10 replies to this topic

[Swisstrader98]

I'm pretty rock solid with my irons...crisp, accurate, nice ball flight, nice compression, etc. My driver on the other hand, while not bad is not anywhere near where my iron game is,

I hit it straight, but not all that long...with a swing speed of about 94MPH, hit it on average about 230-240. My pro indicates that its because I don't hit up on the ball and hit the driver more like an iron shot (hitting it a bit down).

I'm working with my pro on a couple things but wanted to get some quidance from others here on how best to hit up on the ball and how to get a bit more distance.

[gators78]

I did it by exaggerating a few things, closed my stance and body line a good bit, aiming down the right side of the fairway, making sure I set up in a good reverse K position, ball aligned with the outside part of my left root, and then thought of letting the club pass my hands as fast as possible at the ball. I'm sure some Slice expert on here will disagree, but it's worked wonders for me. The tough part is for a good iron swing it's the opposite.

Edited by gators78, 30 April 2012 - 09:44 PM.

[Cmartingolf]

gators78, on 30 April 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

I did by exaggerating a few things, closed my stance and body line a good bit, aiming down the right side of the fairway, making sure I set up in a good reverse K position, ball aligned with the outside part of my left root, and then thought of letting the club pass my hands as fast as possible at the ball. I'm sure some Slice expert on here will disagree, but it's worked wonders for me. The tough part is for a good irons swing it's the opposite.

You are pretty spot on...to hit up, you better aim your baseline (feet) to the right and get the ball forward. The "up" with a driver also produces a leftward starting direction because when the club is going up, it is also banking left on the arc. Downward strikes for shots played off the ground are going out to the right. Like you said, very different for great iron strikers, thus it is hard to be great at both.

[Swisstrader98]

The other thing Ive learned I do is that I actually scrap the ground a bit each time I hit a drive. Almost fits the "hitting down" with irons concept.

[Roland of Gilead]

The tip that helped me the most is a tennis analogy. I don't play tennis, but it has been helpful nonetheless. Pretty simple: on the downswing and through impact, I imagine I'm hitting a high forehand lob shot with topspin. So I'm getting onto my front foot (downswing pivot point) to start the downswing (or end my backswing, which is probably more correct), rotating hard left with my core, holding on to the angle between my forearm and the driver shaft (no flipping), and (hopefully) hitting up on the ball by imagining myself imparting topspin on the ball like the tennis lob shot. There really is no topspin, but a properly executed shot (which definitely doesn't happen every time, but is obvious when it does) is a missile that takes off dead straight and feels like a knuckleball before reaching its apex and gently falling to the right (I'm right handed). I did this twice, maybe three times in my Sunday round and the total distance was 20-30 yards greater than my less-than-ideally-struck-but-still-straight drives on that day.

Edited by Roland of Gilead, 01 May 2012 - 10:44 AM.

[BTO]

Swisstrader98, on 01 May 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

The other thing Ive learned I do is that I actually scrap the ground a bit each time I hit a drive. Almost fits the "hitting down" with irons concept.

Wish I had your problem. :-0 I'm the exact opposite. What I'm looking into now is if this is conducive to playing hockey all my life. Tremendous slap shot was known for my shooting the puck (not boasting, just stating a fact) and it transferred to golf in that I could always smash a ball with the driver but irons was another story. Not wanting to hi-jack the thread but wondering for my own satisfaction what other sports you might have played? As a side note in baseball I can still hear a guy on the other team yelling every time I was up, _don't throw it low_ alluding to my golfing habit. Sure wish I could hit your irons tho....want to trade? ;-)

[Swisstrader98]

BTO, on 01 May 2012 - 11:30 AM, said:

Swisstrader98, on 01 May 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

The other thing Ive learned I do is that I actually scrap the ground a bit each time I hit a drive. Almost fits the "hitting down" with irons concept.

Wish I had your problem. :-0 I'm the exact opposite. What I'm looking into now is if this is conducive to playing hockey all my life. Tremendous slap shot was known for my shooting the puck (not boasting, just stating a fact) and it transferred to golf in that I could always smash a ball with the driver but irons was another story. Not wanting to hi-jack the thread but wondering for my own satisfaction what other sports you might have played? As a side note in baseball I can still hear a guy on the other team yelling every time I was up, _don't throw it low_ alluding to my golfing habit. Sure wish I could hit your irons tho....want to trade? ;-)

Funny stuff! The ONLY other sport played was high school wrestling and I'm sure people can conjure up all sorts of wrestling/golf analogies but they allude me at the moment

My biggest learning lesson with irons has been to simply hit DOWN on the ball. No real swing mechanics, no concerns about single plane or two plane, nada. Just hit down on the ball. Best training device for me was the Tour Striker. Basically the club is designed so that if youre not hitting down, you'll end up hitting worm burners.

