Hover the Driver Head above the Ground

Thursday, December 12, 2013

There are some tour pros who hover the driver head behind the ball at address. I think there are 5 types of players who will do well with this set up.

1. Players fighting pushed shots.

When you tee it up higher but set your driver head on the ground at address, you might hit a pushed shot or slice.

If you tee it up much higher than normal, you are going to raise the clubhead to hit the ball on the sweet spot because if you return your clubhead to the address position at impact, you will pop it up.

 

But if you raise your clubhead above the ground, the clubhead will move further away from your body. This will make it much easier to hit it more toward the heel of the clubface.

 

To avoid hitting on the heel of the clubhead, you will have to swing too much from the inside or open the face coming into impact.

 

All these problems will be solved if you just hover the clubhead behind the ball at address.

 

2. Slicers

3. Players who want to swing on a flatter swing plane

If you are a slicer, you might want to try hovering the clubhead behind the ball at address because this will make you swing on a flatter swing plane which will help you turn the clubface over through impact.

 

When you hit a ball above your feet, you tend to hit a hook or draw. Teeing it up higher will have the similar effect.

 

4. Players who want to tee it up higher

5. Players who feel like they aren't catching the ball on the sweet spot of the driver

According to the study about the relationship between the tee height and driving distance, you will get more distance if you tee it up higher so thta the bottom of the ball is above the top of the driver head.

 

This is really high. But players did better with this tee height. And surprisingly, higher tee height helped them produce more accurate shots off the tee.

 

So you might want to tyr teeing it up higher. But when you tee it up much higher, you need to hover the clubhead above the ground.

 

 If you set the clubhead on the ground at address, you will hit on the heel of your clubhead.

 

I know golfer who told me he never felt he hit the ball on the st spot on his driver. He was teeing it up high so I told him to hover the clubhead behind the ball.

 

He called me and said he hit it on the sweet spot for the first time.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/hover-driver-head.htm

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How do Pros Tee the Ball Up for a Driver?

Ernie Els

Ernie Els tee the ball up with 1/2 of the ball above the driver head. He said he is trying to sweep the tee for a driver shot. By trying to sweep the tee with a driver, he said he is able to hit it on the upswing.

 

Bubba Watson

Bubba Watson is known as one of the longest hitters on tour said that he is trying to tee it up high and hover the clubhead behind the ball at address.

 

Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson said teeing it up higher will let you hit the ball little above the sweet spot on the driver face. This will reduce backspin. He said he is trying to launch it higher with less backspin with a driver.

 

Jim Furyk

Jim Furyk said if he tries to tee it up higher, he loses control. For better control, he said he will tee it up lower.

 

So there are various ways to tee it up for a driver. So you need to pick the tee height that suits your game.

 

In general, you should tee it up higher for draw and tee the ball lower for a fade.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/how-pros-tee-up.htm

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How to Hit the Driver Higher

When you look at tour pros' driver shots, they hit it unbelievably higher and longer.

 

How can you hit it like pros?

 

There are basically 3 factors which determine driving distance.

1. Clubhead Speed

2. Launch Angle

3. Spin

 

Launch Angle

To hit it longer and higher, you need to increase your launch angle. To do that, you should pick that driver has enough loft for your swing speed,

 

Some players think they should buy the driver with less loft, but less lofted drivers don't always give you more distance.

 

So get the driver that has enough loft on it. If yuo are like average players, I don't recommend anything less than 9 degrees. Get the driver that has 10 or 11 degrees of loft.

 

The higher you tee it up, the more you can increase your launch angle.

 

So to hit it higher, tee the ball higher with more than 1/2 or the ball visible above the driver head. If you tee it up higher than that, you should hover your clubhead above the ground to catch the ball on the sweet spot.

 

Also, to increase your launch angle, hit the ball at the lowest point or just after the lowest point of your swing.

 

Back Spin

You can launch it higher but not get any distance if the ball has lots of backspin on it.

 

You need to have the correct combination of the backspin and launch angle.

 

To hit it higher and longer, you need to have less backspin and higher launch angle.

 

There are 3 factors that increase spin.

1. Cutting across the ball or coming over the top

2. Slice or open face impact

3. Hitting below the sweet spot on the driver face

 

If you cut across the ball or have an open face at impact, your ball will go higher but don't give you much distance off the tee.

