How to work the ball with Driver

[playit]

Back to golf after a long hiatus and the big 460cc heads are the norm. So far, I have not found a swing to draw the driver and that used to be my stock shot. It's either a fade or straight but almost always a fade now. On the course I have played most on recently, there are several drives that, without a doubt, a draw is superior. Like, a very tall tree on the left side of the fairway with limbs extending into the fairway, and a drive over the tree will not carry it, and it's a slight doglog left. This is actually the setting on all of those holes. You need to aim right and draw it. If I nail a drive right over the right edge of the tree crown with a very slight fade, or straight, there is a VERY small window to hit through and stay in the fairway. Like, you essentially have to hit it perfect. Even configuring my Taylormade M2 driver with adjustments for draw bias, it still isn't happening. Anyone found a solution? Sure, a 3wood off the tee is supposed to be easier to draw, but you give up distance versus a driver with draw. Or is that the solution?

 

What about a mini driver, are those easier to draw? Do you find that a little longer than a 3 wood?

[alexc93]

This is swing related. Your body has likely changed over your long hiatus and swing therefor changed. 

[nvr3putt]

Compared to persimmon drivers you now have to over-exaggerate a bit to get the ball to curve. 

[Kale_m]

Just hit it straight with the driver. If you need to work it , use your 3w 

[dsmil]

Many people do find shorter clubs (mini-driver, 3W) easier to draw.  I would normally say stick to a standard ball flight with your driver and if you don't have room for driver on that hole, drop back to a different club.  Other than it being hard to pull off different swings, another issue with changing from fades to draws with driver is that it will probably change your ball flight out of your ideal window.  I'm guessing that a fade is launching it with the correct launch and spin characteristics for you.  Even if you're able to pull off closing the face the right amount to get that draw, you now might be launching it 2 degrees lower with 500 rpm less spin, which will take distance off.  There's just a lot of variables out there suggesting that us normal golfers should stick to what we're good at.

 

What setting are you using to try and promote a draw with that M2 driver?  Normally the adding loft option would be your best bet.

Edited October 7, 2024 by dsmil

[playit]

23 minutes ago, dsmil said:

Many people do find shorter clubs (mini-driver, 3W) easier to draw.  I would normally say stick to a standard ball flight with your driver and if you don't have room for driver on that hole, drop back to a different club.  Other than it being hard to pull off different swings, another issue with changing from fades to draws with driver is that it will probably change your ball flight out of your ideal window.  I'm guessing that a fade is launching it with the correct launch and spin characteristics for you.  Even if you're able to pull off closing the face the right amount to get that draw, you now might be launching it 2 degrees lower with 500 rpm less spin, which will take distance off.  There's just a lot of variables out there suggesting that us normal golfers should stick to what we're good at.

 

What setting are you using to try and promote a draw with that M2 driver?  Normally the adding loft option would be your best bet.

 

Good question. Answer is that I first added maximum loft. I did gain distance, that, plus a little different swing to swing more up on it. Maybe I did hit a couple with a very slight draw. I then researched the sleeve settings and wasn't totally sure what I read/heard about using the UPRIGHT setting (because it is supposed to be better for a draw?) and I then tried that one yesterday. It didn't work at all. I didn't hit it as high and I certainly didn't draw it. Either it was that setting or I just had a bad day, lol. But I am now going to go back to the max loft and try that again. It's a 9.5° driver, so, I guess that maxes it out at 11.5°. Why does that make it easier to draw? I was thinking lower lofted clubs are easier to move than higher lofts.

Edited October 7, 2024 by playit

[dsmil]

59 minutes ago, playit said:

 

But I am now going to go back to the max loft and try that again. It's a 9.5° driver, so, I guess that maxes it out at 11.5°. Why does that make it easier to draw? I was thinking lower lofted clubs are easier to move than higher lofts.

 

Technically all you're doing when you "loft up" is closing the face at address.  So all else equal, that face will be more closed at impact than it was previously and the ball will go more left.  Now if you override that closed face at address and deliver the club square to the ball as you were before, you will see a higher ball flight without the left bias.  I could be wrong, but I would guess that the "loft adjustments" affect left/right direction more than trajectory for most people.

 

I don't think the upright settings by themselves do a ton with drivers.  Drivers aren't as sensitive to lie angle changes as wedges are.

 

Do you know if you're hitting the ball in the heel?  More modern drivers (Ping G series for instance) have a heavy weight in the back that can change the gear effect of drivers to promote a draw or fade.  If you're consistently hitting it in the heel with a neutral face/path, you'll have some rightward spin.  Moving that weight towards the heel can moderately help lessen that rightward spin.

Edited October 7, 2024 by dsmil

[kiawah]

Best way to do it is to train a neutral path (ideally between -1 and 1 degrees, swing direction should still probably be a little negative but not higher than -3ish in my experience) and then alter your setup for cuts/draws. 

 

For cuts, I am typically backing my left foot up by about an inch to open my stance, then letting my shoulders and hips match that angle. Face opens up a tad more. I'm also standing about one ball closer to the ball and moving the ball up in my stance by one golf ball. This way, my swing itself doesn't have to change, and the result will be a fade. 

