Driver impact

[Little Brit]

I am currently having trouble hitting my driver on the top of the clubface, and fight with not hitting on the heel. Never low and to the front of the club. I set up with the ball off my left heel I have tried teeing lower but I usually hit badly doing that. I tee the ball up so that the top of the driver is half way up the ball. Could I be hitting down on it too much? Should I set up differently? Not sure what to do at this point.

Any pointers would be appreciated

 

[Burner]

I am currently having trouble hitting my driver on the top of the clubface, and fight with not hitting on the heel. Never low and to the front of the club. I set up with the ball off my left heel I have tried teeing lower but I usually hit badly doing that. I tee the ball up so that the top of the driver is half way up the ball. Could I be hitting down on it too much? Should I set up differently? Not sure what to do at this point.

Any pointers would be appreciated

Try looking at your grip first.
You may be rotating the clubface closed too much and smothering the ball at impact. Toe overtakes the heel into impact as the top of the clubface comes down.

 

[Little Brit]

I believe I have a neutral grip. Definately not strong. I now do twistaway and have a FLW at the top. Sometimes I leak a little right and when I do that I feel that I didn't quite finish my swing. When I correct it on the next shot I may over correct and pull or pull hook. Mainly I hit fairly well straight, but still lose distance from not hitting the sweetspot properly.

Hopefully that may give you a bit more info.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

I am currently having trouble hitting my driver on the top of the clubface, and fight with not hitting on the heel. Never low and to the front of the club. I set up with the ball off my left heel I have tried teeing lower but I usually hit badly doing that. I tee the ball up so that the top of the driver is half way up the ball. Could I be hitting down on it too much? Should I set up differently? Not sure what to do at this point.

Any pointers would be appreciated

Heel hits mean you are swinging too far inside/out and or dangerously close to lagging the sweetspot.

My guess is that you are too under plane and swinging too far the to the right.

 

[Little Brit]

Heel hits mean you are swinging too far inside/out and or dangerously close to lagging the sweetspot.

My guess is that you are too under plane and swinging too far the to the right.

Mmmmm could well be. Last time I was on a monitor every shot came from the inside. I have noticed that my right arm gets a bit sore from mild friction burn.

But wouldn't that mean that I would hit on the toe if I was pulling my arms in too much?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Mmmmm could well be. Last time I was on a monitor every shot came from the inside. I have noticed that my right arm gets a bit sore from mild friction burn.

But wouldn't that mean that I would hit on the toe if I was pulling my arms in too much?

Most toe hits are from coming outside-in/standing too far from the ball/plus many others.

You said you had a problem with heel hits.

 

[Little Brit]

Most toe hits are from coming outside-in/standing too far from the ball/plus many others.

You said you had a problem with heel hits.

Sorry if I am not making myself clear. I am definately hitting on the heel and the top of the clubface. I am pretty sure I come at the ball from the inside, maybe too much so. But if I picture in my mind coming down too much inside then my hands would be closer to my body and I would then hit on the toe wouldn't I? So I try to correct hitting on the heel by coming even more inside but that doesn't work.


Ok Jim, I just swung a club watching the lines on my floor and noticed that coming too inside is causing me to swing too out. Wow! hehe I have been working on an incorrect assumption. Thanks for you help. I will try to allow myself to come more out in the downswing. I had that problem last year, I had a pull and the pro was extolling the virtues of coming from the inside, but when he looked at my video was really surprised to see that I had the opposite problem. I just hadn't really visualized that I was going from in to out.

 

[dodger]

how do you prevent lagging the sweetspot ?

 

[Little Brit]

how do you prevent lagging the sweetspot ?

Well I have been working hard to lag the sweetspot. So I believe it is a good thing unless I am misconstruing things again.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

how do you prevent lagging the sweetspot ?

LOL that's what you WANT to do. What you want to prevent is

Lagging the HOSEL. That is where the shanks come from.

Do a search, Brian posted a free video on it.

 

[Perfect Impact]

You are standing too close to the ball, not allowing for the stretch in your arms that occurs during a forceful swing. Look at the facts: if the impacts are high on the toe at the heel of the club, they are an inch or two closer to YOU than they ought to be ("you" meaning "your sternum.") So move two inches "too far" from the ball, allow the toe of the club to sole where the ball is, and "try again" WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL DURING THE SWING OTHER THAN SWINGING. NO MANIPULATION, NO LUNGING, NO DIPPING; JUST SWING. If you top it you'll know you overdid the accommodation. It is not always a swing fault to mishit a ball: it is more often a measurement issue where you fail to account for changes from setup to impact positions and limb lengths, stretching, etc.

