Driver Practice

[vandyfan]

40 minutes ago, GoGoErky said:

Again banging driver on the range won’t make anything better and then you end up playing golf swing all day rather than golf.

 

Exception to the rule. One day I was ACTUALLY topping my driver and in panic mode I tried like 4 different feels, landed on one, shot 70 with a -1.99 differential. But I take your point. 

 

37 minutes ago, 596 said:

Good point. But I've not had that problem. Driver, for me, is very easy to hit.  The irons are more difficult. If my irons are good then so is driver.  

 

That is a very interesting conundrum. I certainly believe you but I don't know that I have encountered that often in single digit or plus handicaps. Almost always it is the opposite but this game is different for everyone. 

[Rbsiedsc]

I have only recently started hitting driver in my range sessions after mainly just focusing on irons with technique work. However, with driver, it is only after a speed session where I am trying to get my speed to translate to hitting driver. After about 10-15 swings, I'll then go back to my slow technique work with irons. Like others have said, the iron work will eventually translate to longer clubs. Its just easier to work on it with shorter clubs since you don't feel an urge to move quickly with it and can take slow swings.

[vegasandre]

There was a time last year for about 9 months where I was scared /embarassed to hit my driver or 3w at the range or on a course and would only attempt to do so if the range was basically empty. 
I would not hit it. Maybe try 5 swings 1 day a week and cry and go back to the irons. 
You can work on your Irons/ swing technique /feel for as long as you want..
But not being happy hitting your driver:
Makes golf not fun. 
It really sucks. It's a bad place to be. 

The first step is to address the problem, which is typically a technique/flaw issue that also causes a confidence/mental issue..
You need to find the best coach you can and work on it. 
Over time, the flaws will be minimized and consistency will return.
You will have better success with the irons and it will translate to the woods. 
And golf will be fun again. (which should be the goal)

Maybe during my major "fixing period" of about a month with my driver last fall. I would hit 30 balls with that club a day. 
I got over the embarrassment of it.  
Now it is more like 5-15 balls a session with the higher amounts on speed days.  
good luck on your journey. 

 

[golferdude54]

For masochistic reasons, I like to practice 1 or 2-iron and driver off the deck at the range. I feel there's only a half-ball difference in ball position between driver off the deck and off the tee.

 

I experimented with this vs. warming up from shortest to longest club before tournament rounds and I was more precise with the former. Tom Watson warmed up with a 3-iron first and won 8 majors so it worked for him.

[KD1]

@MonteScheinblum, and others, I'm curious on your thoughts on Andrreas Kali's super low driver almost off the deck drills for training better AOA, path, etc.?

 

He's had a few videos recently with Be Better Golf.

 

(I assume this is the correct video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QUXrsbS8GI

Edited March 5 by KD1

[Ajgaguy83]

45 minutes ago, KD1 said:

@MonteScheinblum, and others, I'm curious on your thoughts on Andrreas Kali's super low driver almost off the deck drills for training better AOA, path, etc.?

 

He's had a few videos recently with Be Better Golf.

 

(I assume this is the correct video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QUXrsbS8GI

 

Obviously not Monte, but I watched the video as I was intrigued. Interesting concept that I think has merit (for many, but likely not all), but I’m not sure this video helps showcase that as Brendon is trying seemingly 2.7 million things at once rather than focusing on a dedicated plan to improve. 

[PedronNiall]

There's certainly merit in driver work given the time pros put in with theirs, but it's time with purpose and not just a lot of banging of balls. Here's a guy who's almost at peak WRX level to give you an example. 

 

 

 

Take note of how many total drives he hits when he's about to go compete and wants to be sharp as well as how he takes his time between shots. 

 

Some others for your viewing pleasure and edification. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Millions on the line plus their place in the history books and they aren't out there beating the big dog. Unless something's off this seems to be the consistent story. 

 

Since you want anecdotes, I usually hit 15ish drives at most during a range session even if I'm hitting a lot of balls that day, ignoring any speed training focus and even then it's not a lot. Some days I hit as few as 2 or 3 because it's dialed in and I'd rather spend time continuing to groove the swing with attention to smooth half, three-quarter, and full iron shots. Also tend to hit more with other woods than the driver in terms of number of shots. Same as above, I only dip in more if something's off.