 

To reduce spin you can hit the ball on the upswing, hit the ball on the sweet spot or just above the sweet spot and hit a draw.

 

If you hit the ball just above the sweet spot of your driver, you will get less spin. But if you do it too much, you will pop it up.

 

It's true that if you hit a draw, you can limit the backspin. However, hitting a draw will lower the launch angle at the same time.

 

To compensate for that, you need to tee it up higher and hit it on the upswing.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/how-to-hit-the-driver-high.htm

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How to Choose the Correct Driver for You?

How can you choose the correct driver that suits your swing?

 

When picking your driver, pay attention with the following:

1. Loft

2. Lie Angle

3. Face Angle

4. Shaft Flex

 

1. Loft

If you have too less loft on the driver, you probably can't hit a driver. If you hit your 3 wood longer than your driver, your either have too less loft on the driver or delofting your driver at impact.

 

In general,

- Players with slower swing speed get more loft

- Players who prefer a draw get more loft

- Players with faster swing speed get less loft

- Players who prefer a fade get less loft

 

I usually use the driver with 10 degrees or more. With my swing speed, lots of people tell me to get less loft.

 

But I can easily deloft my driver when it's necessary to hit it longer than normal. Also, I am a draw hitter and like to control my ball flight so I choose the driver with more loft.

 

2. Lie angle

The lie angle of driver can make a big difference. The upright lie angle will help you turn the face over through impact.

 

On the other hand, the flat lie angle can cause slice because the face the tend to open at impact.

 

So if you are much taller than average you might want to consider picking the driver with upright lie angle.

 

Also, if you slice the ball, the upright lie angle will help you cure your slice.

 

If you are much shorter than average, it's ok. Don't worry about picking the driver with flat lie angle unless you hit big hooks all the time.

 

3. Face angle

There are square face, closed face and open face drivers.

 

If the face is pointing left of the target at address, it has a closed face. If it points right, it has an open face.

 

For slicers, closed face drivers will help you reduce your slice spin.

 

4. Shaft Flex

 

Too Stiff

If the shaft is too stiff for you, it can cause lower ball flight and slice.

 

Too Soft

If it's too soft, it can cause higher ball flight and hook.

 

I don't recommend stiff shaft for average players unless they have faster swing speed.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/how-to-choose-driver.htm

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Tips and Drills for Driving Accuracy

Driver is usually a special club for most golfers. Once they grab a driver, they shift the gear and try to hit it as hard as they can.

 

But unless you are in the long drive competition, you can't forget about accuracy.

 

Jim Furyk said he has 3 keys to driving accuracy. There are:

1. Know your average driving distance

2. Pick a spot of your target

3. Don't swing with 100% of your power

 

If I ask you have far you hit your 7 iron, you will tell me instantly. But how about a driver?

 

Jim said hitting a driver will become much easier if you pick a spot to hit instead of trying to hit it as far as you can.

 

Here is the drill that Jim Furyk uses for driving accuracy.

 

Alternate hitting 7-iron and driver. Go back and forth between those 2 clubs. Jim said you should practice like this for at least 2 weeks to get used to it.

 

The key is to hit your driver like you would with your 7 iron. Use the same tempo and rhythm.

 

The Drill used by Davis Love III

 

Davis is known as one of the longest hitters on PGA Tour. When he joined PGA Tour, he was probably the longest hitter out there.

 

There is the drill that his father, Davis Love Jr. taught his son for accuracy.

 

Here is how you can do it.

1. Set up to hit the driver

2. Pick a target that is 100 yards away

 

If you feel like you are hitting well to the target, pick the next target that is 125 yards away.

 

To hit it 100 yards with a driver, you need to slow down your swing. Tiger Woods uses similar drill for his driver as well.

 

This slow motion drill can teach you a lot of things such as tempo, swing plane, swing path and so on.

 

It's also a good drill to practice when you are not hitting your driver well.

 

Close your Eyes

Another good drill for driving accuracy is to close your eyes and take a practice swings with your driver.

 

When you close your eyes, you can't see anything. So you have to depend more on your feet.

 

Swing the driver with your eyes closed. And you will start to feel the position or your club, face angle, swing planr, swing path and so on during your swing.

 

Some pros hit balls with eyes closed. But you don't have to. If you are confident enough, you might want to try it. But make sure nobody is around when you hit balls with this drill.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/tips-on-driving-accuracy.htm

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3 Wood Goes Longer than a Driver

There are some golfers who can hit their 3 wood longer than a driver. In fact, they can't hit their driver. Their driver shots lack height. The ball drops and doesn't go far.

