Driving Problems

[Rob_BCFC]

Ok just thouhgt you ought to know straight away that I'm pretty shocking at golf and have never been able to drive. Well today I started doing the usual 50-100 yard drives rolling along the ground until someone said to me that I lift my body up on my backswing and then when I follow through. So I tried driving without doing that and it went pretty far (and in the air for a change). But I still find it difficult to keep my body straight every time. Any tips?

Also, when i do connect with it and it goes up in the air, I slice it hugely every time. Any help for that as well?

Thanks

Rob

[Ian Hancock]

Re: Driving Problems

Hi Rob,

There are two ways to stop lifting, one with the aid of a friend, have him/her stand infront of you when you address the ball and hold the butt end of another club on the top of your head, you will find the club can stay there right until after impact where you will naturally lift a little.

The second if you are on you own is to take a few practice swings daily looking up and fixing your eyes on a target, you should be able to tell if your are lifting.

Try these first then see if your slice is still there.


Ian.

[Simon Woo]

Re: Driving Problems

This was a classic perception vs reality issue for me. I always felt I was keeping level but shockingly I was lifting quite a bit. It helps if you can get a video camera to take your swing. I changed my perception to feel as if I am going slightly down in my backswing, video showed that I was then keeping level. (I made sure I taped it well so that I was not over stooping instead). After a while perception has merged with reality - I now feel level and video shows I am indeed level.

So get your swing taped if you can. It will show up other faults you might not even perceive at all Cheers.

[ubizmo]

Re: Driving Problems

I agree with Simon on the value of looking at video of your swing. It's amazing what you see.

Here's something else you can try. When you swing, if you're making a hip turn, your right heel will start to come up at the moment of impact (if you're right-handed, of course). Make a point of watching for this in your peripheral vision. If you see your right heel start to come up, that means your head is still where it should be at the moment of impact. If you pull up too soon, you won't be able to see your right heel lift.

I used to have a very strong tendency to lift up and top the ball, but I rarely do it anymore (I have plenty of other faults, but not that one). This method fixed it for me completely.