 

None of the collegiate or other better players I end up around beat their driver to death either unless it's speed focused. The guys I've seen hitting half a bucket with driver are the exception and they usually aren't the guys you hear everyone talking about regarding their wins or play when you go in the clubhouse. 

 

YMMV.

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

23 hours ago, bortass said:

...I have always looked at making a swing change as being different then taking what I currently have and working on a club/shot. Is this not valid? 

 

So if I can't hit woods off the deck, I should not try to figure out how to hit woods off the deck at the range?...

I'll duck with you, lol.

 

Piling onto what you wrote, I understand that we don't necessarily want to hit driver when working through a swing change, and that experienced players like Monte never hit them unless it's to warm up, but they already know how to hit one.  We don't.  So...exactly like @bortass said, how do we learn how to hit one then, if practicing with one on the range is deprecated? 

 

I try to reconcile the differences by swinging it only to where I make consistent, good contact (strike spray) swinging freely.  Then trying to speed up from there.  The "left arm parallel only swing" has been useful on driver as well, along with a lot of getting in front of a mirror, practicing backswing & bump+dump+turn, and everything else from Driving for Dough. 

Speed's gotten better at least...

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

13 hours ago, Ajgaguy83 said:

...I’m not sure this video helps showcase that as Brendon is trying seemingly 2.7 million things at once rather than focusing on a dedicated plan to improve. 

Completely agree with you.  It's great for showing diverse, entertaining content on an influencer's channel; terrible for actually learning golf. 

 

I'll be honest, I'm not confident at all in the required durability of my driver, for me to take it off the deck.  3-wood, sure.  Not driver.

[KD1]

23 minutes ago, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

I'll be honest, I'm not confident at all in the required durability of my driver, for me to take it off the deck.  3-wood, sure.  Not driver.

 

Yeah, it would make me pretty darn nervous... maybe because I've never had the nerve to try it? I'd pick up some baby tees at least.

[onehopstopt]

I've watched a bunch of pros practice, including in the off season. As far as I can tell, they all hit driver lots when they are practicing. For the most part what I have seen is that when it comes to "full swing" (as in not on the putting green or short game area) practice they spend the most time on wedges and the second most hitting driver. That makes sense for a ton of reasons: it's the most important full swing club in the bag, it's the one you are likely to hit most outside of wedges, and it's also the one with the largest "discontinuity" between it and adjacent clubs.

 

I'm beyond baffled by the suggestion that you shouldn't practice driver regularly. Even if everything you work on with a 7i would translate perfectly (I am extremely skeptical) I still don't understand why the implication of that is that you wouldn't practice it.

 

For how to practice it- no differently than any other club. Choose your intent, and patiently focus on that, making sure to stick to your routines. Intent can be technical, could be performance, whatever. The only difference between D and iron practice for me personally is that in performance practice with irons I have a distance and accuracy target, whereas with driver I only have an accuracy target.

 

It's going to be the wrong club to use if you are trying to introduce a swing change, but I would recommend hitting it lots in practice. And that doesn't even take into account speed training, a good chunk of which should be done with a driver.

Edited March 5 by onehopstopt

[596]

To answer the OP's original question. I hit about 15 balls today before my round with the driver.  9 to 3 swings choked down about 4".  Tried my best to hit them straight and about 75 to 80 percent of my normal distance.  Worked really well to control your transition and be sure I was following through with hips and not stalling.  It was fun. I used the swing a few times off the tee box when I wanted a fairway finder on short holes with lots of wind. Had a storm coming in and this swing worked extremely well for me.

 

[vman]

I practise quite a lot with driver although I don’t hit too many balls. I do a lot of block, set-up routine to takeaway drills with alignment sticks, probably 1/2 an hour without even hitting a ball.

I’m very specific for start line practise and my preferred right to left shape. I also vary and test tee height for different trajectories, plus, I try to experience different winds as well and test for what’s optimal and what I’m capable of.

I’m lucky in that, at our range, I can hit my own balls and then go and measure, old school, for distance and dispersion.

[KD1]

1 hour ago, vman said:

I’m lucky in that, at our range, I can hit my own balls and then go and measure, old school, for distance and dispersion.

