High Drives

[stefan91]

On ocassion, I hit these pop up type drives with my driver. They arent exactly pop ups because I still do get some distance on them but they go too high. My thought was that I am just not staying down and through. Anyone else have a different suggestion?

[LowPost42]

Re: High Drives

Unless you're playing a Wishon driver (which I can see you're not), all other drivers come with roll. This is a convexing of the face. So what happens is that you've got the true loft of the club in the middle (lets say 10°) at the bottom of the face it's more like 8° and the top of the face is more like 12°. Needless to say, if you hit the top of the face, you're going to launch higher. Catch it a little low, and you've got the low runner.

[bill reed]

Re: High Drives

hi lowpost
when you say roll do you mean roll from top to bottom or from toe to heel, i checked my metal ping zing driver and 3 wood and they have a very slite roll from toe to heel but no roll at all from top to bottom, my old ping eye2 wooden driver had roll both ways.
bill

[LowPost42]

Re: High Drives

Hi Bill,

Bulge is toe-heel, roll is top-bottom.

Even the Wishon drivers have a bit of roll at the top of the face (to avoid knuckleballs), but generally speaking their GRT heads (which is any driver after and including the 515GRT) have bulge but no roll.

The easiest way to check if you've got roll is to put a credit card in the middle of the face. If it touches the middle and bottom, then you've got a GRT based head. If it 'rocks', then you've got traditional roll.

[bill reed]

Re: High Drives

hi lowpost
i did that with a square and no role top to bottom but roll from tow to heel, thats why i asked as my old driver had roll both ways.
bill

[LowPost42]

Re: High Drives

Good stuff. You must find that you launch the ball pretty consistently!

[bill reed]

Re: High Drives

hi lowpost
yes i seem to get the same shot time and time again but i dont swing at 100% its more 90% with me, i like control over power. i can hit my driver off the fairway easely and do it on two of the par 5 at my course, i hit a good drive about 270 yards with roll and off fairway about 255 yards my 3 wood i hit about 240 yards and my one iron 220 yards.
i find if i try and hit at 100% i start spraying the ball all over the course,
if i want to hit it high off the tee i tee it low and it flys about 15 yards higher and lands about 20 yards short of my normal shot, if i want to hit low i use my 1 iron.
lowpost i take it its not normal not to have roll both ways on a driver or 3 wood. again my zing driver and 3 wood are about 9 years old but i play fine with them.
bill

[LowPost42]

Re: High Drives

Lowpost i take it its not normal not to have roll both ways on a driver or 3 wood. again my zing driver and 3 wood are about 9 years old but i play fine with them.
bill

Actually, it's the norm to have 10-12" of bulge and roll. The anomaly is having almost no roll!

And most fairway woods have minimal to no roll (as it's not necessary).

[bill reed]

Re: High Drives

hi lowpost
thanks again for the info, good to have someone who knows all this stuff and to keep the rest of us informed.
thank again

bill