 

But when you see them hit 7 iron, they can hit it really far. Their 3 wood goes as far as anybody's driver.

 

They are hitting a draw with every club. Harvey Penick said golfers who grew up in west Texas couldn't hit a driver.

 

They had very strong grip. This was causing them to deloft the driver at impact.

 

Strong grips will help you close the face impact. But if it's too strong, you will close the clubface and deloft the club.

 

Drivers have very little loft. If you deloft your driver too much, it will be almost impossiblr to hit it high. You must tee it up really high and hit up on the ball.

 

But even if you do, you probably can't hit it far.

 

To fix this problem, you need to weaken your grip. I know that it's very difficult to weaken your grip because you might fear for the fact that the ball will slice.

 

So try to aim for slight draw instead of a big hook. I don't recommend you to hit the straight shots because they are the toughest shots in golf. Most of tour pros have either slight draw or fade.

 

So don't try to hit it straight. But you don't want to hit a big hook with your driver, either.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/3wood-goes-longer-than-driver.htm

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The Launch Angle should be more than the Loft of a Driver

To hit it longer with a driver, your launch angle should be more than the loft on your driver.

 

To get the maximum distance off the tee, you need to increase your laucn angle and reduce backspin on the ball.

 

The important key is to have right combination. Higher launch angle with lots of backspin or too little backspin won't help you hit the ball far.

 

You will certainly lose distance if you hit it before the lowest point of your swing arc.

 

 To increase launch angle, you need to hit the ball on the lowest point or just after the lowest point of your swing.

 

So you need to sweep the ball off the tee or hit it slightly on the upswing.

 

Players often slice trying to hit it on the upswing. To avoid open face at impact, you should make sure your right shoulder is lower that your left.

 

If your right shoulder is too high at address, you need to drop your right shoulder through impact to hit it on the upswing.

 

This will cause you to open your clubface.

 

If your right shoulder is lower at address, you don't have to drop it down at impact.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/launch-angle-driver-loft.htm

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The Drill to Increase Distance with a Driver

For most golfers, the driver is the hardest club to hit. It has the least loft and the longest shaft.

 

Players think they have to hit it far with a driver so they start to swing harder if they are not hitting it well.

 

When you are not hitting the driver well, you should stop swinging harder because that's the worst thing you can do when you are not hitting it on the sweet spot.

 

You can try so hard to swing faster. But you can waste all of your effort unless the clubhead is moving at the fastest speed at impact.

 

The drill I show you today will help you increase your clubhead speed at impact and hit it on the sweet spot more often.

 

1. Set up to hit a driver

2. Tee the ball up higher than normal

3. Hover your clubhead behind the ball

4. Swing back and hit the ball

5. Try to stop at impact and try not to take any follow through

6. Don't look up. Keep your eyes on the tee well after impact

 

Your goal should be to hit it on the sweet spot. So you don't need to hit it hard at all. Swing with 50% of your clubhead speed and focus on hitting it in the middle of your clubface.

 

At address, visualize hitting it right on the sweet spot. During the swing, I want you to keep image in your mind. All you need to do is to recreate that image coming into impact.

 

I told you to stop at impact and try not to take any follow through. To be exact, you can't stop at impact because of centrifugal force.

 

But at least try to do so. This is very important for this drill.

 

Start with 50% of your swing speed. If you feel like you are hitting it on the sweet spot every time with that speed, gradually increase your swing speed.

 

Towel Drill

 

Here is another drill for more distance. We are going to use a towel for this drill. You can use a face towel or hand towel.

 

First, wrap tje towel around the neck of your driver. This will add weight to your driver head and help you add power or fix your quick tempo on the backswing.

 

It will also help you shift your weight completely on the back foot on the backswing.

 

Now, take 20 practice swings in a row. Do 3 sets.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/index.htm

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How to Hit a Draw & Fade with a Driver

Hitting a draw or fade with a driver may seem hard to do. But once you understand how it works, it does not have to be hard shot.

 

Of course, before you start to control your ball flight with a driver, you need to have the correct grip for you.

 

Never Hit a Straight Shot

 

Jack Nicklaus influenced a lot of players including Tiger Woods. Nicklaus said he never tried to hit a straight shot with his driver.

