Driver Leaking Badly to the Right

[Jazzyshan]

When using (what I think is) a hitting procedure, I'm having great success hitting very straight and very pure irons. In fact, I've been hitting some wonderful shots all the way through my bag....until I get to my driver, where my ball develops a sudden affinity for the right side of the golf course. When "hitting" the driver, my clubface feels open at impact, is open at impact, and I do not get the same results as I do with my other clubs. I feel like I'm making the same swing, but obviously something is going on here. Any suggestions?

[bts]

Have you tried a stiffer club? Slightly toe-in at address may also help.

[EdZ]

When using (what I think is) a hitting procedure, I'm having great success hitting very straight and very pure irons. In fact, I've been hitting some wonderful shots all the way through my bag....until I get to my driver, where my ball develops a sudden affinity for the right side of the golf course. When "hitting" the driver, my clubface feels open at impact, is open at impact, and I do not get the same results as I do with my other clubs. I feel like I'm making the same swing, but obviously something is going on here. Any suggestions?

Hit more 'out' and less 'down' as the club gets longer.

[ldeit]

Check your clubface alignment at impact fix.

Lynn has gone into this before, maybe he knows the exact thread. But if hitting the clubface will be more closed at impact fix as the clubs get longer in length.

When I saw Lynn in August, I knew this before but was not applying it. Swinging is a whole different alignment. Shouldn't mix the two!

ldeit

[Jazzyshan]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Well, I was able to sneak an hour of practice in between the SoCal rainstorms yesterday, and here's what I did. I experimented with setting up with my clubface open and using Brian Manzella's twist-away move. This made me swing more inside, and, perhaps subconsiously, work to close the clubface through impact. I was actually able to turn the ball over and hit some nice draws, and my leakage to the right was, for the most part, eliminated.

However, I have a feeling I'm venturing into the domain of swinging instead of hitting. Obviously, whatever works, but is it OK to swing my driver and hit the rest of my clubs? I'd rather stick with one swing method throughout the bag.

[rchang72]

A number of players swing the longer clubs and hit with the shorter irons. If you are good enough to know both well, it's better for you.

Swinging seems to allow for more distance, because you are using the long radius of your left arm and shaft as a lever that amplifies centrifugal force. But with the swivel of the grip, there seems to be an added possibility of wobble.

Hitting seems to a more precise procedure. Setup at impact fix, take it up to the top and then back down. Distance is limited to how strong your muscular right arm thrust would be.

Swinging a driver would be fine. The amount of leeway is greater in finding a fairway, and distance is what's wanted. Hitting short irons would probably be better as accuracy is more key than making your PW go 150 yds. Just my 2 cents.

[Sbark]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Well, I was able to sneak an hour of practice in between the SoCal rainstorms yesterday, and here's what I did. I experimented with setting up with my clubface open and using Brian Manzella's twist-away move. This made me swing more inside, and, perhaps subconsiously, work to close the clubface through impact. I was actually able to turn the ball over and hit some nice draws, and my leakage to the right was, for the most part, eliminated.

However, I have a feeling I'm venturing into the domain of swinging instead of hitting. Obviously, whatever works, but is it OK to swing my driver and hit the rest of my clubs? I'd rather stick with one swing method throughout the bag.

See the new C. Evans mini-video's series on his site, also describes a grad. closing on downstroke for hitters.

he has a bunch of very nice little vid. segments--

[YodasLuke]

When using (what I think is) a hitting procedure, I'm having great success hitting very straight and very pure irons. In fact, I've been hitting some wonderful shots all the way through my bag....until I get to my driver, where my ball develops a sudden affinity for the right side of the golf course. When "hitting" the driver, my clubface feels open at impact, is open at impact, and I do not get the same results as I do with my other clubs. I feel like I'm making the same swing, but obviously something is going on here. Any suggestions?

The thing that I see most of the time is bad rythm. If there's ANY attempt to add more force to the driver, the body might rotate a little too far. For hitting (4 barrel), the startdown is the same as swinging. Then the right shoulder must become the hitters' platform. If the right forearm is not allowed to pass your line of sight, you are left without the proper overtaking. You can hit it off the planet to the right if the startdown is too fast or the overtaking doesn't take place.

I use this explanation a lot in my own teaching. Imagine a door closing around a hinge. You don't close the door by moving the wall (turning your body). You close the door by moving it around the hinge. Imagine the hinge pin being the left arm, not your spine. The club passes around the left arm (the golfers' flail). If the wall continues to move, the door has a really hard time catching up.

I'd bet a LARGE sum of money that this is your problem, simply guessing by description. Seeing it would surely help.

[powerdraw]

[quote="YodasLuke"][quote="Jazzyshan"]The thing that I see most of the time is bad rythm. If there's ANY attempt to add more force to the driver, the body might rotate a little too far. For hitting (4 barrel), the startdown is the same as swinging. Then the right shoulder must become the hitters' platform. If the right forearm is not allowed to pass your line of sight, you are left without the proper overtaking. You can hit it off the planet to the right if the startdown is too fast or the overtaking doesn't take place.

I use this explanation a lot in my own teaching. Imagine a door closing around a hinge. You don't close the door by moving the wall (turning your body). You close the door by moving it around the hinge. Imagine the hinge pin being the left arm, not your spine. The club passes around the left arm (the golfers' flail). If the wall continues to move, the door has a really hard time catching up.

quote]

yodaluke or someone else, could you go into more detail about this 'right forearm allowed to pass line of sight'??? and overtaking? thanks!

[Sbark]

[quote="powerdraw"][quote="YodasLuke"]

The thing that I see most of the time is bad rythm. If there's ANY attempt to add more force to the driver, the body might rotate a little too far. For hitting (4 barrel), the startdown is the same as swinging. Then the right shoulder must become the hitters' platform. If the right forearm is not allowed to pass your line of sight, you are left without the proper overtaking. You can hit it off the planet to the right if the startdown is too fast or the overtaking doesn't take place.


yodaluke or someone else, could you go into more detail about this 'right forearm allowed to pass line of sight'??? and overtaking? thanks!

............Is there another thread or mini-vid that further explains this, seems to be a common problem with hitters.........

to me it part of haveing slack on the downswing, looseing extensor action as the downswing occurs etc