Trajectory Question

[Treehog]

I'm hitting a Taylormade R7 draw 10.5* driver right now, and while I absolutely love the club and don't plan on changing it anytime soon, I have a question about lowering my trajectory to get some roll. I'm not super-long off the tee, but lately I've been getting 220-260 yds, but absolutely no roll. The ball comes down so steep that it's not uncommon for the ball to be inches from the mark it makes on impact.
I'm not sure if that's just how the club plays, or just how it plays for me. I'm not having any trouble keeping it in the fairway, and I'm satisfied with the distance (as long as my golf buddies are still only hitting 200 ) but if I can get a little roll, I'd certainly be happy with it.
My other thought is that if I'm hitting on a lower trajectory, the ball will likely be landing shorter and may only roll to where it's landing now, with a net gain of zero. If that is likely the case then I suppose there's no point in trying to change anything. Before you ask, I don't have a video of my swing.
Thoughts?

 

[twofast2s]

it's not the trajectory, it's the spin off of your driver.

get that checked out. you want your drives to launch high and low spin.

 

[Treehog]

High isn't a problem. How can I tell if I'm getting a lot of spin? The ball doesn't move much in the air left or right. Maybe a little bit of a draw. It just seems like it's coming down at about an 85 degree angle.
I've tried the tee at different heights, highest with half the ball above the clubface, lowest almost to the deck. Results are pretty much the same.
I suppose if I really want to change it I should see my local pro.

 

[Manavs]

find yourself a club fitter that has a launch monitor and ask for a ball fitting. or better yet, go to one of those bridgestone challenges. they;re great at what they do and have all different balls from different manufactures to help you find your best.

otherwise buy yourself 5-10 different sleeves of balls and do your own testing on a secluded hole with a forecaddy with a shag bag (old school) and laser range finder (new school)

 

[twofast2s]

High isn't a problem. How can I tell if I'm getting a lot of spin? The ball doesn't move much in the air left or right. Maybe a little bit of a draw. It just seems like it's coming down at about an 85 degree angle.
I've tried the tee at different heights, highest with half the ball above the clubface, lowest almost to the deck. Results are pretty much the same.
I suppose if I really want to change it I should see my local pro.

when your ball is found not too far from the mark where it landed, you have too much spin, or the fairway is really wet.

however, you may have a combo where the ball flattens out at the apex of the trajectory and just falls down. but trust me, your ball isn't falling at 85* angle. you won't be able to accurately see the decending flight from 200+yds away unless you use launch monitor.

but if you want to lower the trajectory,

decrease the tilt at address position, this will put your shoulder more even/parallel to the ground. you'll also noticed that the ball will be closer to center of your stance. this is what i do if i want to lower trajectory in windy condition, but i also switch out my driver to 8.5*

 

[cypressperch]

When you dramatically change the height of your tee and get the same results, there has to be something (or some things) changing in the swing for the results to be the same. Usually, the lower the tee, the lower on the clubface contact will be made. There is less loft there than in the center of the face and above the center of the face has even more loft.
Many teachers today want us to raise that tee and make a pass at the ball that results in contact above the center of the face.

Your yardages seem to have you right between two different ways of hitting drives. Your longer drives indicate sufficient clubhead speed to use a driver with less loft. The idea is to hit the ball so hard that your carry is determined mainly by ball velocity.

Your shorter drives are of such length as to suggest that you would be better off with a much more lofted driver, such as 12* or more. This extra loft gets the ball up easier, and there is more spin. When velocity is reduced, more spin means greater hang time and thus more carry, more distance.

Personally, I have gone to more loft, and it has been a truly great move for me. I just try to make good contact which means not trying to muscle it. The ball is going 5-10 yards farther with less effort. And a great advantage not discussed very often is that more loft means more control. I use to hit three-woods on various holes to play it safe. 12* loft on my driver makes it more like a three-wood when it comes to control than a driver with little loft. You may have heard that many people hit their three-woods farther than their driver. Other factors are involved, but a major factor is that their driver had too little loft for their swing speed. Make good contact with a driver with considerable loft and make the same contact with a three-wood, a lower swing speed player will hit that driver considerably farther than the three-wood. And your shaft will almost always be a regular flex.

Cypressperch

 

[ezra76]

Ultimately I'd suggest going to a pro for a lesson and talk about your driver setup with him. Then get on a launch monitor.

Judging by your distances, if accurate, I'd venture to guess you have a fairly good swing speed but inconsistant swing. This happens to me as well, not a big deal. It comes down to really finding what shafts will work for you best. I've got a short list of driver shafts that'll work well in pretty much any driver head for me.

Also, sounds like you have good distance potential. I'd suggest using a 3W more often and see what that does for you distance and accuracy wise. I use a 13* one because it gives me more distance and a lower, more controllable ballflight off the tee. You might be very surprised to find, like me, that the 3W is way more accurate and consistantly right on the heels of the driver distance. When you can hit a driver over 250 in the air, distance is not an issue, accuracy is in my experience. It took me many rounds of playing with guys that break 80, only hitting a driver as long as my 5wood, to get that through my head.

 

[Treehog]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'll be meeting with a local pro soon to see what I can sort out.

 

[dave.]

You may be coming in to steep, try moving forward an inch, moving the weight to approx 60% favouring back foot and making sure the hands are slightly behind the ball at address. Plus maybe change the ball to a lower spinning ball. Or any combination of the above.

A new ball may help alone

 

[Treehog]

The only balls that I've been playing lately are Callaway HX Tour and Bridgestone E6+.