have started trying to slow down my swing and it is helping some. Losening my grip pressure and swinging easy is the key for me. I got the nike sq sumo lucky 13 in the mail today. So I'm going to see if it helps me get them in the air? I know its my swing but, it cant hurt to try something different for awhile!

 

[nututhugame]

That's another thing, the slowing down thing. I don't think it was ever meant to try to slow down clubhead speed. Rather, a better term would be to slow down one's TEMPO. In a lot of cases people note not losing that much or any distance when they "slow down their swing". I think when said people slow down their tempo a couple of things happen:
1)they hit the center of the club face more because...
2)they are able to remain in more control and...
3)may actually create MORE clubhead speed because...
4)they are not losing energy and momentum in a violent
transition from back to down swing.

I am guilty of committing sins against all of these facts, but these are the things I think about when the driver gets bad. They all relate to having or not having a good tempo.

 

[greatdane]

I can drive again! Whooohooo! Went out last night with the lucky 13 degree driver and it started out bad. Then I started really going through my swing thoughts & it started to click. The 13 degree is more forgiving on miss hits but when I put it down & started hitting my 10.5 again WOW!!! Next thing you know I was flying them over the 250 marker again. Here is what I did and it worked for me:

Took a weak grip with the club loose in my hands & thinking about my right hand more than my left. Take a smooth backswing and stay back on my right side as I come down through the ball. I thought about nothing but hitting the sweet spot with my right hand! All of a sudden the ball started jumping up in the air again! I really think I was thinking to much and trying to hard! I hit the driver great (for me) so I'm hoping it transfers to the course! Playing Thursday afternoon with my 10.5 driver. The lucky 13 will be my backup now because it is a more forgiving club IMO but lacks the distance of the 10.5. It was worth getting it though. It helped me get my swing right again!

 

[Hackin_Away]

Well, sounds like EXACTLY what i been dealing with too. Just went to the range today...not sure what I was doing differently for sure, but I know for one I felt like I was popping up during weight transfer on downswing, and causing me to hit the ball on my way up, causing massive front spin. That, and I felt like I was bending my left elbow at the top and getting out of alignment. So, i kept my left arm straight, flattened out my takeaway (exaggerating a reaching out through backswing to keep extended, and then making sure to stay down through the shot.

Then, I also added a little bit of snap at the end of the downswing to speed up at impact, and i was smackin em pretty good. Bout to try it out tomorrow at a skins game, see if I can again use my driver.

 

[Golfanatic]

4)they are not losing energy and momentum in a violent
transition from back to down swing.

Definitely agree.
Ive been starting my down swing almost 'slow' then building up speed rapidly up to the snap. I get much more control and distance doing it this way and don't kill my lower back doing that 'violent transition' at the top.
Ball seems to fly straighter.