Wow! and Help!

[krpainter]

Went out and hit a large bucket at lunch today and couldn't get over how consistent and well I am hitting my irons. I have gained 15 yards on every iron since last season, but the consistency is what gets me excited...usually I would have a great range session after warming up followed by a "shank city" session the next day. Today I didn't warm up or stretch and just hit 1 solid shot after another. My misses tend to be 15-20 yard pulls, but close to same distance, instead of last year where my misses were shanks or hitting it fat (and occasionally topping it for good measure).

Besides all the allignment changes, the thing that made a huge difference was clearing the right hip. Instead of the traditional weight shift with the right knee brace which I tried to do before, I now just move the right hip back by losing some flex in the right knee, keep my head steady and then just bring hands straight up (feels like that to me) and then back down and through. Very simple and repeatable...I actually initiate the backstroke with first clearing the right hip, and then just fan the right forearm to the top and feel like I am swearing in for a trial.

I got the right hip idea from Yoda when playing back my lesson tape and him telling me "clear the right hip" many times. I heard Brian and Chuck mention this before on their forums, and I thought I was doing it, but I wasn't. It wasn't until I conciously did this before I started the backswing that I saw results.

Over the last several years I have become a golf junkie and read a lot of golf books, training methods, etc. and no where have I ever seen this as an option. But it really works for me!

Now to the HELP! part : I still can't hit the driver. The good news is that I don't see a slice that would be OB, but I do the same thing pretty consistently now: I hit a super high shot about 150-175 yards straight (looks like a 9 iron or PW ball flight). I can feel me hitting the rubber tee and slowing the clubhead down and I have the green marks from the mat on the bottom of my driver. I am hitting down on the driver way to low.

I almost wanted to tell the guy next to me on the range today "What do you think of my new oversized 9 wood?".

I tried several things but got the same result...wonder if it is an aiming point issue...

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED!!

Keith

[birdie_man]

Check your ball position man. Might be too far back with too high of a tee.

Maybe check your tilt too...if you have too much weight towards the target that could cause a steep swing.

If you are working on swing changes remember too that the driver is a harder club to hit.

Hope that helps.

-Paul

[Bagger Lance]

KR,

It's difficult to know why you might have driver woes, but it sounds like you are coming down a little steep. I'm assuming you are hitting.
One of the keys for me is to make sure I'm setting up with the right forearm on plane and the wedges are positioned for a hitters impact. In other words, left wrist flat and vertical to the plane and right forearm directly behind the loading action on the shaft.
When you look down at the right forearm you will see two things; the path your hands will take to the turned shoulder location when you pick up the club on the backstroke, and the path the hands will take on the way to the inside quadrant of the ball. (Angle of Approach). The right forearm is on plane so use it as a visual equivalent!
Take your frozen impact hand alignments up and then drive them back down and through the ball. Drive the #1 pressure point into the ball. Take the whole clubshaft into and through the ball.

It's magic.
It's THE Magic of the Right Forearm.

Bagger

[krpainter]

Good ideas Paul & Bagger. I have had some success with the driver both on the course and at the range...but mostly because I switched back to a shorter driver. In one of my frustrated periods last summer I picked up 1 of those Perfect Drivers that is only 42.5" long, compared to my TM 540XD which is 45.5" long. After I posted this I dug out my Perfect Driver and brought it to the range a couple weeks ago and had better success with it and have used it ever since (confidence thing).

I will try to eventually switch back, but not right now. The thing I find kinda funny is that I have always been a slicer, but now I can hit a fairly consistent draw at the range, but as soon as I go to the course the draw becomes a fade, which is fine with me cause a fade is better than a slice. I came to the conclusion that this is beause I don't totally trust my swing on the course...at the range to do the draw it feels like to me that I am swinging from the inside towards right field and at the course I guess being a lifetime slicer that is a scary feeling.

Thanks again for the helpful suggestions,

Keith