Ok, according to Ted, Lynn, and anybody else who's seen me, I'm about as true a hitter as their is. PW is 140, and can drive the ball consistently 275-290 when playing well. Problem is I just can't seem to maintain my tempo with the driver. I setup, nice backswing, then just try to lay into the ball from the top. Problem is I get to quick, hang back on my right side(perverted axis tilt), lose lag and hit snap hooks. I'm really working at getting back to my left side, but what other drills would you suggest for getting the timing right with the driver? I just need to sustain the lag, the power is there, I think I'm just trying to apply more than necessary. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ok, according to Ted, Lynn, and anybody else who's seen me, I'm about as true a hitter as their is. PW is 140, and can drive the ball consistently 275-290 when playing well. Problem is I just can't seem to maintain my tempo with the driver. I setup, nice backswing, then just try to lay into the ball from the top. Problem is I get to quick, hang back on my right side(perverted axis tilt), lose lag and hit snap hooks. I'm really working at getting back to my left side, but what other drills would you suggest for getting the timing right with the driver? I just need to sustain the lag, the power is there, I think I'm just trying to apply more than necessary. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Even though you are hitting, try Alex Morrison's excellent advice - hum "rockabye baby" as you swing back and through, or Tommy Armour's "1-2-pause-3". VJ likes to use a "seventeen-hit" or a "1-2" while he swings. Snead liked to hum a waltz.
I'm not as much a fan of a simple 1-2, but have used the others with great success when I get too quick at transition. More of a swinger's key, but getting the left shoulder under the chin to complete the backswing can also be helpful in stopping that 'kill it' instinct at the top, as can making your practice swing as if in slow motion and then duplicating that feel in your full swing.
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You sound like a twin brother. Your description sounds exactly like me. The one thing that has worked for me (most of the time) is to just slow down the backstroke. Somehow this keeps me from over acceleration on the downstroke. It feels weak at first, but there is no lost of power for me. My distances are the same as yours.
The more the lag loaded (stress on the shaft) and longer the backswing, the tougher for it to be sustained before impact.
One way to prevent throwaway is to shorten the backswing and imagine hitting another ball way way way ... beyond impact.
__________________ Yani Tseng, Go! Go! Go! Yani Tseng Did It Again! YOU load and sustain the "LAG", during which the "LAW" releases it, ideally beyond impact.
"Sustain (Yang/陽) the lag (Yin/陰)" is "the unification of Ying and Yang" (陰陽合一).
The "LAW" creates the "effect", which is the "motion" or "feel", with the "cause", which is the "intent" or "command".
"Lag" is the secret of golf, passion is the secret of life.
Think as a golfer, execute like a robot.
Rotate, twist, spin, turn. Bend the shaft.
Sounds like you have a solid game. I'm curious about the length of your driver? If you sustain the lag on your shorter clubs, you might consider a 43-44" inch driver with heavier overall weight. You might have to go up a degree or two in loft.
I grew up in Southern Ontario and spent a lot of time around Moe Norman and George Knudson. As a kid, I was amazed at the overall weight of Moe's clubs. They were "barbells." He would chuckle picking up a "standard" club. I believe the expression was "licorice sticks." Knudson was the same way. It's no wonder that in craving distance we sacrifice the feel for loading.
George's clubs were in the heavy "E" range and were butt weighted back to D-0. That's a lot of mass in the club but a light "swing weight" for whatever that means. He was as pure a striker as any. Moe was similar in that he had a lot of lead on the head and used funky wraps over standard grips. That was a counter weight.
I'm sure you have an extra driver. Play around with some lead tape. Load up the head and run some equal strips under a grip. I think todays drivers are WAY to light. Good Luck
A lot of good advice here that I'm going to try to implement. cmartingolf I like your idea of adding a little bit of weight. I will say that I hit a callaway driver the other day and had much better rhythym than my Cobra Speeder X, I do believe I may be losing the feel due to how light it is, so I may toy with some lead tape, just not sure what the proper way is to apply it. BTS, also good advice, when I do shorten it, I do seem to be more consistent. Thanks to all for the help...
I picked up swing speed by going to a heavier stiffer shaft. It allowed me to swing at my normal speed because my brain new i wasn't going to over power it.
Prior to this i had a lighter/weaker shaft that i could overpower and balloon. Thus i swung slower because if i turned it up the ball wouldn't go anywhere.
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I picked up swing speed by going to a heavier stiffer shaft. It allowed me to swing at my normal speed because my brain new i wasn't going to over power it.
Prior to this i had a lighter/weaker shaft that i could overpower and balloon. Thus i swung slower because if i turned it up the ball wouldn't go anywhere.
I've experienced the same thing. I've broken quite a few shafts, so if have one that is too light or flexible, I have a hard time making a good swing at it; I usually end up quitting on the shot.
Another brother hitter with the same problem as me. While I don't have you distances(spending a 12 hour workday sitting in a chair doesn't do much for physical fitness), I do have your problem. I have started to incorporate a pause at the top of my backswing(Ted's comment when I showed him- "that's the best swing you've made all day!"). Otherwise, I get a vicious OTT move caused by my impulse to kill the ball(after all, I'm a hitter, right?)
If you want to try counter-balancing your driver, check out Balance Certfied's website, or if you like to fiddle with your own clubs, I have a word document that shows you how to do it yourself that I got from the GEA website. I have not tried either, but have heard good things about both.
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