If you're not used to it:

Hit down on an imaginary ball 3-4 inches before the real ball. And assure that you don't run out of right arm before the real ball is gone. Maybe you will se a straighter ball too.

Good advice, Richie3Jack, thanks.

I guess I'll continue hitting up with the driver, as that's what I'm more comfortable with, but I'll practice hitting down too; I'm sure I can find an instance where that can come in handy.

Btw, I enjoy reading your blog. Excellent stuff. :)

@ BerntR,

Thanks, I am used to hitting up with the driver with the low point before the ball. I was just wondering if it's recommended that the right elbow straightens out at that low point or not. Thanks for the tip, though. :)

I think you should go with whatever you can get the best results with consistently. The average PGA Tour golfer hits -1* down with the driver. I think the Long Driver competition is around +4* up.

The wind is what would concern me about hitting up quite a bit with a driver. Tough to gauge just how much the ball will bend even if you strike a ball flush and the wind takes over.





3JACK

As far as wind influence goes, I guess it depends on your driver.

I play with a very hot 8* driver. Something that is quite low loft for my moderate swing speed. So I have to hit it close to low point or on the upturn to get a proper carry. Therefore I get very moderate side spin. And because it has so little loft it also has very moderate back spin.

With the driver I never see my drives baloon up in the air and I hardly see the ball being blown sideways by the either either. This is very different from my fairway woods and irons of course, and pretty much due to the low loft.

I probably see slightly less carry in windstill conditions than I would have with a carry-optimised driver, but I think addded roll makes up for it. And besides - it's with the wind in the face that distance becomes a scarce resource. So I like to use a driver that produces max carry with the wind in my face.

I play with a Bangster head. The face is so hard and so smooth I can still use it as a mirror after some 5 years of usage. The only bad thing about this head is that I hardly get any backspin and thus very little carry whenever the clubhead and ball gets wet. Then I have to use a 3 wood instead. So this is not a driver for rainy days, but it is perfect in windy conditions and good conditions.

IMO, finding a driver that really fits the player is extremely immportant both for distance and consistency.

From a clubfitting perspective, what really appeals to me about Trackman is their driver fitting and yardage gapping.

But the driver fitting can measure many things, particularly landing angle. You don't get that with other monitors and I often wonder if my landing angle is too steep.

Back when I was a junior I used to be able to generate more clubhead speed, so I could use a lower lofted driver and still get it a good ways up in the air and have to worry about the wind carrying the ball over into the rough. I'd really like to get a driver fitting soon with Trackman.



3JACK

Trackman sounds really interesting. I believe landing angle is important too. What you'd want will depend on your swing speed and the kind of course you're playing. You wouldn't want a shallow landing angle if you're a 120+mph guy playing at St. Andrews.

But I'd like to reinforce my headwind argument. Most drivers are fittet for max carry in no wind conditions. But when do we need distance the most? With the wind in the face of course. Besides, on most courses a little less carry will be easily negotiated with a lot more roll.

Hitting straight down to hit up (almost)
 

:)

While on the range today, I was experimenting with driving my impact hands almost straight down into the ball. ("Batting with a pitch elbow?") I realized that I could control the flight of any shot by the ball placement in relation to the "nutcracker" type of move.

I teed the ball a little lower and put it right in front of the the bottom of where the driver would move level to the ground. The drive, like a lot of my wood shots, produced a tv like "bb" that "climbed the hill" and made me laugh out loud!:laughing1

A fella with a Medicus driver asked me if I cared to swing the Medicus dual-hinge. I was afraid to break the stick but I repeated the same motion three times without disturbing the hinges of the club. "Elbow back and in/push straight down with a narrower stance. I had never touched the dual-hinge before!:laughing

I told the young man my left hip is artificial but the fine instruction of this site and TGM was free! :laughing1

LOL

You would be THE dream student. Learning TGM and not afraid to experiment with different ideas and components. IMO, that's what is so special about Homer Kelley's work, and what makes G.O.L.F. so fun.

No right, wrong, or best. HAVE FUN!

Kevin

Thanks Kevin and everyone for such a great site!
 

:laughing1