Driver Practice

[ferrispgm]

23 hours ago, onehopstopt said:

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.

 

If you are trying to change an aspect of your swing, it's hard enough to do it with irons at half speed, let alone with driver at near max speed.  You are way better off letting the change in a 8 or 9 iron bleed into your longer clubs.  If you want to hit some drives to stay comfortable and see if a change is translating then fine....but if you are trying to make your swing better, I can promise you that smashing driver is not the way to go.

[Golfbeat]

On 3/5/2025 at 2:02 AM, 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

 

I tried this on the range and it helped me. But I have a terrible fear of balls that are teed up higher than the grass so there is that.

[KevCannon]

This thread needs an Adderral….lol

 

Just talking in circles and it doesn’t seem to be of much help.

[PedronNiall]

4 hours 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. 

 

Agreed on the 3-wood check. For a while I had no confidence stepping up to my 3 in the fairway even off a perfect lie. It again became one of my favorites to hit off the grass once I fixed my swing issues. 

 

Only exception I see with the driver is if someone has had consistent issues in recent rounds and they know it's been off. It's just not the club to beat on for honing or maintaining a solid swing. 

[KD1]

1 hour ago, KevCannon said:

This thread needs an Adderral….lol

 

Just talking in circles and it doesn’t seem to be of much help.

 

I've learned a lot.

[KevCannon]

4 minutes ago, KD1 said:

 

I've learned a lot.

I was just having a lil fun with that one. 
 

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

9 hours ago, bladehunter said:

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.  

I'll split the difference with you both.  I usually nuke my 3-wood, and it's off the deck.  Even on the tee.  (Usually use the same button tee I use for irons there.)  Driver?  I'm at sea.  Hence the watching Driving for Dough, trying to relax, going slow, stopping, checking positions, etc.

 

I'm now a 108-110 club speed 3-wood player, judging by ball speed, and while getting another 6-8 mph out of the 2" longer driver might be silly, I'd like more than 1 or 2.  Never mind the wildness I don't really have much of with 3w.  Not trying to hit up, not trying anything different, just trying to take the 3w swing and apply it to driver.  

 

"Post a swing." Yep.  Soon.

[KD1]

Went ahead and regripped the driver today with the same grips I have on my irons and picked up a bag of baby tees. Results were pretty interesting. I felt slightly inadequate having set up in a bay next to a kid hitting these junky range balls over the previously mentioned 270 yard net with the wind in our face but that's okay.

 

I  really didn't have much time for this practice session. I look forward to going through that DIY fitting procedure.

[TheDeanAbides]

13 hours ago, KevCannon said:

This thread needs an Adderral….lol

 

Just talking in circles and it doesn’t seem to be of much help.

You have been here before, right?? ;)

[Canada8888]

I spend the winter working indoors on my swing.  Once a week i have a session with my coach to see if I have made any progress on the "one thing" I am trying to get better at.   The goal is to have it become a habit, rather than an intent.

 

In a few weeks from now we switch to driver practice to get ready for the season.

 

When we do that. we hit one ball each and switch on the sim.  My coach sets the challenge for the swing and we compete.

 

For example sometimes it is hitting different quadrants on the face.  We use a GC quad.

 

Other days we try and break our swing speed records.

 

On some days it is pure total distance.

 

For me it is fun to watch him play back his swing and work on his own swing.

 

The time between swings lets me rest and be ready,

 

It is also fun to see him break his own all time record or for me to tag one and set a new record.

 

Come spring , on the first tee, I am ready )))))

[me05501]

One drill I like to use with driver is trying to hit it a specific distance.

 

After all, that's what we do with every other club in the bag. 

 

 

[GoGoErky]

7 minutes ago, me05501 said:

One drill I like to use with driver is trying to hit it a specific distance.

 

After all, that's what we do with every other club in the bag. 

 

 

The difference is the driver is more for total distance and irons are about distance control. I’m trying to hit driver as far as possible. 

[me05501]

Just now, GoGoErky said:

The difference is the driver is more for total distance and irons are about distance control. I’m trying to hit driver as far as possible. 

 

Right, obviously. 

 

Unfortunately a lot of golfers translate the intent of "as far as possible" into longer, looser swings that are out of balance and end up bearing little resemblance to the swing that works for them with every other club. They'd be better off to focus on being super balanced and squaring up the center of the clubface to the ball. 

[GoGoErky]

6 minutes ago, me05501 said:

 

Right, obviously. 

 

Unfortunately a lot of golfers translate the intent of "as far as possible" into longer, looser swings that are out of balance and end up bearing little resemblance to the swing that works for them with every other club. They'd be better off to focus on being super balanced and squaring up the center of the clubface to the ball. 

Yep just use the same swing and tempo as their iron swing and not trying to swing out of their shoes.

 

[KD1]

Spent half a bucket on very low tee, swing like an iron, drivers today. I figured out my cast a was out of whack with my driver. I focused on that and pretending I was hitting my 5i and really tightened up the ball flight. The last half of the bucket I worked up and down the bag and everything felt much better. I'm encouraged because usually one or the other is working for me, not quite both. We'll see how it goes next time 😂

 

I think I'm liking this low tee business. It's forcing me to focus on swinging within constraints I guess I just didn't recognize before... maybe...

Edited March 7 by KD1