lack of distance

I`am 8 Handicap player who hits the ball predominantly straight,However i feel that due to only being able to carry 220 yrd with my driver I beleive this is holding me back from getting even lower with my handicap as i find my self scrambling on the longer par 4. I also hit my 5 wood almost as far as the driver why is that so, can anybody offer any advice please ?
ps i have not got camcorder

Is the shaft in your 5 wood the same as the shaft in your driver?

What shape do you hit your driver compared to your 5 wood?

I find it very strange that your 5 wood goes the same length as your driver.
Something isn't quite right.

220 yards is an O.K drive for a club golfer if it's on the fairway, I know many good single figure handicaps who hit that distance but if you hit your 5 wood almost as far then you most likely need a driver with more loft for longer carry, or a different shaft.
You didn't say what you are using now but if I were you I'd take that 5 wood to a competent clubfitter and get him to test out the shaft so you can match up a driver to it.

The right shaft/loft won't really gain you 30 yards - it's just that the wrong club may have been costing you that 30 yards.

Make sure you get a lesson before spending a lot of money on new equipment though, it may just be something simple that you can't see yourself.

Hope this helps.

To get the feeling of sweping the ball, try this drill a few times
Take your normal stance with a driver witha ball in the normal position.
Now rather than placing the clubhead behind the ball, place it in the middle of your stance and make a swing.
This will "force" you to make a long sweeping swing and should help you hit a more solid drive.
Well it works for me.

hi,
Iam also off 8 and had the same problem that i recently rectified.. I found that i was hitting under the ball too much.. too change this i changed my swing so that i had a higher swing that came through the ball rather than a swing that came around my body more which made it hard for consistent solid contact... needless to say i shot 42 points the other week after this change had came into affect...

Keep an eye open for visits to your area by major manufacture reps. They will let you hit as many different variations of the same type of driver as you're physically able to. If you find some shaft and loft combination that lets you hit the ball further, you're in business. You can then buy their club, or have a local club maker put one together for you. If, on the other hand, no particular configuration seems to help, you might want to see a qualified professional. As far as long hitting is concerned, there is no subsitute for being strong. You might want to examine your physical fitness.

My clubs come in a set, including a 4 wood and a driver. I believe the shafts are the same - regular flex graphite? Do people generally have different shafts for say their driver and their 3/4 wood? Or, since your swing speed should be consistent, then the shafts should match for your woods?

It just occurred to me that your swing speed might not be high enough to take advantage of the lower lofted driver.

Bang makes a high launch driver - that's the answer to a slower-swingspeed golfer.

Also, those with slower swingspeeds don't necessarily need the traditional iron makeup - their slower swing speeds make for shorter gaps.

Just a thought.

Hey , I'm playing off a 9 at the moment and had a similar problem to yours. Was also hitting my driver high and with spin, and I might add not very consistently.
Completely changed my swing with my driver to : ball more forward in stance, head and hands behind ball(relative to set-up ), full backswing keeping head in that position, downswing with weightshift and try to keep head as close to that position as possible. Most important is not to sway on the backswing and the through swing.( loose plenty of mtrs). You will hit the ball on the up and create drawspin. Try with half and 3/4 swings first.
Hope this makes sense to you .