swing problems

[BillyB]

i have played a draw my whole life but all of the sudden i am hitting a slice. and i have to tee my driver really low now to prevent from popping it up. any tips on how i can fix this problem?thanks.

[SIRCHOPALOT]

Re: swing problems

i have played a draw my whole life but all of the sudden i am hitting a slice. and i have to tee my driver really low now to prevent from popping it up. any tips on how i can fix this problem?thanks.

Slice & high ball flight could be as simple as ball position. Sounds like you may need to move the ball a little further back in your stance.

[gord962]

Re: swing problems

If the ball position isn't the culprit, check to ensure you are not falling away from the target during your downswing. This is a huge distance robber as well if it has crept into your swing.

[Red Storm 14]

Re: swing problems

I've recently started having the same problem and changing ball position does not get rid of the slice/popup.

[GreeBoman]

Re: swing problems

Slice & high ball flight could be as simple as ball position. Sounds like you may need to move the ball a little further back in your stance.

I would have said move it forward more, the earlier your hit the ball in your swing the move open the club head is, hence offset clubs to prevent slice.



Ensure the ball is around the heel of your front foot, also feel that you are pushing the club back along the ground with your shoulders on the takeaway.
Try some very slow (half speed) swings to see if you can correct the ball flight, at full speed its very easy to come over the top or swing out to in and chop the ball up into the air.

[gord962]

Re: swing problems

I would have said move it forward more, the earlier your hit the ball in your swing the move open the club head is, hence offset clubs to prevent slice.

Moving the ball forward will only create an even higher ball flight.

The more I read this post, the more I am certain the problem stems from falling away from the target during the downswing. When this happens, the clubface opens, creatnig a high fade. Also, the distance is reduced because your momentum is falling away from the ball, in addition to the increased ball high as well as the fade/slice.

Start with your weight distributed 30/70 for your front/back foot, respectively. Ensure your weight is still on your back foot during your backswing. For righties, your left shoulder should be over your right knee at the top of the backswing. Also, when starting your downswing, you need to start to transfer your weight to your left foot and at the top of the followthrough, you should finish with 100% of your weight on your front foot.

[computer_guy33]

Re: swing problems

I normally have a good inside-out swing plane, but when the ball is played too far forward in my stance, I tend to cut across the ball with a square to sometimes closed clubface.

This would result in the ball starting left and staying left (closed face) to contacting with the square face and getting a gentle fade.

I found that by moving the ball back about 1-2 inches fixed the problem (with my drives anyway). I tend not to play my irons to close to my left instep.

[GreeBoman]

Re: swing problems

Moving the ball forward will only create an even higher ball flight.

Not with your driver, if you have the ball at the bottom of your swing with a driver it will pop up everytime, you cant hit down on a driver, there is nothing to compress the ball against the ground so you sky it.

and i have to tee my driver really low now to prevent from popping it up

[gord962]

Re: swing problems

Not with your driver, if you have the ball at the bottom of your swing with a driver it will pop up everytime, you cant hit down on a driver, there is nothing to compress the ball against the ground so you sky it.

The only way to pop a ball up with your driver at the bottom of your swing is if you catch it on the crown - you probably have sky marks on your driver from this. That is plain and simple miss hit, nothing to do with where the ball is in your stance. If you catch the ball on the downswing, you will hit the ball with a very low 'ankle shattering' ball flight. It has nothing to do with compression - the clubface will compress the ball, just like it does off the tee with an iron.

The farther ahead your ball is in your stance, the higher the angle you will hit the ball on your upswing, creating a higher ball flight.

[GreeBoman]

Re: swing problems

The only way to pop a ball up with your driver at the bottom of your swing is if you catch it on the crown - you probably have sky marks on your driver from this. That is plain and simple miss hit, nothing to do with where the ball is in your stance. If you catch the ball on the downswing, you will hit the ball with a very low 'ankle shattering' ball flight. It has nothing to do with compression - the clubface will compress the ball, just like it does off the tee with an iron.

The farther ahead your ball is in your stance, the higher the angle you will hit the ball on your upswing, creating higher ball flight.

Yes you will have a higher ball flight if the ball is forward in your stance, but it will not popup as the OP states is his problem with the driver.
Do you not agree that it is pretty damn hard to sky the ball if it is off your front foot?
You cannot compress the ball into the turf with a driver, there is no loft on the face the squeeze the ball into the ground. The swing with a driver, in fact nearly all woods, is a sweeping motion, you dont sweep down into the ball, you sweep it up into the air -> the ball is hit on the upswing -> the ball is forward in your stance.

