Driving the Ball too high

GreeBo

Hey,

Yesterday a playing partner commented that I drive the ball very high. Now this isnt news to me but I got chatting mentioned that I often find my drives within a foot of their plug mark; not a huge issue in summer but can mean lost balls in winter. He said he had a similar issue (with a different club and got it solved)

Im using a Cobra 44sz with a stiff shaft and 9.5 degrees of loft. Hitting it very well out of the middle of the club (impact tape) and its going over 250 but its all carry. He reckons Im loosing 20-30 of roll in summer.

He had some theories on why but id be interested on other opinions before I pollute your ideas with his.;)

Cheers.

ThunderCat

It could be a case that the ball is tee'd up very far up in your stance (ie) in line with the end of your left foot. This would mean that you are catching the ball as your club is coming up on the follow through resulting in a high drive. This could be remidied by teeing the ball just inside your left foot which is a little further back in your stance. But to be honest with you though, if you are carrying the ball 250 and you are finding the fairway then I wouldnt change a thing. If the ball plugs in the winter then you have placing on fairways anyway. Into the wind it might be a good idea to tee the ball lower. You shouldn't let this "high drive" thing play on your mind too much because you might find if you go changing things around, you'll feck the whole lot up.

PeterJamesDoyle

Cobra's have been renowned over the years for high ball flight. Do you tee the ball high? Do you catch it on the top of the face? That causes the ball to launch a little higher also, and robs you of a few precious yards.
I mate is using a FT9 and always tends to tee it high. It goes nowhere, so I whisper in his ear, to lower it a bit. When he does, the flight is much more penetrating.
Cobra's are extremely forgiving, but unless you are buying a 8.5 or something similar, you will keep hitting it high.

PhilipMarlowe

If I wanted to try and hit a low drive, I would always tee the ball up a bit higher. Usually if the ball is teed low then the I'd tend to hit it with a steeper swing which would launch the ball higher (and probably fade/slice like the bejasus).

kagni

Most standard Cobra drivers have a closed face. 2-3 degrees is normal enough for them. If yours is 3 degrees closed it will have a loft of 12.5 degrees when you hit the ball squarely. Added to this the loft might not be exactly 9.5 deg and could be up to 1 deg higher, so it could actually be 13.5 degrees.
Have you tried other 9.5 deg drivers to see if they hit any lower?

soundsham

Licksy wrote: »

If I wanted to try and hit a low drive, I would always tee the ball up a bit higher. Usually if the ball is teed low then the I'd tend to hit it with a steeper swing which would launch the ball higher (and probably fade/slice like the bejasus).

have to disagree here
i tee it down to hit it lower...works a treat
what your saying is you have a steeper swing............doh its obviously spinning more thus going higher

RD77

Maybe it could be your shaft. Ask your local pro about trying out drivers with stiff shafts but a stiffer tip which gives a lower ball flight. What shaft are you using now?

GreeBo

RD77 wrote: »

Maybe it could be your shaft. Ask your local pro about trying out drivers with stiff shafts but a stiffer tip which gives a lower ball flight. What shaft are you using now?

This is exactly what the guy I was playing with said. He had the same issues and a new shaft fixed it for him.
It just has the standard stiff, mid-kick shaft in it.
I used to use a 10.5 Regular shaft version but had to switch when it became illegal and they only had the 9 in a stiff. Honestly Im not seeing much difference in height.

Im going to try a few other clubs rather than mess with the shaft in my one, if needs be then I can just go back to it.

In summer its not an issue but in winter I can lose a ball every 4 holes by just being a yard off the fairway and the ball plugs and is never seen again.

I tee the ball up using the "standard"(?) 70mm tees with the lip on them, teed up with the tee fully in the ground and the ball opposite the middle-to-outside of my left foot. I am hitting the ball out of the middle of the club and teeing it lower doesnt seem to make any difference to the flight.

Any drivers (2nd hand!) that anyone recommends trying out? I have a TM to try but its 10.5 R so not sure if that will suit.

Thanks!

kingshankly

You are possibly hitting the ball on your up swing,experiment moving the ball inside your left foot

Henry Ford III

What handicap are you playing off OP?

There are a couple of simple fixes. Try these on the range, not the course.

1/. Ball position. You should always hit a driver "on the up". However the ball may be too far forward at address. Try bringing it back an inch or so towards the middle of your stance. Don't overdo it.

2/. Hands. Push these forward a touch at address. Will have the effect of delofting the club a fraction.

p.s. I don't understand what a closed face has to do with increasing loft

GreeBo

Henry Ford III wrote: »

What handicap are you playing off OP?

There are a couple of simple fixes. Try these on the range, not the course.

