Any tips for Driving??

Over the past month when playing iron shots, I have started picking a spot (usually a discoloured bit of grass) about an inch in front of the ball, and watching that spot right from my takeaway and right through the ball. So, instead of looking and concentrating on hitting the ball, I am concentrating on hitting that discoloured blade of grass in front of the ball. The ball simply gets in the way. It was a tip I picked up from someone here and it has been an absolute revelation. My iron shots are really good now. I suppose it is really Skill 1 in action.

However, I have tried it with my driver and it doesn`t seem to work. Has anyone got any similar tips.

The driver is a bit harder. You are dealing with such a far distance, that to try and pinpoint a spot will cause you to loose the bigger picture. I still take the spot in my setup routine, and align my feet and shoulders up perpendicular to that line, but I still think in terms of getting it to within a range left and right in the landing zone. I don't think so much of it as a straight line, but a wide cone of acceptance.

I know Harvey P. says to take dead aim, and during setup and alignment I do. But the driver and it's difficulties require a realist's approach.

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Well I guess since the ball is teed up off ground it makes sense that it would not work as well with a driver. You drive down through the ball with an iron and sweep the ball off the tee with a driver. Your clubhead should be heading very slightly on an upswing when you make contact with the ball with a driver.

For me, I find that "dead straight" to the target is sometimes deceptive with the driver. Set up with the driver with the toe touching a long straight wall (put a ball down if need be) ... close your eyes and just rotate your head ... open your eyes and look straight ... you will likely be looking to the left (RH) of the end of the wall. This is what I mean by deceptive.

Here is something that I am trying (to teach myself straight):
- Tee the ball
- Pick an exact target (tree, flag, edge of a bunker)
- Place three tees in the ground successively 8 inches ahead of the ball precisely down the target line.
- I personally set up based on the target (tried Gregs but it didn't work for me - even with a line of tees)
- Now I swing with the thought of either going down that line of tees or at a slightly angle above it (in-to-out)

I do a few that way ... watching my ball flight ... and adjust accordingly.
Then I do a few without the line of tees at a different target ... watch my ball flight.

Good luck. Charles

I was struggling with my driving for a while (its not the best part of my game) and used a tip that I think helped out a lot.

Setup as normal, with the ball off the left heel but place the driver in the middle of your stance. For me, this ingrains the fact that I need to sweep the ball up off the tee and that I need to follow straight out after it.

Try it, who knows

I generally use the driver if the fairway is wide and stick to a 3 wood for narrow fairways. Try a driver with a large head as they tend to be more forgiving...

Thanks a lot guys for your advice / tips. I will give them a go and see what happens.

I started a thread somewhere addressing this setup, it enables you to hit a draw/straight shot because your shoulders are slightly closed to the target line as opposed to straying open when you address a ball directly on your left heel and I've never driven better. It also promotes the upward sweep you need, ie the club bottoms out just behind the ball and then makes contact on the upswing.