[gord962]

Re: swing problems

No, I completely disagree - it is just as easy to miss hit off the crown with the ball in the front of your stance as it is in the middle. I agree the ball should be in the front of your stance for your driver, but no further than in inside of your front heel. If move the ball is past the inside of your left heel, you are encouraging a sway.

Woods are designed to hit on the upswing or at the bottom of your swing, but you can hit a wood while hitting down on it. It is not a desired hit on most days mind you, but it will produce a low, 'ankle shattering' ball flight. It is a good shot to have in 40+ mph winds. When hitting this shot, it is improtant to have the ball back in the stance and the face slightly closed.

A pop up or sky ball is a result of a miss hit off the crown - plain and simple. This has nothing to do with ball position in the stance. It is a result of either teeing the ball to high, or grounding out your driver. Ensure you don't hit the ground with your driver. Also when teeing the ball, ensure the equator of the ball is not above the crown of your driver. If both of these are followed, you can not sky a ball, no matter the ball position.

If the ball flight is not a pop up, but just really high for a driver, it is a case of improper weight transfer from falling away from the target, opening the clubface at impact, as well as when you fall away from the ball, you are essentialy moving the ball forward in your stance.

As for compression, the ball compresses into the clubface, no matter the club whether on a tee or on the turf - the ground has nothing to do with compressing the ball. With an iron off the turf, the clubface still compresses the ball, the ground only helps increase the spin rate. If you compress the ball into the ground, the ball will dig into the ground because the ground is softer than the ball.

[GreeBoman]

Re: swing problems

I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree, coz I dont agree!
I think you are increasing the chances of a popup by moving the ball back in your stance.
If you move it back you would also have to change the height of the ball as the relative height of the clubface has also changed.
I do agree about no further than your front heel, anything else is not naturally in the swing path of the club, unless you move into it - a sway

"A pop up or sky ball is a result of a miss hit off the crown - plain and simple"
If by crown you mean the top of the club, then I dont see how you can disagree that moving the ball back in your stance (without lowering the height) increases the chances of this.

"the ground has nothing to do with compressing the ball."
The club head compresses the ball against itself and the ground.
Why else would you hit down on the ball with your irons?
If its purely the clubface then you would not need to hit down.
Surely if you compress something between two objects (club and ground) you compress it more than against just one object. (club)

[SIRCHOPALOT]

Re: swing problems

I normally have a good inside-out swing plane, but when the ball is played too far forward in my stance, I tend to cut across the ball with a square to sometimes closed clubface.

This would result in the ball starting left and staying left (closed face) to contacting with the square face and getting a gentle fade.

I found that by moving the ball back about 1-2 inches fixed the problem (with my drives anyway). I tend not to play my irons to close to my left instep.

Sounds like we have the same swing. That's why I suggested he move the ball back in his stance.

[GreeBoman]

Re: swing problems

Sounds like we have the same swing. That's why I suggested he move the ball back in his stance.

true, but I would work on maintaining the club head on the correct path (to the target) assuming the ball is not crazy far forward...

I guess it depends on what way you approach these problems, I look to correct the swing "defect" whereas somepeople look for a fix that will work with the current swing.

I find it easier to go to a Pro if I have a "regular" swing rather than an Eamon D'Arcy one for example, makes it easier to diagnose and solve problems...
but hey, if it works on the course, use it!

[gord962]

Re: swing problems

"A pop up or sky ball is a result of a miss hit off the crown - plain and simple"
If by crown you mean the top of the club, then I dont see how you can disagree that moving the ball back in your stance (without lowering the height) increases the chances of this.

"the ground has nothing to do with compressing the ball."
The club head compresses the ball against itself and the ground.
Why else would you hit down on the ball with your irons?
If its purely the clubface then you would not need to hit down.
Surely if you compress something between two objects (club and ground) you compress it more than against just one object. (club)

If the equator of the ball is not above the crown and you do not ground the club, you can not sky a ball. It's just not possible. Skying the ball is a result of one of those two, or both. Try it out if you disagree....

You do not hit straight down on top of the ball with your irons. You are striking with a descending blow, but you are still going to hit the ball at the equator of the ball or lower with the clubface. You are not trying to drive the ball into the ground!!! We hit the ball on the downswing to improve the chances of a good strike as well as creating more backspin. When the ball is resting on the turf, it is difficult to hit hit exactly at the bottom of your swing and even harder to hit on the upswing without chunking or thinning the ball. If this isn't true, how do you hit an iron off the tee??? The ball ONLY compresses on the clubface. That is what propels the ball forward, and depending on the angle of the clubface, the launch angle. Watch this video to see how compression works with the clubface (it's right at the end) http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...cat/500/page/1