i have bought a big headed driver but i cant hit the ball off the ground from the tee i dont use a full swing a friend has said  this is why i cant get it off the ground i just use a half swing can anybody confirm that this is  the reason   why i cant get it off the ground .thanks.

The sweet spot on the modern driver is quite high on the face. That, allied to the low loft on a driver, make it a very difficult club to hit of the ground. Its a relatively high risk shot and not one I'd take on very often - maybe once every few months, and even then its rare that it will come off.

perhaps i should have explained better i cant hit the ball in the air from the tee can any body help.

I have never been one to hit high balls, anyway, so now that my swing speed with a driver is down 70mph I have taken my good friend Ivans, advivce and purchased a secondhand 13.5 degree driver.

I have only used it twice and the first time was pretty dismal, but yesterday it showed signs of perhaps being able to do the trick for. Not any extra length of course but with the better flight I am managing to keep it in play.

There are far too many macho players using stiff shafts when they would certainly benefit from Regular ones and those of us with the slower swing speeds will certainly benefit from higher lofted drivers.

Stephen,

First a couple of questions.

1. What 'loft' has this driver got?

2. Do you have this problem with other 'woods'?

3. How high are you teeing the ball?

Now let me guess.

Your friends say that you hit the ball as far as them with a half swing. This means you are delofting the club so this makes the driver have no loft when hit..

Have you bought a 8.5* or less club?

Just a few thoughts for you.

TheLyth

Steven, How far do you hit your 3 & 5 wood ? I have been playing about 14 years and have only used a driver for the past 3 or 4 years as I too couldnt get it airbourne. A few tip on what I did to rectify although it may not work for evryone.

1. Position ball opposie left heel.

2. tee up using white castle tee peg.

3. put about 70% of weight on right foot during swing.

4. Ive got 13.5 deg driver. ( more like 2.5 wood ).

Try these and see how you get on.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Always professionally measure woods' lofts as there is less than a 5% chance that the stated loft is accurate. As a rule of thumb golf shops sell on the basis that head loft may be up to two degrees out. The following table is mine and may be reproduced for private use without consent being necessary.

  http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/sanderslongdrive/Table.jpg"
style="width: 620px; height: 833px" />

my driver is a 9.5 loft and i dont use a 3 or 5 wood off tee i use a hybrid am i using the right driver i have the tee high

High? With respect, most golfers do no understand what 'high' entails. But possibly you are the exception.

A driver is meant to be used by staying behind the ball and hitting between 1 and 5 degrees on the upstroke. With a modern 460cc head this is almost impossible to achieve without using a tee of between 3.25" and 4" in length.  Four inches is the maximum legal length allowed.

Even midgets like myself and Landon can use 4" tees without problem. It's not about size or power but rather technique. Most golfers can play an iron shot with the ball 'above them' but have never learned the same technique with a driver. 

Hitting on the upstroke enables a player to reduce head loft (and thereby reduce backspin) and cause exceptional ball run on  landing. 

Hitting long and consistently well with a driver is essentially about technique. Only when that is close to being right does good swing speed potentially become  an extra asset. Before that stage is reached swinging fast simply aggravates any weakness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvcalmryiaE

  http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/sanderslongdrive/Table001.j
pg" style="width: 620px; height: 716px" />

Ivan, my "high" white castle tee peg is 32mm in length. I have pink @ 40mm & grey @ 50mm. Are you saying something as fundamental as the higher the ball is teed up the further it will go? Am I missing something?

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Dave,

Definately "Yes." The ball will run on much further if one correctly hits on the upstroke and reduces one's driver head loft accordingly. The below table will illustrate.  But ball speed and carry distance are only part of the overall scenario. How the ball runs on landing is critical to securing big hits on reasonably firm ground.

Teeing up high, by itself,  will make no difference to length if one hits the ball at the bottom of the swing. Your longest (50mm) tees equate with 2" and are totally unsuitable for  effective driving.

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/sanderslongdrive/CarryDistances.jpg" style="width: 620px; height: 436px" />

I sense the next question coming:

"How do I hit on the upstroke?"

Not the way most golfers imagine - not by simply positioning the ball further forward in one's stance. It involves correct body centre of gravity alignment in relation to the ball  and keeping everything arcing back from the ball at impact, rather than by tumbling forward by moving left and right sides of the body forward together. The left side is static and does two simple jobs; It forms an impact bracing wall, and finally  swivels left in order to let one's right side come through and thereby facilitate a full follow through.

Hitting on the upstroke  is thus achieved by kinetically compressing a fast moving body right side into a static 'brick wall' left body side, and by staying much more behind the ball at impact than in iron play:

http://i461.photobucket.com/albums/qq334/sanderslongdrive/JMuller-1.jpg" style="width: 405px; height: 540px" />

Very interesting. So Ivan if I have the same club head speed and same driver loft of 13.5 deg. Im going to increase my tee peg from 32mm to 50mm. Do I keep it at my left heel? If so is there any simple task to promote hitting on the rise? I will give this a go tommorow.

Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Dave,

A 50mm peg is utterly  useless for driving a large headed driver on the upstroke..  You will simply top the ball very badly if you try to use such in order to attempt learning to hit the ball that way. I cannot overstate this point.  TEES OF BETWEEN 83mm AND 101mm ARE ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. 

Using  long  driving tees:  As a starting point line your ball up with your left ear for hitting at the bottom, then gradually move the peg forward as tee height increases. It is unsafe the create a scale between tee height and how far forward the tee needs to be in one's stance. 

Concentrate on not letting your eyes, at any stage, move left of the ball;  at impact come under with your right shoulder; stiffen your left leg as you hit into it; keep your head down painfully long, as long as you can manage;  do a full follow through with ALL weight transferred onto the left foot.

Place lots of 'Duck' tape or electrical tape on the driver's crown as it is easy to hit a dummy (sky) ball whilst learning to hit on the upstroke. Don't increase tee height quickly otherwise everything could  fall apart and cause many players to give up very quickly. It can take a few months of gradual increases in tee height to get there.  But once there one will never turn back as it turns a golfer into a far better driver hitter, light years better than hitting flat. Tee height is a vastly important starting point to potent driving. 

But that is all it is - a starting point. It is 99% about  swing technique,  not tee height. The long peg in the ground simply potentially enables one to use such a technique. No more.  Simply hitting essentially  off a higher peg at the bottom of one's swing (i.e. not on the upstroke) will likely only  cause problems with no payload.  Hitting on the upstroke  is an extremely hard discipline for most players to learn. Most will fail at the task.

As a rule of thumb: If a player cannot drive well the convential way then they are not ready to attempt to learn any advanced driving technique. Such is simply a point of practicality. 

That should cover everything. I'm done. Good luck!