# Driving.....again!!



## Gordi4738 (Jan 16, 2012)

First up I'm a complete novice (been playing for 6months) and as you all know driving is tough however, I'm averaging 200yds almost always straight!!! So what's the problem?? Well if you imagine the ball sitting in the tee as a clock face being 12 then for my drives I only swing halfway (3 in the clock) at 5' 11 and 185lbs I'm not short on strength but if I increase backswing I also increase slice/inaccuracy. I've added up my last three rounds on 3 separate courses and my handicap would be 16 so my irons/putting is fine. Just really want to add distance to drive suggestions???


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## CrossGolfPro (Jan 21, 2012)

Gordi,

Without seeing your swing on tape, we know that essentially the clubhead speed plus where you contact the ball on the face is going to factor into your driving distance. One thing that would help is to know what your launch angle looks like. Is the ball going very high in the air and not rolling once it hits the ground?

Generally what I could suggest is this: watch some youtube videos of tennis players, baseball players and golfers. They all make a similar move when they make their down swing. They begin pushing their weight forward by using their front knee turning toward the target. As the hips turn they thrust forward giving you some extra leverage in your foundation.

Hope that helps


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## Gordi4738 (Jan 16, 2012)

Hey thanks you kinda nailed it my ball flight is quite high so I'll take into account your suggestions thanks so much. I'll let you know how it goes.
Gordi


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## CrossGolfPro (Jan 21, 2012)

Definitely! Do me a favor, let me know what kind of you gear you have, especially on the drive. I had an issue where I had a 110mph club head speed but was using a still shaft with a 10.5 degree head. Finally had to change it into a x-stiff with 8.5 head and the ball flight came way down.



Gordi4738 said:


> Hey thanks you kinda nailed it my ball flight is quite high so I'll take into account your suggestions thanks so much. I'll let you know how it goes.
> Gordi


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## Almost Pro (Jan 27, 2012)

Gordi,

From what I've read, swing speed is everything in terms of driving distance. Make sure to make a full shoulder turn, due to the non-full swing you are making you may sometimes forget to turn your shoulders as much as you need to (at least 90 degrees). It's hard to answer without seeing your swing, so the slice could be due to many different factors. The greater my shoulder turn the more power I am able to create and the longer my drives will be, but you have to be careful to not take away too much accuracy for distance. Hope that helps.


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## behing19 (Mar 5, 2012)

Most likely the second half of your full swing with the driver has you casting the club, which causes you to cut across it. You need to work on taking the club outside from the beginning of the swing, then from inside to out on the way down.

Without actually seeing your swing it's hard to advice exactly what to do. Feel free to find a way to video it and post it or send it to me and I can evaluate it further.

My advice looking at those that have responded......don't worry about changing your equipment at all until you fix your swing.....there really is no point and it won't make a big enough difference at your level of play until your swing is consistent. 

In addition, DON't watch any video of baseball players.....trying to teach a baseball player how to swing a golf club is not easy. This won't help much, in my opinion.

Also, swing speed might not be your issue. Yes a faster swing equals more distance, but so does taking away a slice and hitting a more boaring ball flight instead of a popup......Your issues are most likely with your swing. Concentrate on the swing before you worry about anything else.

Benjamin Ehinger


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## keiko (Apr 19, 2011)

Since your question is a general one, I can only give a general answer which is increase your lag. Most short drivers lack lag or the ability to delay hitting until you are in the impact zone. This means making sure your hands are ahead of the clubface coming into impact while your lower body has rotated ahead of the upper body.
You need to increase your coil which is the difference between the upper body and lower body rotation on the backswing, this sets you up for stored power and gives you lag.
Google lag and read articles.


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