Driving Straight

Does driving straight really have to be such a diffilcult thing to do?

I have played for a few years on and off and have been a club member for 2 years - I'm off 19 although on a good day I have shot 13 a couple of times.

The main issue is getting away cleany, I'm a tidy iron player and chipping and putting is pretty tidy and I KNOW that if I could drive the ball straight I would start to drop further.

I have read a lot on the net, had lessons, looked at youtube.....
Get the ball forward, tilt right slightly, keep inside to inside, concentrate on rhythm / tempo, keep it low and slow etc and still despite hours on the range cannot drive consistently.

I have a tendency to either let my hands get there first so I get inside a bit and slice it OR I overcompensate and let the club head release ahead of my hands and end up with a snap hook or a pull.

Obviously now and then I catch a good one but to score consistently I need to find a way of hitting the short stuff more regularly.
( I did buy a Mizuno Hi-Fli 3 iron which does a job and will give me 190+ straight 9 times out of 10 ) But some holes this leaves me out of range with my 2nd shot.

Any SIMPLE swing thoughts or tips that have worked for you?

Billy if your hands get there first I suggest you probably need to have your shaft checked because you may need a stiifer one. You say your iron play is ok, so it's not going to be the grip, so your set-up may need a slight tweak, why don't you try moving the ball closer to your front foot or backwards a bit until you catch one. Do it at the range and just remember the set-up before each shot, so when you get one away thats good, you can replicate it. You could be stood too close or reaching too much, so again it's practice with the set-up. If your missing the fairway right you may need a slight change to the head position by having a fitter put a slight draw bias on the club.

Nice to see you over here Billy!

A way of thinking about driving as an element of the game is that there are 4 major types of swing/set up that you need to differentiate - Driving, Iron play, Short Game and Putting. This might suggest why your iron play is solid yet your driving is suffering as you cannot apply the same swing and set up to your irons that you can to your driver.

Obviously lessons are the most useful but a consideration for the past few years is that a driver set up now should be different to how it was, say 7-10 years ago due to technology. The way that newer driver shafts are made is that they do not lag as far behind your hands as they used to so it is very important to keep your centre and head behind the ball to allow for this. This will help you to hit the ball on the up as oppose to hitting more down on the ball like you would an iron.

As I said though, lessons are always a better way forward to give you some sound fundamentals that you can then develop into your game...

Thanksfor the input - FYI I have a 'offset' draw bias driver with Aldila shaft ( Big Berha Diablo )
AndI can still slice that a treat !
Do you think I would be better off with a conventional 'non bias' driver and then just go back to basics and build up a swing?

Billy just go see a good fitter and get on the machine. he'll tell you what you need that suits the swing you have with the driver. this may need loft, bias tweaked or a different shaft. Once thats done you're sorted without going through the pain of changing your swing, which will screw up your irons and send you backwards. If your irons are fine it's just something slightly different when driving. Simples

Billy

As a 'quick and dirty' fix, while you are taking lessons etc to sort out the problem, if I were you I would continue to use the Mizuno off the tee. As a 19 handicapper, you get a shot a hole, use it! Sounds like you can reach some of the par 4's in 2 using the Mizuno, on the ones you can't just use your shot and make sure you are on the green in 3.

Doing that, your scores will come down and your confidence will go up!

Good luck.

It may sound overly simple but the key to straight hitting is to rotate your body properly and get a good grip and posture. If you are turning/rotating as opposed to swaying or any other lateral movement you will hit on a more consistent line.

drive4show wrote:Billy

As a 'quick and dirty' fix, while you are taking lessons etc to sort out the problem, if I were you I would continue to use the Mizuno off the tee. As a 19 handicapper, you get a shot a hole, use it! Sounds like you can reach some of the par 4's in 2 using the Mizuno, on the ones you can't just use your shot and make sure you are on the green in 3.

Doing that, your scores will come down and your confidence will go up!

Good luck.

Best advice on here... i'm off 18 and just hit 3w leaves me out of range twice so just takes it from par 70 to par 72.... still got 16 shots to play with.

I have a driver in the bag for do or die matchplay situations, when i'm hitting the ball very well and confident and just for fun. When building a score its the 3w all the way