Went to my pro today and he pointed out two things that helped quite a bit and really are back to basics...1) lighter grip pressure and 2) narrow my stance (somehow I started getting into a baseball stance. Still a work in progress though.

[Swisstrader98]

Roland of Gilead, on 01 May 2012 - 10:43 AM, said:

The tip that helped me the most is a tennis analogy. I don't play tennis, but it has been helpful nonetheless. Pretty simple: on the downswing and through impact, I imagine I'm hitting a high forehand lob shot with topspin. So I'm getting onto my front foot (downswing pivot point) to start the downswing (or end my backswing, which is probably more correct), rotating hard left with my core, holding on to the angle between my forearm and the driver shaft (no flipping), and (hopefully) hitting up on the ball by imagining myself imparting topspin on the ball like the tennis lob shot. There really is no topspin, but a properly executed shot (which definitely doesn't happen every time, but is obvious when it does) is a missile that takes off dead straight and feels like a knuckleball before reaching its apex and gently falling to the right (I'm right handed). I did this twice, maybe three times in my Sunday round and the total distance was 20-30 yards greater than my less-than-ideally-struck-but-still-straight drives on that day.

Interesting....just not sure I get it. What does a tennis lobshot look like (also no clue about tennis).

[gators78]

Swisstrader98, on 01 May 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

BTO, on 01 May 2012 - 11:30 AM, said:

Swisstrader98, on 01 May 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

The other thing Ive learned I do is that I actually scrap the ground a bit each time I hit a drive. Almost fits the "hitting down" with irons concept.

Wish I had your problem. :-0 I'm the exact opposite. What I'm looking into now is if this is conducive to playing hockey all my life. Tremendous slap shot was known for my shooting the puck (not boasting, just stating a fact) and it transferred to golf in that I could always smash a ball with the driver but irons was another story. Not wanting to hi-jack the thread but wondering for my own satisfaction what other sports you might have played? As a side note in baseball I can still hear a guy on the other team yelling every time I was up, _don't throw it low_ alluding to my golfing habit. Sure wish I could hit your irons tho....want to trade? ;-)

Funny stuff! The ONLY other sport played was high school wrestling and I'm sure people can conjure up all sorts of wrestling/golf analogies but they allude me at the moment

My biggest learning lesson with irons has been to simply hit DOWN on the ball. No real swing mechanics, no concerns about single plane or two plane, nada. Just hit down on the ball. Best training device for me was the Tour Striker. Basically the club is designed so that if youre not hitting down, you'll end up hitting worm burners.

Went to my pro today and he pointed out two things that helped quite a bit and really are back to basics...1) lighter grip pressure and 2) narrow my stance (somehow I started getting into a baseball stance. Still a work in progress though.

Narrow stance to hit up?

[Roland of Gilead]

Swisstrader98, on 01 May 2012 - 06:37 PM, said:

Roland of Gilead, on 01 May 2012 - 10:43 AM, said:

The tip that helped me the most is a tennis analogy. I don't play tennis, but it has been helpful nonetheless. Pretty simple: on the downswing and through impact, I imagine I'm hitting a high forehand lob shot with topspin. So I'm getting onto my front foot (downswing pivot point) to start the downswing (or end my backswing, which is probably more correct), rotating hard left with my core, holding on to the angle between my forearm and the driver shaft (no flipping), and (hopefully) hitting up on the ball by imagining myself imparting topspin on the ball like the tennis lob shot. There really is no topspin, but a properly executed shot (which definitely doesn't happen every time, but is obvious when it does) is a missile that takes off dead straight and feels like a knuckleball before reaching its apex and gently falling to the right (I'm right handed). I did this twice, maybe three times in my Sunday round and the total distance was 20-30 yards greater than my less-than-ideally-struck-but-still-straight drives on that day.

Interesting....just not sure I get it. What does a tennis lobshot look like (also no clue about tennis).

This video explains it pretty well. I also found it decently funny. The analogy just helped me with getting a feel for hitting up on the ball, but you have to get into a good impact position with a hard pivot as well.

[Swisstrader98]

Not really narrow stance equals hitting up on the ball, just more of a back to basics fundamentals fix.

gators78, on 01 May 2012 - 07:02 PM, said:

Narrow stance to hit up?