Erik_K
New
Man, am I struggling with this club. For the longest time my miss (typical driver shot for me) is a very high skyball that maybe goes 150 yards. You can see the ball mark on the top of the face, even on the top of the head itself.
The path must be very steep and it's not uncommon for me to nail the turf behind the ball.
I normally practice with my 7-9 iron and this might account for the steep path. You can sort of get away with a steep path with those clubs since you want to trap the ball. Video by Damon Lucas confirms the steep path from down the line.
Today at the range, I was focusing on having the hips more open at impact but swinging the club a bit more out to right field. The contact was better, but closing the face is a real issue. I mean there is vicious slice - at least 50+ yards off line. To compensate I might overcook twistaway or even address the ball with a slightly shut face. Often the result is a mega pull to the left.
Also for solid contact it feels is if I need to focus on sort of hitting 'up' on the ball. This might be a reaction to the fear of burying the driver behind the ball and thinking of hitting up might level out the path.
This is so frustrating!
From the video I've seen, there is too big of a move forward coupled with a steep path down to the ball. I've been toying with the feeling of 'skipping a stone' with the right side and on video, it seems that my lower body doesn't participate in the strike. Rather my upperbody is kind of moving around the lower. The hips are square or sometimes closed at impact. Obviously poor lower body action can contribute to path problems.
Thoughts?
Any drills for better driver contact?
Erik
The path must be very steep and it's not uncommon for me to nail the turf behind the ball.
I normally practice with my 7-9 iron and this might account for the steep path. You can sort of get away with a steep path with those clubs since you want to trap the ball. Video by Damon Lucas confirms the steep path from down the line.
Today at the range, I was focusing on having the hips more open at impact but swinging the club a bit more out to right field. The contact was better, but closing the face is a real issue. I mean there is vicious slice - at least 50+ yards off line. To compensate I might overcook twistaway or even address the ball with a slightly shut face. Often the result is a mega pull to the left.
Also for solid contact it feels is if I need to focus on sort of hitting 'up' on the ball. This might be a reaction to the fear of burying the driver behind the ball and thinking of hitting up might level out the path.
This is so frustrating!
From the video I've seen, there is too big of a move forward coupled with a steep path down to the ball. I've been toying with the feeling of 'skipping a stone' with the right side and on video, it seems that my lower body doesn't participate in the strike. Rather my upperbody is kind of moving around the lower. The hips are square or sometimes closed at impact. Obviously poor lower body action can contribute to path problems.
Thoughts?
Any drills for better driver contact?
Erik
