Why Do I Have So Much Trouble Driving?

Zak Flaps

Hi.

I've been using an old steel shafted 3 wood to drive the ball for the last couple of years. Time to get a new driver.

I've tried a few of these modern big drivers during the last year or so.
My problem is, I can't seem to hit them that far. It's very frustrating.
They seem to go around the same length as my 5 iron (approx 180/190 yards I'd say). My old 3 wood would go maybe 220 on a good hit.

Why am I having trouble with these drivers? Will I improve? I'm not used to them so hopefully it's just practice I need.
I can get the ball airbourne, but it doesn't go as far as I'd like it to.
I think the length of the club is probably off-putting a little. Is it just a matter of getting used to that to? (i've always felt uncomfortable hitting long clubs)
I choked down on the club but that didn't really solve the problem.
Does anyone have any drills, or can they point me to some youtube vids that may help?

I'd be very grateful!

Zak.

(PS: My handicap is 18, i hit my irons well....mostly!)

rafared

Hi Zak. Ive never seen you swing but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you flip the club at impact. The reason I say this is because a lot of your clubs go the same distance which means you must be adding loft to the shot at impact by flipping. The only way to tell for sure would be video and get somebody with the knowledge to analyse it for you but I'll have a small wager wtih you that you flip the clubhead past your hands at impact.
The good news is that you can correct this with a few drills and practice.
Before you do anything though check out a teacher called Brian Manzella.
He has a great video called "Confessions of a former flipper" and you can download it for 10$ form here
http://www.brianmanzella.com/content/

http://www.brianmanzella.com/shop/
His forum makes for great reading and his you tube videos are great I think. If you do download the video Id love to hear what you think of it.
Buy the way I have no affiliation or connection with this site in anyway shape of form bar being a member of the forum.

Zak Flaps

rafared wrote: »

Hi Zak. Ive never seen you swing but I'd bet dollars to doughnuts you flip the club at impact. The reason I say this is because a lot of your clubs go the same distance which means you must be adding loft to the shot at impact by flipping. The only way to tell for sure would be video and get somebody with the knowledge to analyse it for you but I'll have a small wager wtih you that you flip the clubhead past your hands at impact.
The good news is that you can correct this with a few drills and practice.
Before you do anything though check out a teacher called Brian Manzella.
He has a great video called "Confessions of a former flipper" and you can download it for 10$ form here
http://www.brianmanzella.com/content/

http://www.brianmanzella.com/shop/
His forum makes for great reading and his you tube videos are great I think. If you do download the video Id love to hear what you think of it.
Buy the way I have no affiliation or connection with this site in anyway shape of form bar being a member of the forum.

You could be right rafared. Maybe I do flip. I hit the irons pretty well, so i didn't think I was flipping, but maybe I am. I filmed myself before (with my iphone) but it's hard to tell if i'm flipping as it just blurs at the impact position!!!
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll try Brian's video and let you know how I get on.

Zak.

PS: I recognise your name from the golf forum, so I know you're not affiliated with the site!

LostPassword

If you hit your 5 iron 180-190 yards with any reliability, your swing is probably fine. Maybe you're hitting your driver on the downswing, like you should with your irons, rather than on the upswing as you're supposed to. I sometimes do this and it produces an ugly 180-200 yard low draw rather than the high 260 yard fades that I normally hit.

Keano

LostPassword wrote: »

If you hit your 5 iron 180-190 yards with any reliability, your swing is probably fine. Maybe you're hitting your driver on the downswing, like you should with your irons, rather than on the upswing as you're supposed to. I sometimes do this and it produces an ugly 180-200 yard low draw rather than the high 260 yard fades that I normally hit.

I was thinking the same.

OP where do you position the ball when you are driving?

Zak Flaps

Hi guys.

I position the ball where you're usually supposed to. Forward in my stance, off my left heel.

(i slice it more often than not)

Jul3s

Sounds like your grip is all wrong OP, change that slightly and you'll hit you driver as well as your irons in no time.