 

Interesting that you say that (ref no launch monitor help). My usual range has a net at about 270 yards. Google maps reveals that the fence posts are spaced fairly constantly 25 feet on center. Since I don't have (cheap) access to launch monitors I had the bright idea of using these posts as quick left to right dispersion gauges, then whip up a spreadsheet that uses the predetermined coords and with a little geometry, statistics and wizardry to auto generate dispersion cones for plotting around the course.

 

For example:

 

I'd experiment with the cone having my aim line, mean dispersion line, and std deviation or some percentile lines that give me the best odds off the tee.

Edited March 5 by KD1

[KD1]

This seems appropriate

 

[Ri_Redneck]

On 3/4/2025 at 10:45 AM, KD1 said:

 

Yeah. I'm not talking about working through swing mechanics with a wood. I've got 9 irons and wedges all from the same manufacturer, with the same grips, same steel shafts, that all play relatively similarly from one club to the next.  Then I have 3 woods, all different manufacturers, different grips, different shaft weights, fiberglass/graphite/whatever they make it out of these days, much longer, completely different head shapes, bulged faces, hitting off the a tee and not the ground.  Seems like it would be a good idea to periodically check in and "pattern" the clubs and get to know them.

THIS /|\ is what we call a red flag. Your irons are all matched and your woods are all WHATEVER! I don't care what heads you use, but get the same grips and similar shafts, THEN get them weighted so they feel much like your irons.

 

Most serious golfers not only use the same grips, but have them installed to the same outside diameter and taper. The shafts are usually similar in feel though some like a higher launch/softer tip in FWs. But weighting is PRIMO!! I swing my driver just like I swing all the rest of my clubs. The only difference is ball placement. If you're using a different swing with your driver, think about WHY. Does it FEEL different from your irons? If so, fix it. Re-weighting a golf club is about the easiest thing you can do to one. A little lead tape, a bucket of range balls and Howard's DIY Tuneup thread is all it takes.

 

BT

 

[KD1]

8 minutes ago, Ri_Redneck said:

THIS /|\ is what we call a red flag. Your irons are all matched and your woods are all WHATEVER! I don't care what heads you use, but get the same grips and similar shafts, THEN get them weighted so they feel much like your irons.

 

Most serious golfers not only use the same grips, but have them installed to the same outside diameter and taper. The shafts are usually similar in feel though some like a higher launch/softer tip in FWs. But weighting is PRIMO!! I swing my driver just like I swing all the rest of my clubs. The only difference is ball placement. If you're using a different swing with your driver, think about WHY. Does it FEEL different from your irons? If so, fix it. Re-weighting a golf club is about the easiest thing you can do to one. A little lead tape, a bucket of range balls and Howard's DIY Tuneup thread is all it takes.

 

BT

 

 

Interesting point and something I will certainly look at. I was fitted for all of these clubs from the same reputable guy, but all at different points in my development. I'll take a look at the DIY thread though on the face of it it seems like a really dangerous rabbit hole to go down on my own.

Edited March 5 by KD1

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

17 hours ago, KD1 said:

 

Interesting that you say that (ref no launch monitor help). My usual range has a net at about 270 yards. Google maps reveals that the fence posts are spaced fairly constantly 25 feet on center. Since I don't have (cheap) access to launch monitors I had the bright idea of using these posts as quick left to right dispersion gauges, then whip up a spreadsheet that uses the predetermined coords and with a little geometry, statistics and wizardry to auto generate dispersion cones for plotting around the course.

 

For example:

 

I'd experiment with the cone having my aim line, mean dispersion line, and std deviation or some percentile lines that give me the best odds off the tee.

Pro Visualizer is a fun tool for this sort of thing.  Free.  Only issue is that most courses aren't in the db.  But I'll play with it, and its pseudo-Monte Carlo shot distribution tool, to see what a given dispersion should look like for a particular hole.

 

I like your approach.  There are rules-of-thumb for angle estimation using your hands and fingers.  Like one finger held up at arms length is ~2°, a  clenched fist is ~10°, etc.  Basic trig helps convert that to the distance that angle subtends.

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

16 hours ago, KD1 said:

...I'll take a look at the DIY thread though on the face of it it seems like a really dangerous rabbit hole to go down on my own.

It's not.  Couldn't be easier to implement.  Howard's thread is outstanding, the language is clear and concise, and the tests couldn't be simpler.