 

For draws, it's the opposite: right foot backs up an inch or two, ball moves back and further away from me by one golf ball. For draws I am really trying to let the club release, and for cuts I will tend to feel like I'm holding it off just a touch. 

 

However, I'd recommend lots of practice for doing this. It's not super practical to be changing shot shapes all the time, but it's nice to kind of be able to do it from time to time. There will always be one shape that's tougher to hit on command for each player. For me, I find it a little harder to draw it with my driver, so if I can get away with 3 wood on a hole that suits a draw, I will do that since the physics of the smaller head make it easier to turn over. If your path isn't already neutral or close to it, then forget it. You're going to go down a rabbit hole that will probably damage your mechanics or make them unrecognizeable and run the risk of really feeling lost. Better to have one functional/reliable shot shape than zero. Don't lose the one you have trying to go after a second! 

[SNIPERBBB]

If you want a lot of curve, these days you basically almost have to shank it to slice or hit it off the toe to hook it without using an extreme path or club face angle to do it. For me I adjust how I address the ball, heel side to encourage a fade and toe side for draw/straight-ish shot. I'm not trying to hit it off those spots(or it will be bad) but manipulates my path and face without having to try to do so during the swing.

Edited October 8, 2024 by SNIPERBBB

[Valtiel]

On 10/7/2024 at 6:58 AM, playit said:

Back to golf after a long hiatus and the big 460cc heads are the norm. So far, I have not found a swing to draw the driver and that used to be my stock shot.

What type of driver were you hitting this stock shot with? A common talking point about big drivers is difficulty squaring them up, but for the most part this isn't supported by much *and* ignores the fact that the far bigger variable is driver length increase. If you were playing a fairly typical driver from 20+ years ago then it was likely around a full inch shorter than current drivers, assuming no modifications to the latter. Longer clubs are harder to square, especially with most common swing flaws, so i'd definitely look into chopping some length off and adding some weight back to the head. Both M2 models have removable weights you can swap out for this. 

[playit]

5 hours ago, Valtiel said:

What type of driver were you hitting this stock shot with? A common talking point about big drivers is difficulty squaring them up, but for the most part this isn't supported by much *and* ignores the fact that the far bigger variable is driver length increase. If you were playing a fairly typical driver from 20+ years ago then it was likely around a full inch shorter than current drivers, assuming no modifications to the latter. Longer clubs are harder to square, especially with most common swing flaws, so i'd definitely look into chopping some length off and adding some weight back to the head. Both M2 models have removable weights you can swap out for this. 

 

My driver 20 yrs ago was a Taylormade 320i and now I have been gaming an M2, 9.5. I don't know what the old 320i length was, whatever was stock. It was not over 45" that I am sure of. This M2 was 45.75", 9.5°, and, yes, I did whack off some finally, got it down to 44.5" and have it hit it better. But the swingweight is C7, so, it probably needs some weight. Does adding swingweight make it harder to hit the draw? I'm probably just putting a different swing on it. Since playing these past 3 months, I *never* hit a draw, it's either straight but usually a fade. Or a slice, lol.

 

I actually bought a used 320i and I hit it lower but actually hit it well and I am going to game it a time or two again and see how I like it. I think it is 44.5".

 

I would also like to try the BRNR mini, I went to buy one at Edwin Watts but they only had 11.5° and I want the 13.5°.

[Valtiel]

1 hour ago, playit said:

 

My driver 20 yrs ago was a Taylormade 320i and now I have been gaming an M2, 9.5. I don't know what the old 320i length was, whatever was stock. It was not over 45" that I am sure of. This M2 was 45.75", 9.5°, and, yes, I did whack off some finally, got it down to 44.5" and have it hit it better. But the swingweight is C7, so, it probably needs some weight. Does adding swingweight make it harder to hit the draw? I'm probably just putting a different swing on it. Since playing these past 3 months, I *never* hit a draw, it's either straight but usually a fade. Or a slice, lol.

 

I actually bought a used 320i and I hit it lower but actually hit it well and I am going to game it a time or two again and see how I like it. I think it is 44.5".

 

I would also like to try the BRNR mini, I went to buy one at Edwin Watts but they only had 11.5° and I want the 13.5°.

A mini driver would definitely be worth looking into, I agree. 

Swingweight is personal and feel/timing related. If more weight gives you a better sense of the clubhead then it can help whatever you're wanting to accomplish. Too much weight can make it a burden which upsets timing, too little weight can upset feel which upsets timing etc etc. Tuning and experimentation is key there. 

[kobe123]

This is swing related, there is something not allowing the ball to draw.

 

I'd stick to one shot shape with the driver, working a driver both ways is a recipe for disaster. Not every course and every hole is going to be perfect for a fade, but you have to manage it.

[Santiago Golf]

put the ball more in the middle of your stance and tee a cm or 2 lower 

 

if the ball doesn't draw in the first ten swings ... you need to take a real lesson