AldilaMan

A lot of short driving can be due to hitting at the ball rather than hitting right through the ball. Watch your finishing position with the club. If you go right throught the ball the clubhead should finish behind you with the but of the grip pointing at the target.

k.p.h

Why don't you post a video of your swing dude (thread started).. That way people can point you in the right direction a bit easier.. I must say the advice I get earlier this year on their was great (from stackdam) really got me working on the basics like setup and posture.

Also a lesson is probably the best way to go in reality.! The problem with a golf swing is that it's a not as natural as people would like to make out so when we swing more often than not what we feel like we are doing is completely different to what we actually are doing.

Also I would be wary of (most) quick fixs and similar things. As a lot of times they can get you going OK for a round or sometimes even two, but eventually their effectiveness will wear off and you will be back where you started and feeling very frustrated. Well thats how I felt anyway..

I think the best way to go about sorting out a swing is to start from the beginning and work you way through the fundamentals until you find a swing that works for you. So something like
grooving a neutral grip, then working on posture and set-up. And then work on getting a nice smooth back swing that stays on plane and stays square. Their are plenty of other things to work on after that but I wouldn't be surprised if after working on the essentials for a few weeks you started to hit the ball really well.

Also a mirror or even a patio door are very useful when working on the fundamentals. It's pretty important that you get some feedback so being able to see yourself is important.

stockdam

k.p.h wrote: »

I must say the advice I get earlier this year on their was great (from stackdam) really got me working on the basics like setup and posture.

Thanks k.p.h.
I'm just a duffer like most people here and I'd always advise people to go to an expert that really knows the basics.

k.p.h

stockdam wrote: »

Thanks k.p.h.
I'm just a duffer like most people here and I'd always advise people to go to an expert that really knows the basics.

Yup I agree with that completely now too (even though I'v never taken a lesson). Being an unemployed bum (aka student) my golf budget weekly is about 30e so money for a lesson is hard to come by (20e for an away game, 7e for home singles and 7e for weekend game, yeah thats 34e, I just go without a meal ).So I decided to go it alone using whatever resources I could get my hands on from books to dvd's and magazines and anything I could find on the net.

Now that great and their is plenty of good info out their but their is also as much if not more bad or suspect info out their also. It's not hard to get led astray as an huge amount of stuff in contradicting.

To go on further and compound the problem one of the biggest problems is mis interpretation of the instruction. Simple tips that are correct if interpreted literally or incorrectly can lead to disastrous results in terms of building a reliable swing. I have definitely led myself (and seen other people led) on a merry little dance like this. Thats where an instructor that knows his/her stuff would really be worthwhile. If even just to clarify a term or show you an example. And probably most importantly give some feedback on what you are actually doing.

Anyway yeah thats just a bit of a long winded way of saying if you want to improve faster and more efficiently going to see a pro is the only logical way to go .. :pac:

Zak Flaps

OK, I took the advice of k.p.h and posted a few swings here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055541970&page=10

I can see a few problems already. Hopefully some of you guys can help me out.

Thanks a mill.

Zak.

GreeBo

Zak Flaps wrote: »

OK, I took the advice of k.p.h and posted a few swings here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055541970&page=10

I can see a few problems already. Hopefully some of you guys can help me out.

Thanks a mill.

Zak.

I would say that your swing stops when it gets to your hips.
You have a full shoulder turn but nothing at the hips, this is restricting your backswing length and may be contributing to the narrowness of your swing overall.

Zak Flaps

GreeBo wrote: »

I would say that your swing stops when it gets to your hips.
You have a full shoulder turn but nothing at the hips, this is restricting your backswing length and may be contributing to the narrowness of your swing overall.

I just had a look at my swing again there. I suppose my shoulder turn is nearly at 90 degrees or so. Maybe a little less. I know that golf teaching suggests my hip turn should be approx 45 degrees. Mine sometimes only seems to be around 25 or 30 degrees. Will work on that also. I assume that will help me complete the backswing.
Thanks GreeBo for pointing that out.