 

Only quibble I have is the woods are going to feel a little different than irons, just because the weight at the end of the stick is distributed differently.  But the point about consistent feel for all of them makes a lot of sense.  Find a feel you like and ride it down the fairway.

[Ri_Redneck]

17 hours ago, KD1 said:

 

Interesting point and something I will certainly look at. I was fitted for all of these clubs from the same reputable guy, but all at different points in my development. I'll take a look at the DIY thread though on the face of it it seems like a really dangerous rabbit hole to go down on my own.

If they were properly fit, they should all feel the same (and somewhat similar to your irons) when swung AND you should be able to swing them the same. Obviously, total weight is different between your irons and woods, but everyone has a range they should be in. Swing feel should be very similar through the whole set. IIRC, my set has a total weight range of about 150g+/- from lightest to heaviest (Driver being 320g).

 

If ANY club(s) in your set feel significantly different from the others that you hit well, you should revisit the same fitter and let him know that you want them weighted to have a closer head feel. Swingweight will not always get the job done because of the nature of the components. Even if your driver and irons are all D2, if you can't feel the head on your driver, it will negatively affect your swing. Weight adjustments should to be done during a hitting session and he HAS to listen to your input about the feel of the club.

 

In general, golfers waste TONS of money switching clubs that don't perform well just because the weighting is off.

BT

[Patnachts]

I feel like my tee balls are the best part of my game. Now I absolutely agree with the others on here that banging drivers is not the way to improve your swing, but I still find value in making sure your driver (and other tee balls) can perform under pressure.

I like to do a drill as follows:
1. Define a first fairway, make sure it is clearly defined, and you can say definitively if you hit the fairway or not.

2. Hit a tee ball with each of my safe club (driving iron), 4 wood, and driver. 

3. Define a second fairway and repeat.

4. Define a third fairway and repeat.

The goal is to hit all 9 balls in the fairway or to restart back at the first fairway with your safe club. The goal is to simulate the pressure of hitting a tight tee ball when it matters. Restarting back at square one if you make a mistake on the 7th, 8th, 9th ball is a scary thought. I additionally like going left corner, middle, and right corner of the range to give different visual profiles.

Edited March 6 by Patnachts

[KD1]

1 hour ago, Ri_Redneck said:

If they were properly fit, they should all feel the same (and somewhat similar to your irons) when swung AND you should be able to swing them the same. Obviously, total weight is different between your irons and woods, but everyone has a range they should be in. Swing feel should be very similar through the whole set. IIRC, my set has a total weight range of about 150g+/- from lightest to heaviest (Driver being 320g).

 

If ANY club(s) in your set feel significantly different from the others that you hit well, you should revisit the same fitter and let him know that you want them weighted to have a closer head feel. Swingweight will not always get the job done because of the nature of the components. Even if your driver and irons are all D2, if you can't feel the head on your driver, it will negatively affect your swing. Weight adjustments should to be done during a hitting session and he HAS to listen to your input about the feel of the club.

 

In general, golfers waste TONS of money switching clubs that don't perform well just because the weighting is off.

BT

 

They don't feel the same. I will dig into this. The group discussion here, coinciding with stumbling across these lessons from Andreas Kali have really got my wheels turning. I've always heard people say driver and irons are the same swing but maybe I didn't really listen. I'm going to play around with the concept of only teeing the ball up just barely enough.

 

On that note, I do vividly remember my previous coach telling me that the swings are NOT the same, "that's just stupid". 🤣

Edited March 6 by KD1

[bladehunter]

I’ll echo what many have said. I’m around  a lot of good players. I can’t name one that hits many or even any drivers on the range - unless it’s warmup for a round. It’s just not the club that will tell you anything. It lets you get away with the most , and at the same time , can ramp up your  bad tendencies. 
 

if you want a systems check for difficulty with a long club.  Take 3 wood off a tight lie ( the deck without a teed up lie). I’ll hit those on the range to gauge my low point for the day. If I’m flushing that. Why would I question the rest ?  If I’m not. I’ll go right back to a 7/8 iron and find out why. Half this game is about mental space.  
 

I used to hate driver. But I fixed my downswing and realized that it’s very easy to hit , if you aren’t making large compensations , most of which you can manage with an iron or a wedge. 

