Ball striking

[LowPost42]

Re: Ball striking

Try teeing your ball lower - that's the first fix I'd try. Keep in mind that for most drivers, the sweet spot is actually higher than the middle of the clubface. (Granted, it's not where the face meets the crown!)

[kiwi]

Re: Ball striking

I'm always amazed how high people tee the ball.All but 18 shots(hopefully) are hit off the ground and nearly 100% of our practice is spent hitting the ball off the deck yet people walk onto the tee and have the ball high?. It doesn't feel natural and we make small swing changes to compenstate the higher ball position WHY?

The only times I tee the ball high(and for me thats over 1/3rd of an inch) is with a nice wide fairway and tail wind or if I really need to crank out an extra long one so I can hit the par 5 in two.
The driver as any wood is a sweeping swing, move that ball lower.
I dont have one of these monster size heads on my driver but surely the correct tee height has the ball slightly above club face center with the club on the gound .
Sweet spot higher than center? i have used a big headed driver and still hit it well off the deck.

Kiwi

[CantPuttICant]

Re: Ball striking

My course is not long so I use 3-wood off ever tee and it usually leaves me with a sand wedge up to a 6-iron into nearly every hole. The fairways are tight and if your not accurate with your driver, it will hurt you. Lately I've started practising again with the driver for the North of Scotland comp on Wednesday. I'm not sure if the Fortrose course is a good driving course, thebigman says it's not particular long at 6000 yards. Hope he's not yanking my chain. Anyway, sorry, I'm waffling, back to the topic...

I don't like to hover the club at all. I don't feel comfortable. I like to waggle just to make sure I'm loose and tension-free. Then I take a slow backswing and build up to a hit.

Can I ask a consistant driver of the ball. Do you have to think about squaring the club before impact or does it happen naturally? If I don't think about it, I slice. If I think about I get a nice draw/straight flight but it's not very consistant yet. Should I keep working the way I am, thinking about squaring it up every drive or should I work towards it becoming natual for me? Hope I'm not too confusing, thanks all.

[kiwi]

Re: Ball striking

Pleased is all falling back into place Rick. Hovering is not for me, three waggles and a small forward press and away I go.

CantputtIcant. Squaring the club face up is not something I think about,it just happens but if that thought is getting you the desired results stick with it.
We all have one thought in our mind that we concerntrate on and that ones yours, mine is correct position at the top of my backswing with no tension.

Kiwi

[gord962]

Re: Ball striking

Stick to a trigger that will produce the result that will get the ball where you want it. As you practice the same move over and over again, it will become automatic. It does help to have a trigger to think about during your swing. That way you don't have 80 swing thoughts running through your head. Square at impact and correct position at the top are two excellent thoughts because they are positive thoughts and you can create a mental image of what the position you are supposed to be in. Thoughts like "don't slice" or "avoid the water" are negative thoughts because they are circumstance generated or there has to be a swing fault/error to create the unwanted result. If you want a result oriented swing thought, some good ones are "straight down the fairway", "center of the green" and "in the cup".

[CantPuttICant]

Re: Ball striking

I played the Fortrose course today and I was driving the ball well. I'm usually a slicer but since I've thought closing the face through impract I've gotten a nice draw. It's more fun to have a pitching wedge into a 420 yard par 4 than a 6 iron! My short game was poor but I enjoyed it.

I have two swings thoughts. Rolling the face is one and the other is a tip from Ernie. It's a tip for tempo. When you swing back you count 1, when you reach the top you count 2 and when you come into impact, you count 3. I only concentrate on saying 3 through impact, I forget about the ball, and the ball goes high and draws, exactly what I wanted. I hope it continues.

Have you ever had a round when you hit good putt after good putt and nothing falls. I had 6 lip outs and a few just rolled by. I was happy with the way I played but my score suggested a bad round. It wasn't. It was just not my day.