 

If you try hitting straight shot to a 40 yard wide fairway, you only have 20 yards to work the ball with.

 

If you slice it 21 yards, you are going to miss a fairway.

 

In this case, Jack Nicklaus would aim left side of the fairway and fade the ball back to the center of the fairway.

 

If he fades it 39 yards, he would be in the fairway.

 

That's why he never tried to hit it straight. He was taking advantage of the whole fairway width.

 

How to Hit a Fade

 

Jack Nicklaus said to hit a fade, aim left side of the fairway and align your body parallel with your aim line (The line that extends from the ball to the spot (left side if fairway) you are aiming.)

 

Next, open your clubface a bit. Finally, swing along your body line with your regular swing.

 

You don't have to cut across the ball to hit a fade. If you do, you will put too much side spin and the ball will curve too much.

 

When you open your clubface a bit at address, open your clubface first and then grip it. Not the other way around.

 

Hot to Hit a Draw

 

To hit a draw, you need to do the opposite of a fade. Aim for the right side of the fairway. Align your shoulders, waist and feet parallel with the aim line.

 

Next, close your face a bit at address. But be careful not to close too much. Drivers don't have much loft so if you close the face too much, you can't get the ball airborne and lose the distance.

 

Jack Nicklaus said you should move your head a bit to the right at address. This would help you swing more from the inside on the downsing with the clubface closing through impact.

 

Setting your head back a bit at address would also let you catch the ball on the upswing.

 

When you hit a draw, you are delofting the driver at impact because the face is closing. That's why a draw will go lower than a fade.

 

So if you want to hit a draw that flies high in the air, you might want to hit it on the upswing to compensate for that.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/how-to-hit-draw-fade-with-driver.htm

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How to Cure Pop-ups with a Driver

Most players probably experienced pop-ups with a driver. In this article it explains the cause of pop-ups, how to sure and the drills to completely fix it.

 

The Cause

One of the most famous teachers in golf, Hank Haney said the cause for pop-ups is the reverse pivot.

 

If you have the reverse pivot, you will always swing outside in. In other words, you will come over the top to hit the ball.

 

Swinging from outside in will cause pop-ups. So even if you don't have the reverse pivot, you can swing from outside in and pop it up with a driver.

 

When you come over the top, the clubhead will come into impact with a step angle approach. So players with this type of problems usually experience pop-ups, fat shots, slice and pull shots.

 

Players who hit pop-ups start to lower the tee height because they are hitting under the ball. But lowering the tee height will even force them to hit down on the ball.

 

If you lower your tee height, you may be able to prevent pop-ups, but you are going to hit lots of slice and pull shots instead.

 

How to fix it

 

To fix your pop-ups, you need to swing more from inside. If you fix your slice, you will probably fix your pop-ups automatically.

 

Start with your grip. Change weak grip to stronger grip.

 

At address, make sure your right shoulder is lower that your left. This will help you swing more from the inside.

 

Some drills to improve your pop-ups.

 

1. Weight shift drill

Put your clubs against your shoulders. Bend from your hips and lower your right shoulder.

 

Next, try to turn to the right. At the top of your backswing, your club shaft should be over your right leg.

 

2. Tee it high

Tee the ball higher than normal. Use long tee and tee it as high as possible.

 

Next, hover your clubhead just behind the ball. Don't set the club on the ground.

 

Third, try to sweep the ball off the tee. At address, focus on the back of the ball not to top. If you look down at the top of the ball, you tend to swing down the ball. Focus on the back of it and try to sweep.

 

3. Hit shots with closed stance

Here is a good drill to cure pop-ups with your driver. Take your normal address with your driver.

 

Next, set your ball a ball or 2 ball-length right of your left heel.

 

Third, pull your right foot back about 10 inches.

 

Now, hit shots from this closed stance. Make sure to hit it from the inside the target line.

 

4. Focus on the back of the ball

Most players see the top of the ball when they stand up to the ball. However,

the top of the ball is not where the clubface contacts the ball.

 

So instead of looking at the top of the ball, focus on the top of the ball.

 

Focusing on the back of the ball will help you keep your head back as you swing through the ball for stronger shots with your driver.

 

This may be a very simple tip, but I'm sure it will help you a lot.

 

Reference: http://www.golfsamurai.net/driver/how-to-cure-pop-up.htm

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