TEN COMMON DRIVING ENIGMAS

1. Many golfers declare that their one and two (even three) irons are too difficult to use but nevertheless are often prepared to give their drivers a go. A far more demanding club to use. Serious players often practice driving with a two iron, making it easier to shape the ball and correct errors. Whilst most amateur golfers practice driving with a driver. (SEPARATE THREAD EXPLAINS).

2. Dry jointed drivers are becoming increasingly popular notwithstanding that their inventor has admitted that it was all a big mistake insofar as loft cannot be adjusted via an adjustable sleeve. http://www.clubmakersguild.com/dmdocuments/twgt_adj_hosel_drivers.pdf (SEPARATE THREAD EXPLAINS)

3. Golfers flood into driver fitting centres and become greatly impressed with computer print outs which miraculously enable even inexperienced boys to ‘fit’ them to drivers. Usually without a clue whether any less than perfect reading is caused by either swing, shaft, or driver head or a combination of more than one factor. Nevertheless presumably happy that two, three, or four wrongs create a right. The computer figures are correct, but they don't identify the cause of the fault to be addressed. (SEPARATE THREAD EXPLAINS).

4. Golfers are usually keen to match the loft of their new driver to that of their old driver. But usually neither is measured notwithstanding that it is accepted in the industry that head loft may be up to two degrees out either way. Their new nine degree driver could just as easily be a true seven or eleven degrees.

5. New drivers come out each year promising a larger sweet spot (centre of percussion), even though it is impossible to increase such area to a size greater than that of a dressmaker’s pin head. Golfers seek more club ‘forgiveness’ which can be achieved, but only at the cost of distance. Many new off the shelf drivers don’t hit as far as previous years’ models.

6. Some golfers appreciate that both tour players and international longdrive competitors all use spine aligned shafts fitted to entirely different heads to those which most regular golfers use. But instead of seeking top, properly set up equipment, they choose to believe marketing hype and buy heavily marketed inferior (but nevertheless well known) drivers, often at premium prices.

7. Although driver heads have massively increased in size over recent years most golfers still use the same length of tee that they did ten or twenty years ago. Consequently driver heads are grounded, often the ball is struck too low on the face, and poor ball elevation follows. Professional longdrive competitors use 4” tees, regular golfers could often manage with only 3.25” tees. Instead most golfers struggle with 2.75” tees.

8. Most mid and high handicap golfers swing a long club (driver) in exactly or almost the same manner as with a short iron and the wonder why they drive so poorly. They invariably suspect a swing fault rather than a completely wrong swing. (PLEASE SEE HINTS WITHIN THREAD 'GREATER POWER....')

9. Efficient driving is an immensely technical operation, with numerous variables, yet when things go wrong an answer is often sought from equally poor drivers of the ball on golf forums. Advisors who give specific advice without even seeing the faulty swing.

10. A long jumper spends very little time practicing jumping great distances; a pole vaulter spends little time working in the air; yet most golfers ‘practice’ driving on the range, repeating the same mistake over and over again, with no coach in sight. Any problem is often ‘fixed’ by purchasing a new driver.

(Sorry but no discussions entered into, but please feel free to debate amongst yourselves.)