My iron play and short game has improved significantly since I started doing S&T but I just can’t transfer it to the tee.
I sold my driver and got a new 3 wood and still just can’t hit it with any consistency. Very frustrating
The key issue is coming way too steeply into the ball and pop it up into the air, or I duck hook it left
I’m possibly teeing it up too high but has anyone got any good tips or swing thoughts that have helped you when it comes to fairway woods off the tee
My HC is 10.5 so I feel if I can sort It out then I’ll go to single figure as it’s a huge weakness
Thank you for any replies
Tim
Not sure why S&T would be to blame for a golfer being "too narrow" at the top. I drive the ball much longer - and far more consistently - than I ever did pre-S&T, and I know many of my students and SG online school members can and do attest to the same.
Anyway, this recent channel video should be along the lines of what you are asking about.
Update Played in a pro am on Sunday Inconsistent off tee again…..the pro in our group said one of reasons is I’m way too narrow at top of backswing He’s played on European Tour and said he used to be a S&T player but couldn’t get it going off the tee so gave up on it (said he learnt with Jamie Donaldson as had same coach) Are there any drills or videos for more depth/width in backswing for driver/fairway woods? I.e hands away more from right shoulder
Good suggestion I’ll give it a go
Pull all day left not long!
I was having really poor contact with my longer clubs and stumbled across a fix which may help you.
I was fortunate enough to have a session in a trackman studio. My clubhead speed with my driver was 79mph and I couldn't work out why. I was popping the ball up into the air, hitting big hooks or balls that had a topspin shape to them.
Spend 2.5 hours working on various "fixes" and managed to get my clubhead speed up to 89mph and was striking the ball great. Took it to the course and shot 9 over par on a course I've never played before.
The fix was to move the ball forward so at set-up it was outside my lead foot but still with the weight forward, and hands forward (but not ahead of the ball).
This worked for me and I have no idea as to why but now I'm oozing with confidence with the longer clubs.
I have the best result with my 3 W without tee, just hit it from the ground.
Only if I need a very high ballflight (uphill), I use a tee 0,2 inch higher than the ground.
Hi Tim,
Oftentimes when golfers are hitting everything well except for the longer clubs 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 longer clubs 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, topped shots and popups, straight pulls, and “banana” slices. Here is a drill from the Fixing Common Swing Problems section specific to building in more lateral hip slide in the downswing.
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 longer clubs 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. Also, remember in your setup, as opposed to the irons where the arms hang naturally from the shoulders, with the driver we push the hands slightly outward to further encourage an around-the-body swing motion.
Take comfort in the fact that 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.
These are my "technical" thoughts. Perhaps others here in the Forum community may have additional thoughts, feels, and experiences to share in terms of how they progressed with the driver and fairway woods.
Tom