Help, anybody. I've been studying Tom's latest driver video and trying the technique on the course, just yesterday. Oddly, to me, with his method I'm hitting irons and hybrids increasingly well, especially wedges, mostly straight, longer than before and crisp, with a nice crackling sound. But the driver, using Tom' method, is going wild -- too low and not long or long (for me) but with huge, high, banana slices landing in woods and on rooftops.
I did better with the driver using my old style, but I do believe Tom's way, done properly, will produce more distance. Should I tee it lower, move the ball back? Obviously the face is way open.
Thanks to all.
@rmalaspina - Oftentimes when golfers are hitting everything well except for the driver it can be attributed to one of the following:
1) They don't start with - or maintain - enough weight on the front side. In general with the longer clubs we should add a little more front weight load at address - more like 60/40 instead of the 55/45 prescribed for the other clubs. This forward weight should gradually increase to the top of the backswing (70/30) and build further on the downswing - approximately 80/20 halfway down, 90/10 impact, and 95/5 finish.
2) Their hips are not continuing their lateral slide through impact. This is common with the driver as the wider stance means that the hips have a greater distance to travel. If the hips stop moving laterally towards the target on the downswing then their rotation takes over, changing the low point and rerouting the club. This can produce a variety of undesirable results including fat and thin contact, low ball flight, topped shots and popups, straight pulls, “banana” slices, and, consequently, lack of distance. Here is a drill from the Fixing Common Swing Problems section specific to building in more lateral hip slide in the downswing. Alternatively, if you prefer to focus on your Tailbone-to-Target action during the backswing, then your downswing will not require nearly as much lateral hip motion since they are already well forward by the time you get to the top.
3) They are not allowing the length of the club to dictate the backswing path and are getting too steep as a result. The shaft length of the driver - combined with the facts that we push the hands an inch or so farther away from the body in the driver setup and are typically hitting a teed ball - encourages more of an around the body backswing as established by the shaft plane at address. It may "feel" flat as you take it back along the shaft plane for the first few feet, but as long as you maintain the "weight forward, shoulder down, and hands in" components while allowing the club to work around you, it should put you in the proper position at the top so you can attack the ball from the inside. This recent KFC Club members video may help in this regard.
This is a common issue that I am regularly asked to fix, so if yours doesn't relate to any of the above causes - or if it does and you are experiencing difficulty resolving it - we can always arrange for an online lesson or a V1 swing video analysis to pinpoint the culprit and offer an appropriate solution.
Let's get you on track to making that big dawg bark!
Tom