Re: driving problems

Loosen up a bit. I've had the same problem in the past. Mostly it's in the head. On the range there is no pressure because you are not in a game. As soon as you hit the tee box you are telling yourself to hit a good drive, try not to mess up the shot. So the last thing in your mind before you hit your drive is something negative. If you are thinking slice before you drive, you are sure to hit a perfect slice. Same goes for hooks, water, trees, etc. When you address the ball, try thinking about what a good drive you are going to have. I've found personally that if I take a deep breath and tell myself there's no pressure and I'm just hitting another range ball, I hit the ball farther and straighter. Take the pressure off yourself, think positive(straight up the middle) and have a good round.

Re: driving problems

Hi Chris

You have to remember that on the driving range there is absolutely no pressure , so you can just go ahead and hit the ball . On the course you have many mental pressures such as teeing off in front of people, hitting the ball onto the fairway and avoiding trouble.

You said that on the range that you can drive 250 yards , IS THIS CONSISTANT AND STRAIGHT?, or is you brain fooling you into remembering only your good drives????. If it is the former then all you have to do is learn to relax on the tee, concentrate on a target in the distance and use the tee box to avoid trouble on the fairway ( if for intance there is a bunker 210 yards away on the left hand side , just tee up on the left of the tee box and aim down the right side of the fairway, remembering to pick out a target in the distance) .

Hope this is of help

Re: driving problems

What is your course like? Is it narrow driving with lots of trouble? Are you worried about making the ball go offline and into trouble when you are on the tee?

I bet you are relaxed in the mind and focused on making a good swing on the range...no negative thought (expect the normal, "why won't this guy next to me shut up!")

It's as simple as having that same relaxed focus on the teebox. If the hole has lots of touble, take the 3w. Just having a club that you know will not go your "MAX" distance is enough to trick your mind into making a controled swing because you are taking a club that is "for" control.

Then on the big drive holes, take the driver and imagine the range out there.

Re: driving problems(Greg?)

I am in the same boat too! I can hit thie irons long and straight. But the moment I pick the big dog I hit errant tee shots. Again the range is a different story. There have been days when I have played with just the irons!! Any par 4 less than 400 yards is ok but when the the yardage is grreater or the dog leg is severe (requiring a longer tee shot to have a view of the pin in the second shot) I have no choice but to pull the driver/3w. But by now I have not used these and have no confidence in them.

Here are my questions....

I know the ball position is different(1W vs irons) and hence the sweeping vs hitting down action but what else is?

Is there a way to atleast block/remove one side of the hole away; so that we can miss decently(unlike missing onany side1). I read Jack Nickalus did that. What is the key to doing it? Like never hooking while a fade or even a slice is OK.

Re: driving problems

First of all, 250-300 is a long way. This would mean on 400 yard hole your ball would end up between the 150 and 100 yd markers and you would only have perhaps an 8,9 or pw left to the green. Does this sound like your game??. I guess my point is, if you think you should hit it that far, you maybe really trying to crush it to that distance. I would initally try and tone it down a bit and aim for a very specific landing area on the fairway about 180 to 200 yds out. This might take the pressure off of thinking you have to hit it so far and allow you to make more solid contact with the clubhead. You may even be surprised at the distance you get. Hope this helps, Mike.

Re: driving problems

My advice this week is slightly different then it would have been a couple of weeks ago, but, here goes: Get someone who really know golf to help you with your swing. Take a lesson or get a scratch handicap to watch you take some swings. My brother is a scratch handicap. I've had a terrible slice for the past two years and it didn't matter how much I tried different setups, I still sliced. This past Tuesday night at men's night, my brother took a look at my swing and straightened my drive out in less then two minutes. Since then I've been to the driving range a few times and played a couple rounds using the swing just like he showed me and I haven't hit a slice since. Get at least one lesson on proper swing then practice until your muscle memory makes it natural. Trust me, it will do wonders not only for your driver, but your irons as well.

Re: driving problems

One other thing: PRACTICE GREGS RIGHT HAND DRILL!!! It works.

Re: driving problems

Hi

It may help you if you read 'Zen Golf' by Dr Joseph Parent. Don't worry, it's not as 'hippy' as it sounds. It discusses a number of techniques to help relaxation and to promote a positive attitude.

Also helpful would be to have a repeatable pre-shot routine.

Re: driving problems

I used to spray my driver a bit. Driving range was never a problem. I'm a long ball hitter and average about 290, so spraying the ball on most courses can get you in a lot of trouble. I read a book a couple years back called "Mind Over Matter". I'll try to find it and post the author and stuff later on. It talked about the last thought through your head before you swing. If you are looking at a sand trap or pond up the left side and you are thinking, don't hit it in that trap, the last thought through your mind is that bunker. That's just how the mind works, and 80% of the time you will hit it straight at that bunker. Since reading this "theory" I've learned to think good thoughts on the tee. I've even gone so far as to say things like, "don't hit that 100 yard marker in the middle of the fairway". You'd be surprised how good this works, just by changing your frame of mind a bit. LIke a few others have mentioned here relax a bit. On our driving range, the woods straight ahead is about 280 from the tee boxes. There is a huge tree in the middle that I always aim at. I've knocked the **** out of that tree on the range and if I can do it there, I can do it on the course. Sometimes on the tee during a game I'll picture that tree on the fairway where I want to hit, just to relax a bit and give it that "driving range" feel. The mind is a good thing or a bad thing,,,just depends on how you control it. I started golfing at 28 years old, had a 12 handicap my first year. Read this book about half way through my 2nd season and finished my 2nd year with a 7 handicap. Today I shot a 71, hitting 12 of 14 fairways with my driver, and that score moved my factor to a +0.3. 3 seasons of golf plus 28 rounds so far this year got me scratch, and I believe everyday it's because of the way I think around a golf course. Mind Over Matter!! and RELAX!!

Re: driving problems

Good post there tigerwannabee. What I think of when I'm teeing up is, OUTDRIVE YOUR BROTHER(tigerwannabee), OUTDRIVE YOU BROTHER, OUTDRIVE YOUR BROTHER. That seems to work for me sometimes.


P.S. Wanna go to Moncton and check out a couple of their courses this weekend???