 

[dodger]

Makes sense now, I am trying to prevent hosel lag, terminology mistake, thanks for clarifying

 

[Little Brit]

You are standing too close to the ball, not allowing for the stretch in your arms that occurs during a forceful swing. Look at the facts: if the impacts are high on the toe at the heel of the club, they are an inch or two closer to YOU than they ought to be ("you" meaning "your sternum.") So move two inches "too far" from the ball, allow the toe of the club to sole where the ball is, and "try again" WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL DURING THE SWING OTHER THAN SWINGING. NO MANIPULATION, NO LUNGING, NO DIPPING; JUST SWING. If you top it you'll know you overdid the accommodation. It is not always a swing fault to mishit a ball: it is more often a measurement issue where you fail to account for changes from setup to impact positions and limb lengths, stretching, etc.

Thanks Perfect Impact, I did think of that one, but it really didn't work for me. I also tried actively pulling my arms in more through impact, which works somewhat but doesn't feel very repeatable. I am already being told that I am setting up with my driver too far away. (From trying to correct my problem) For some reason it doesn't work. I really think that coming too far inside which is causing me to do too much out, may be the problem,, so I will head out to the range and give that a try (When our yucky rainy weather clears up) My current swing thoughts are to not manipulate. But to get to the top, fall to get back onto my front leg then, using Brians skateboard visualization, keep my right hand bent right through to finish.

 

[Perfect Impact]

I should also have mentioned that IF you bend over too far, that lowers the orbit of your club, since your arms and club 'are heavy.'

Imagine batting a baseball with a heavy bat. The weight of your arms and bat might well cause the swinging club to come in too low and sky the ball -- pop fly.

In golf there is a critical angle between the spine and arms, looking down the line. If the arms "reach out," all support UNDER THE UPPER ARMS is removed, leaving you at the mercy of your best efforts and gravity. But if with a short club they hang, no force to pull the club down towards your feet will occur. If with a longer club they HAVE to reach out but the chest does not rise under the upper arms, they are like the batter with the heavy bat: so the chest NEEDS TO BE TILTED TO A MORE ERECT POSITION TO PROVIDE SUPPORT UNDER THE UPPER ARMS. Then the arms and club will be PREVENTED from falling.

What this means is to experiment with a MUCH taller feeling posture with your driver so that you almost have to TOP it because your orbit is FORCED to swing higher off the ground. Once you discover how this is so important and you HAVE topped a few, THEN BACK OFF and locate the middle between too much tilt forward and too LITTLE tilt forward.

When gravity works on you to pull your arms down to the ground as it must, you prevent it not with muscular effort and struggle, but with position that takes care of the problem.

I should have mentioned this to begin with. Once you CAN hit it "thinner" then it is a simple matter to stand further or closer feet-to-ball for centered impact AND to adjust your tilt for the best depth control / low point control of your clubhead orbit.

 

[Brian Manzella]

Here ya go Brit....

How to hit a Driver Right on the nose!

by Brian Manzella

1. Set-up with the ball off your left heel and the ball off the TOE of the club

2. Set-up with your head behind the ball

3. Set-up with your right foot pulled back slightly from the target line

4. Set-up with your right shoulder AWAY form the ball (without closing your shoulders)

5. Set-up with your belt buckle pointed to the right of the clubhead

6. Swing the club back slight to the inside

7. BURY your right shoulder on the backswing

8. From the top make sure you keep your tailbone ahead of your neckbone

9. Swing "under the stick"

10. Hit PAST your head

11. At impact get your left shoulder and left hip as far away the ball as you can

 

[bendet3]

Love it when you do these short lists. Can you clarify "Bury" your right shoulder on the backswing (#7)?

 

[Brian Manzella]

The Late Bill Strashbaugh said it...

I, Brian Manzella, give credit when credit is due.

Mr. Bill loved this image. He was a VERY NICE man, and he is missed by many.

What I think he meant by this, is that you want to feel like your right shoulder DOESN'T GET ANY HIGHER ON THE BACKSWING (of course it does, but try to feel like it doesn't—the FLAT shoulder turn), and turn it EARLY.

The way some people explain the "Right Forearm Takeaway" —incorrectly in my (and other noted Golfing Machine experts) opinions—makes golfers NOT turn the sholuder enough.

Bury it, baby, BURY IT.

And then thank Mr. Ed.

 

[Little Brit]

Wooo hooo. Thanks Brian I will tick of the checklist one by one until I can see where I am going wrong.

One question on set up which tends to confuse me with the driver set up is when you set up with the hands mid body, the face of the club can't sit square to the target, it either closes or you have to tilt it up. Or set up so your hands are not mid body. I hope you understand what I am saying, it is hard to describe, I must sound like a dork

 

[birdie_man]

That's a great list Brian...

I'm gonna give it to my dad.

He's been driving like crap. (the setup alone will help him a lot)

 

[Little Brit]

An update.

Thanks guys. I think with the driver I was swaying slightly in the backswing, causing me to come off the ball a bit too much. Downswing was definately coming in too much from the inside so in my practice swing I purposely swing over the top to get a bit more of that feeling, then swing. My drives on the course yesterday were really quite straight and more in the middle of the clubface. Need to work on it more but isn't that always the case with something golf?.