Driver and Skill 2

Hi Guys.

This is really doing my head in and any help would be appreciated. Please indulge me as I paraphrase what I think skill 2 is about and then my problem.

Skill 2 is about learning that the club head scribes an arc in the swing and the impact position of that swing should occur at the apex of that arc.

Now my problem is that the recommendation for using a driver is for the ball position to be forward in the stance(opposite left heel). Now if that is the case doesn't that mean the ball is going to be hit with a closing club face and therefore producing a hook of some description?

Christopher

You'll only hook it if you're closing the clubface. You could still be holding it square or open at that point.

FWIW, I think the driver should be played forward of the bottom of the swing arc. If you want ideal launch conditions for maximum distance, you pretty much have to.

Thanks mate. I get the bottom of the swing arc and it falls right into skill 1. It was just the concept of the side arc that had me confused. So are you saying you should be purposely holding the club face square to impact, or that the small amount of closing doesn't matter? If this is the case is this why you are always looking to shape the ball the ball flight to some degree?

Christopher

Understand ball flight and what generates it - face angle relative to your path creates your movement.

Why you're always looking to shape the ball is to give yourself the most course to work with. For example, lets use a tee shot and a 40 yard wide fairway. If you try to hit a straight ball, you have to aim up the middle. This gives you 20 yards left and 20 yards right to miss.

However, if you play for a fade, you aim up one side, and give yourself 40 yards to fade the ball, for a draw you go up the other side and give yourself 40 yards again. Twice the fairway as opposed to the straight shot!

You should be purposefully working the clubface in accordance with the shot you're trying to hit.

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Reefboy,

You are correct in the first instance, open just before impact then closed just after, in your mind hit the ball towards 2 oclock as it states in the book, of course you are not actually hitting towards two o clock because the face closes so fast around the ball.

It takes some guts to force yourself to hit the ball what will feel like a mile straight right, but once you hit a couple of unbelieveable shots your hooked.

Cheers


Ian.

Thanks Ian I'll give that a go.

I went to the driving range again today Not a very good session. I found I was getting the idea of using skill 1, which is good, but I was also generally hitting a ballooning snap fade. The height of the ball is 30-40 meters and travels approx 100-120 meters and then the sudden change in direction.

Will the hitting towards the 2 o'clock position fix this as well????? Please say it will be true. It will make my day.

Christopher

Definatley mate,

You said you are hitting down and the contact must be good but still a high fade....!!!!!

Ok, you have skill 1 sorted, but your high fade come from the out side attack, in the book it explains about hitting out right, this is just a feeling to get you to come from inside, I find it best to think of cominng into the ball with the face open and just let it go from there.

I will guarentee you success within ten balls if you hit out toward 2 o clock, while still hitting down.

the reason we hit down 'like pushing a child on a swing' you gain momentum from the waist down.

Just before you hit try a preshot waggle like Hogans here.

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/3...ered-mine.html (Just ordered mine!)

Look at this clip, the waggle helps me because it's hard to believe that the club come on such a tight/small arc.

hope this helps.

Ian.

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Thanks Ian.

I'll be back to the range tomorrow so I'll report back on how I go. I am so looking forward to long straight drives.

If this doesn't work I am entertaining the thought I may need to get it reshafted with a stiffer shaft. The fault with the driver starts after I give it more then 50% power. The more power the worse it gets.

Looking forward to the range tomorrow.

Christopher

Defo, not a shaft problem mate, you can get one fitted when you learn to hit better.

If the shaft was to stiff you would push more, if it is to weak then a big draw come hook would be the norm.


Did you note how the waggle was miles inside, thats how you hit to 2 o clock, I use this waggle every shot.

good luck tommorow start with irons and just relax.

Ian.

Well that's good to know about the shaft. I really didn't want to change it. Noted the waggle and will try it tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

Post again tomorrow.

Christopher

Fixed it for ya. While the first statement sometimes comes to light (ie stiff shaft causes blocks because the player doesn't feel the shaft loading and it never 'cues' them to release the club; soft shaft feels very soft at impact causing overactive hands and a snap hook) it's my experience that there's no universal truth, not even a substantiated rule of thumb regarding ball flight and shaft stiffness. Heck, even the 'soft shafts hit higher' idea has been disproven - stronger players actually overload the shaft and the dynamic loft is much lower at impact!

Hi Ian,

I went to the driving range today. Still not very happy. I had balls still doing the high fade thing but I also had a good many just do a straight push. Which is a good change as I guess this could be fixed by brushing up more on skill 2.

One thing I tried was to make the downswing as smooth as possible and with the same speed as the backswing. This seamed to give a more consistent contact to the ball. What are your thoughts?

The other thing I tried on my last 2 balls was teeing it up higher. The ball has been at 1/2 the ball height over the top of the club head. I changed it to the bottom of the ball being level with the top of the club head. The first ball I smoked it down the middle, nice flight(approx. 190-200 meters on the fly), steep drop off with very little roll. The second, with last ball pressure, I slapped a grubber for 30 meters on the roll from the tee. Thank god I wasn't under comp pressure or I would have really stuffed it

Anyway this leads me to a thought, could my problems stem from the tee not being high enough? Could that lead to this inconsistent striking of the ball?

Christopher

Hi Christopher,

Teeing the ball higher tends to promote a flatter swing, I can only suggest you keep working on the waggle in your practice swing, also in the book is the head cover drill or better still I use a shoe box at the range, put it just outside the ball, from here it is impossible to hit a fade or slice, if you try to you hit the box or head cover.

This should work for you.

Ian

P>S takes a few balls to get you confidence to hit the ball if you are a slicer.

Bugger! I forgot the waggle!

I am starting to get the feeling there is going to be a learning curve for the driver just like the other clubs. Oh well, it could be worse i guess. I will be going to the range as often as I can and will practice the drills.

I went to the local course this afternoon. I noticed that I was topping the driver a lot near the hosel. I spoke to the pro at the course and he said I was teeing it up a little too high but more interesting was that I was placing the ball too far forward in my stance. His suggestion was to have the tee on the inside of the left heel, I had it placed at the left big toe. So do you think I need to change the setup position?

Christopher

Hi Christopher,

I do not wish to bog you down with jargon, you will find that 3SKs works better with a good set-up position, but you must discover what is best for you by attacking the ball using 3sks............we are all built different.

Which ever you find easiest to apply the 3sks is right, you may find with your irons it is easier to hit downward with the ball further back, you may find you hit your driver better off your toe.....who knows.

all is explained in the book about a straight clubface and ball position but it must suit you.

Look at all the tour pros every one has a different swing some as so different they look daft like Furyk, sabbatini, Daly and many more some set-up square some don't, Freddy Couples for instance, you name a terrible swing fault and I will name a tour pro that plays to the highest standard with it.


All I am saying work on how you put the clubface to the ball using 3sks then move ball position tee height etc to suit you.


Ian.

__________________
Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................