Great Irons, Horrible Driver - what to do?

Hi.
My irons look fine - very straight and fairly consistent.
However - when I hit a driver (9.5) my ball barely gets any flight. It usually just dives into the ground.
The only way I'm able to get a great shot on the driver is when I actually place the ball on the left side of my left foot outside the area between my feet (I swing right-handed) which just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. What's wrong with my swing? It seems like maybe I'm swinging down on the ball too much. If so, how do I fix that?

Thanks so much for any suggestions.
-Jim

Hi Jim,

It sounds like you are right on target with your problem. The difference between irons and woods is that irons are designed to work best when you strike down on the ball where as you need to 'sweep' woods. Try to not come in so steep with your driver - you do not want to hit down on the ball. Instead, you want to catch the ball as your driver is starting to come back up on the swing plane.

The set up you described is not to far off. When hitting driver, your ball should be set up just inside your left heel. The equator of the ball should be at the top edge of your driver (1/2 of the ball is above your driver face when the sole rests on the ground).

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

I have just read your post Gord, why is it that when I hit a 15' wood of the fairway, I am getting 200-225 yds straight and accurate no problem. But off even a low tee I often slice badly. The higher the tee the worse the slice. So much for "tee it high and let it fly" straight into the rough in my case.

Hi Garbologist,

The only reason that could possibly happen is a change in your swing when your ball is on the tee. Teeing a ball up can not cause a slice. Make sure your backswing is coming high enough - what might be happening is that because your ball is teed up, you try to come in more shallow, starting with your backswing. With a shallow backswing, you will be forced to come over the top to get back on plane which creates an outside-in club path.

To test my theory, video tape your swing down the line hitting both types of shots. Let us know how things work out!!!

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall