Fault Fixes: Skying your driver

It was time for another trip down to the Shack to see the Pro as there is another part of my game that needs some attention.

I’ve noticed recently that on a few occasions I have been skying the ball with my driver. It feels when this is happening that I may be getting a little underneath the ball and producing a steeper angle of attack.

The Pro confirmed my thoughts, I was hitting down on the ball, which was the main issue. But that wasn’t the only thing that was causing the ball to pop up in the air.

The Swing

The Pro noticed that my swing was very similar to when I hit an iron shot. I hit down on the ball. For an iron shot that is fine, as the iron is designed to dig into the turf. However, hitting down with a driver will only lead to problems as the big head of a driver is not designed for digging.

This led back to the setup and ball position. Making sure these fundamentals were right would help me strike the ball on the way up rather than coming over the top of it.

Adding a bit extra weight to the back foot also made sure I wouldn’t get back into the habit of coming over the top and striking down on the ball.

Tee Height

The Pro watched me hit a couple of drives and told me that I was also teeing it up way too high. Looking back now I can see that hitting down on a  ball that is teed up too high is a recipe for disaster.

The Pro gave me a shorter tee, aligned me up properly and straight away I was getting a much more penetrating ball flight. It was really good to see the improvement straight away after a couple of small changes.

Key Points

– Get the fundamentals right: Weight on back foot, ball position and shoulder alignment

– Tee the ball lower for a more penetrating ball flight

– Try and hit up on the ball rather than down.