Edited March 6 by bladehunter

[KD1]

10 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

I’ll echo what many have said. I’m around  a lot of good players. I can’t name one that hits many or even any drivers on the range - unless it’s warmup for a round. It’s just not the club that will tell you anything. It lets you get away with the most , and at the same time , can ramp up your  bad tendencies. 
 

if you want a systems check for difficulty with a long club.  Take 3 wood off a tight lie ( the deck without a teed up lie). I’ll hit those on the range to gauge my low point for the day. If I’m flushing that. Why would I question the rest ?  If I’m not. I’ll go right back to a 7/8 iron and find out why. Half this game is about mental space.  
 

I used to hate driver. But I fixed my downswing and realized that it’s very easy to hit , if you aren’t making large compensations , most of which you can manage with an iron or a wedge. 

 

I mentioned in the OP that driver used to be my favorite club in the bag. But that was because like you said I could get away with the bad tendencies.. I teed it up super high, gripped and ripped to right field upper deck.

 

Everything you're saying about the 3wood system check sounds like the same principles that Kali is describing in the videos I linked above.

 

I'm going to be changing my mental approach to the big dog.

Edited March 6 by KD1

[bladehunter]

2 minutes ago, KD1 said:

 

I mentioned in the OP that driver used to be my favorite club in the bag. But that was because like you said I could get away with the bad tendencies.. I teed it up super high, gripped and ripped to right field.

 

Everything you're saying about the 3wood system check sounds like the same principles that Kali is describing in the videos I linked above.

 

I'm going to be changing my mental approach to the big dog.

Now keep in mind. I’m just giving my opinion. I don’t struggle with a 3 wood. Someone that does may have to scale back to a long iron or so. 
 

on driver. I also don’t know anyone good that tees it high.  Maybe Bryson on TV is all I can name. But he hovers so to me that cancels it out.  

[KD1]

4 minutes ago, bladehunter said:

I also don’t know anyone good that tees it high.

 

Someone put out a yt video with Tiger a few weeks ago where Tiger talked about this. He said he likes to tee it up what I'm guessing was like 1/2"... super low. blew my mind. I'll see if I can dig it up...

[Ri_Redneck]

3 minutes ago, KD1 said:

 

They don't feel the same. I will dig into this. The group discussion here, coinciding with stumbling across these lessons from Andreas Kali have really got my wheels turning. I've always heard people say driver and irons are the same swing but maybe I didn't really listen. I'm going to play around with the concept of only teeing the ball up just barely enough.

 

On that note, I do vividly remember my previous coach telling me that the swing are NOT the same, "that's just stupid". 🤣

I agree 100%!

 

Something else. Do you know where the low point of your swing is? If not, you should find it because it plays the most important role in deciding where to place the ball with each club. That is how you make the same swing with every club, by placing the ball in the proper place in relation to your low point. Irons are always behind the low point for crisp contact. FWs are either at or SLIGHTLY behind the low point and the driver should be ahead of the low point to give a natural ascending Angle of Attack (AoA). This is FAR better than trying to "hit up" on the ball because you're actually hitting up without trying to. 

 

However, For the driver, how far ahead of the low point is what gets most golfers. Too far ahead and it will affect your swing. You have to find the proper point through practice. I actually vary mine depending on the trajectory I want on the shot, but I never get past my instep of my lead foot as my low point is about 1" inside the heel of my lead foot. This puts my max at 4" ahead of my low point. When I place the ball there, I have it teed a good 3" off the ground to avoid topping it. Getting past there affects my swing because I feel I have to "reach" for the ball. Of course, this is just me. I see others who play the ball off their toe with no problem. Finding your ideal position or range of positions will come, again, through practice. Once you get the weighting taken care off, work on this.

 

BT

 

BT

[KD1]

8 minutes ago, KD1 said:

 

Someone put out a yt video with Tiger a few weeks ago where Tiger talked about this. He said he likes to tee it up what I'm guessing was like 1/2"... super low. blew my mind. I'll see if I can dig it up...

 

Here it is

 

[GoGoErky]

45 minutes ago, KD1 said:

I teed it up super high, gripped and ripped to right field upper deck.

None of this is a good idea 

[KD1]

5 minutes ago, GoGoErky said:

None of this is a good idea 

 

I know. It worked great with my swing faults at that time. I was hoping to convey that that was in the past.