1/. Ball position. You should always hit a driver "on the up". However the ball may be too far forward at address. Try bringing it back an inch or so towards the middle of your stance. Don't overdo it.

2/. Hands. Push these forward a touch at address. Will have the effect of delofting the club a fraction.

p.s. I don't understand what a closed face has to do with increasing loft

Im off 10.5 due to not being able to putt (see my recent 41 putts for a 70 thread )

Im going to try moving it back a little, but whenever I have tried that before I dont seem to get as good a contact as I do now...
Hands are already forward at address, straight line between left arm and shaft. (Closing the face, hoods it and delofts it, same as you would open the face of a wedge to hit it higher..well its the opposite but I Think you get me )

Kimbot

First thing I would do is when in the range tee the ball slightly lower than normal. If this has no effect then move the ball back slightly in your stance.

BombSquad

GreeBo wrote: »

Hey,

Yesterday a playing partner commented that I drive the ball very high. Now this isnt news to me but I got chatting mentioned that I often find my drives within a foot of their plug mark; not a huge issue in summer but can mean lost balls in winter. He said he had a similar issue (with a different club and got it solved)

Im using a Cobra 44sz with a stiff shaft and 9.5 degrees of loft. Hitting it very well out of the middle of the club (impact tape) and its going over 250 but its all carry. He reckons Im loosing 20-30 of roll in summer.

He had some theories on why but id be interested on other opinions before I pollute your ideas with his.;)

Cheers.

Sounds like you're hitting it just fine. What's wrong with a high flight? Show me a long hitter who hits it low and relys on lots of run for distance. Here's a great (old) article on why people need a higher flight for more distance...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_11_54/ai_109467575/

If you really do have a problem why not get your driving analysed on a launch monitor. Get a professional to advise on a shaft, head and ball combination that will give you the same height on your shots but with less spin to give more roll (and stop ballooning if that's a problem).

ozymandias10

People also tee the ball high to fade and low to draw...If you tee to low you could end up hooking the ball.....the stance is the issue and easily rectified ..tee it up inside the left heel....I wouldn't do too much surgery because you hit it high

OilBeefHooked2

If it ain't broke, dont fix it.
Btw why do care so much when some ramdom guy comments on your ball flight?

Par72

GreeBo wrote: »

Im off 10.5 due to not being able to putt (see my recent 41 putts for a 70 thread )

You'd be better off focusing all your attention on your putting so. Not really a worthwhile exercise trying to get a few extra yards of roll off your driver when you can't putt it into a bucket.

ShriekingSheet

Licksy wrote: »

If I wanted to try and hit a low drive, I would always tee the ball up a bit higher. Usually if the ball is teed low then the I'd tend to hit it with a steeper swing which would launch the ball higher (and probably fade/slice like the bejasus).

soundsham wrote: »

have to disagree here
i tee it down to hit it lower...works a treat
what your saying is you have a steeper swing............doh its obviously spinning more thus going higher

Nope Soundsham, I'm with Licksy on this. In general, teeing the ball lower will not make the bulk of players hit it lower.

Higher tee = flatter swing and when will cause a lower trajectory.

Lower tee = more upright plane and a steeper swing = higher flight.

Of course, as in your case, this is far from the rule, especially with better players who have preferences they work with that don't necessarily fit the rule but work for them. Myself, for example, I play 90% of my drives from a relatively low tee (maybe a ball height). When I want to hit one high and long downwind, I'll tee it quite high and get it up and spinning forwards as quickly as possible. Into wind, I'll use a high tee again to fire one low - just with a different setup and swing. It's a contradiction of course but I'm just highlighting the fact that there's no hard and fast rule but for the bulk of players, my initial point is the case.

stockdam

If I want a low ball flight (into the wind say) then I tee the ball up higher. I don't ground the club and then I focus on hitting the ball with the bottom of the club (almost like a top........ok nothing like a top).

GreeBo

Par72 wrote: »

You'd be better off focusing all your attention on your putting so. Not really a worthwhile exercise trying to get a few extra yards of roll off your driver when you can't putt it into a bucket.

Ha!
Im already spending hours on the putting green, its just not transferring to the course at the moment. Last 2 rounds were captains prize and greens were running 12 on the stimpmeter so once I stopped trusting it all went pearshaped. When I can trust that my mind lags the ball better than my arms do Im fine.

Its not so much the extra yards that Im after, I already hit it far enough. Problem is ballooning into the wind and loosing balls on wet ground.

ShriekingSheet wrote:

I'll tee it quite high and get it up and spinning forwards as quickly as possible

Im sure you already know that the ball is still spinning backwards or it wouldnt get airborne....but some may not know so Im just pointing it out. Its a good mental thought to have though.

