Blocking my Drives!!!!!

[cheffie]

Hi can you help, it seems that i am blocking my drives or are they pushes?? i dont really know?? They start wright of the target and keep going . Is there any drills i can use to correct this??
Many Thanks

[bill reed]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

check your not playing ball to far back, i tend to block it out to right if i play it inside my left heel, so now its more off my big toe and i catch it more with the start of my upswing so it flys higher of my 8% driver.
hope this helps
bill

[cheffie]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

Ok thanks i'll give it a go??

[gark]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

I agree with Bill's advice. I just want to add a few more pointers.

One mistake that people make when they move the ball position forward is that they also increase the amount of spine tilt(left-right) that they have. What this does is move the bottom of the swing to the left. Tilting the spine right also moves the apex of the swing to the left. So basically, you're back to where you started from only this time you're losing your balance more easily.

Both 'bottom of the swing' and 'apex of the swing' fall roughly on the vertical (front to back) plane created by your spine. Moving the ball of the left foot tries to improve the qualities of your impact by 1) delaying impact to when the clubhead is on the upswing (after bottoming out) and 2) delaying impact to a point 'at' or slightly after the apex (farthest point) of the swing. Tilting the spine negates both points 1 and 2.

Solution:
- move the ball position to the left. Experiment by making small adjustments.
- lessen spine tilt. Try to address the ball with the spine almost vertical.
This can be achieved by positioning the clubhead about 4-5 inches behind the ball at setup. Doing this improves 1 and 2 (see above) and it also improves your balance creating a more stable and repeatable swing.
- Keep your head in the same location from setup to impact. Don't let it drift forward.

[bill reed]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

hi gark
yes i agree with you also. i find because my right hand below left, my right shoulders lower and with ball forward with driver its even lower and its so easy to tilt the spine lot more thats why i stand open and hit a fade. i find it much harder to control a draw as just as you say my spine tends to tilt more and i lose my in to out swing,
thank
bill

[cheffie]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

That is what was happening, so lessen the tilt a bit then?? Do i square the club face to the ball and bring it back a touch??? then start my backswing

[gark]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

Yes, square the clubface to the target line but setup with the clubhead about 4-5 inches behind the ball. Straightening your right arm will also help in lessening spine tilt.

Experiment with lining up the
- clubface heel with the ball
- clubface center with the ball
- clubface toe with the ball
(again in small increments)

Allow for a synchronized hip turn on the downswing but keep your head position steady.

Since you'll be hitting on the upswing, experiment with higher tee heights.

Keep your grip pressure light throughout your swing.

[bill reed]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

hi again
try puting impact tape on driver helps find the right tee height and can also show if ball to far back/forward in stance too. if you hit it low on driver and you know you your tee's low too then move ball back a little in stance, its harder if hitting high on driver as it could be tee hight and also ball to far back, it just a case of trying it out till you find what works best for you, ball in stance -V- tee hight
bill

[cheffie]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

Cheers guys for your input..I'll go up the range tomorrow and give it a go, As for tees i either use the grey stepped ones or the pts ones the long ones with the colour band. (i use the blue banded one 400cc)

Should i play around with the wieghts in my r7?? at the moment i have it set up for more draw 2x10 heel, 2x 2 toe

[bill reed]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

leave driver set till your hitting the same shot week after week, then you can change setting about as you know where you shots always go, if you dont hit ball the same way every time dont change anything till you do or you get even more confused about whats making the ball do what.
bill

[shootin4par]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

a possiblity, may be the rear elbow flying instead of staying pointed down, this could cause blocks and snap hooks

[Mr_Change]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

I Started playing golf with hitting slices. I wanted to hit a draw shot I was told about swinging from the inside and guess what, I stopped the slice and started with blocked shots. What I did to fix the proble was firstly move the ball to the instep of my left foot and to make suremy club is square at impact I try to feel like I'm hitting the ball with the back of my left hand, and now I get a slight draw almost a straight shot.

[cheffie]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

I have been up the range for the last couple of days, working on Addressing the ball 6 inches away from it!! Squaring the club face.. etc(looks a little closed??) The results are amazing, soft little draw, couple of blocks now and then.. But it seems more work on this and i'll be more on the short stuff.. Thanks guys for your input

[gark]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

Glad to hear that your drives are getting better.

For those blocks,
- one possibility is that you might be doing too much of a forward movement which might also be affecting your head position at impact.
- another is that you might still have too much spine tilt. Sometimes this will quietly creep into your setup (since we were all conditioned to do this by previous instructions. )

[cheffie]

Re: Blocking my Drives!!!!!

I was working on none or very little tilt? Slowed my body down a bit so my arms could keep up???

Why does not addressing the ball directly make such a difference??