For me teeing it lower makes me feel that I need a more upright swing and Im more likley to make poor contact or even pop it up. When I have it teed up 50% above the face I can draw the club back along the ground and get a nice wide swing.


I went to the range at lunch with a few drivers inc my own to experiment a bit. I didnt see much difference in ball flight between any of the clubs (2 were 10.5%) I did seem to see a little lower flight by making sure it was inside my left heel but range balls and range landing area made it hard to determine how well the ball was flying. It did seem lower though, but not going as far.

soundsham

stockdam wrote: »

If I want a low ball flight (into the wind say) then I tee the ball up higher. I don't ground the club and then I focus on hitting the ball with the bottom of the club (almost like a top........ok nothing like a top).

i just find it so much easier to hit it off the bottom of the face by teeing it lower and keeping the same swing

and then tee it high too let it fly for a big high one downwind or for a higher flight

sorry the teeing it higher and then trying to hit if off the bottom is more difficult imo

Nemesis

ozymandias10 wrote: »

People also tee the ball high to fade and low to draw...If you tee to low you could end up hooking the ball.....the stance is the issue and easily rectified ..tee it up inside the left heel....I wouldn't do too much surgery because you hit it high

Hmm I tee it low to fade and high to draw..(well slice/hook :rolleyes: )

stockdam

soundsham wrote: »

i just find it so much easier to hit it off the bottom of the face by teeing it lower and keeping the same swing

and then tee it high too let it fly for a big high one downwind or for a higher flight

sorry the teeing it higher and then trying to hit if off the bottom is more difficult imo

I guess each person sees the shot differently. If I tee the ball low then I tend to cut it.

ozymandias10

Nemesis wrote: »

Hmm I tee it low to fade and high to draw..(well slice/hook :rolleyes: )

Are you left handed by any chance

GreeBo

ozymandias10 wrote: »

Are you left handed by any chance

I would do the same. I think the lower ball makes me swing more upright and tends to cause an out to in swingpath with the longer clubs. (its easier to pick the club up quicker if you go outside)

Myksyk

Nemesis wrote: »

Hmm I tee it low to fade and high to draw..(well slice/hook :rolleyes: )

This month's Golf Digest agrees with you and looks at shaping shots. Recommends a high teed ball for draws and low for fades.

Myksyk

By the way GreeBo are you quite wristy with your woods and irons? A quickly breaking wrist can mean coming into the ball steeper producing higher loft.

GreeBo

Myksyk wrote: »

By the way GreeBo are you quite wristy with your woods and irons? A quickly breaking wrist can mean coming into the ball steeper producing higher loft.

Nah I would say that Im not a wristy player at all, unless Im trying to do a major flop. (i.e. send it across the green at 3 feet high going like a shell )

But I went out again last night and have some updates (and you are not too far off I think)

1) Moving the ball back in my stance is hitting the ball lower, but its not going as far at all. Maybe 30 yrds short or where it goes when I have the ball opposite my left foot. The strike also doesnt seem as good.

2) While working on my ball contact and doing some weight transfer drills I noticed that I have a tendency to get stuck on my right foot, especially when I have a wider stance (like when driving!)
In an attempt to stop swaying it looks like Ive stopped all weight transfer in my swing.
My setup with a driver usually has ~70% of me weight on the right foot and right shoulder tilted down, problem is that I think Im getting stuck in this position and "heliping" the ball into the air. I get away with this off the tee as the ball is teed up but from the deck I have been having trouble hitting the ball a little thin.

Im also noticing that I am rarely taking divots these days with anything longer than a SW.

Worked on trasnfering the weight last night and was hitting the irons much more solidly and taking a divot with a 6i from a the tee. Was too late to try it with the driver but Im quietly confident.

Queue the disaster tonight

GreeBo

GreeBo wrote: »

Queue the disaster tonight

Out of interest (possibly only mine!) played 12 last night and was 2 over gross.
Including my first ever "real" eagle.
420m Par 5, Drive, 6 iron to 6 feet and holed the putt.

Driving was good, long, straight and lower ball flight.
Irons were crisp, more penetrating ball flight and longer.
Putting was good, 1 3-putt from 25 feet, a number of 1 putts.
Chipping was good, 2 chip-ins.

So the current fix seems to be working.

Thx for all the comments.

stockdam

So what did you change....your weight transfer? What things did you do differently?

GreeBo

stockdam wrote: »

So what did you change....your weight transfer? What things did you do differently?

Practicing the "two-step" drill for better weight transfer and taking that to the real shots.
It still feels like I'm swaying to me, but I guess thats because I havent been transferring my weight properlly for a long time.
Anyone comment on when its a transfer and when its a sway? Im thinking that as long as the weight doesnt go to the outside of each foot then you are ok?

<edit>
This guy goes even further and says it should go past the inside of your right foot on the way back.