Getting more roll off the driver

[The Saint]

If I typically have a high launch and would like to bring the tragectory down and add more roll (and more distance), what changes in the driver would you make. Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of things like replacing the shaft with one that has a higher bend point and changing the driver head with a less lofted one. What about weight or other changes to get more roll?

Any other suggestions?

[John]

Tee it up lower.

[quinner]

Try hitting more draws, my understanding is that hitting a draw will promote a spin that will allow the ball to spin forward when landing.

[jvincent]

It's all about angle of attack and loft. The following blurb from the Trackman guys explains it all.

http://trackmangolf.com/newsletter/j...tackAngle.html

The shorter answer is to swing flat like me.

[Gropper]

I tend to hit it higher too and if you are like me when hitting down on the ball with the driver a lower loft will actually make it worse. a 10.5 with a very stiff tip shaft has made a big diffrence for me...but thats just me

[Wilster]

I did try to get fitted last year at Haimes (Launch monitor) , but due to my irregularity in my swing it was not so easy , but i did find out that my set up at that time produced too much backspin .(10.5 deg , sitff tip reg flex)
The fix was to go for a mid kick driver shaft , stiff flex, and it did help ,so , just my swing to fix and i'll be great !

[Eldred]

It's all about angle of attack and loft. The following blurb from the Trackman guys explains it all.

http://trackmangolf.com/newsletter/j...tackAngle.html

The shorter answer is to swing flat like me.

Does this means you have negative attack angle?

also, from the news...
"....Players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III are all players who often swing with significant, negative attack angles. However, common for this group of players is their very high club and ball speeds, so they fly the ball pretty far despite their negative attack angle – they do not really have a distance problem! However, if they increased their attack angle they could hit the ball 30-40 yards further. But apparently they have deliberately chosen not to do this."

Why would these pros do this deliberately if it would short changed them of more yards?

[jvincent]

My flat swing plane results in a pretty much level angle of attack. This has been confirmed by a couple of launch monitor sessions.

The reason that the pro's don't necessarily change their swing for more yardage is consistency, which in the case of PM doesn't always work out. In my case I can intentionally hit up on the ball and get more distance. But I'm wilder off the tee so for me the benefit does not warrant the change.

[1972Apex]

You could try teeing the ball lower. I find I can control launch angle very easily with tee height.
A stiffer shaft will also help hit the ball lower. The extra stiffness will provide a lower launch and less spin. Go up 10 CPMs from your normal flex and that should make a noticable difference.... go 20 CPMs up and you will hit line drives all day... if you can get the ball in the air at all

[Golfbum]

If I typically have a high launch and would like to bring the tragectory down and add more roll (and more distance), what changes in the driver would you make. Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of things like replacing the shaft with one that has a higher bend point and changing the driver head with a less lofted one. What about weight or other changes to get more roll?

Any other suggestions?

Go see a Pro or a fitter who owns a launch monitor, and where you can hit balls outside. I for one am not a fan of hitting balls inside. I want to see the entire flight of the ball in real air, not on a simulator (That can be jacked up to make you feel better about your distance)

Correct launch angle, shaft, loft and even the ball will produce a lower ball flight with less spin.

I have witnessed this process and trust me it makes a huge difference in ball flight.

Also remember it is getting tougher to get a lot of roll on some courses these days. Fairways are lusher grass, and irrigation is also a factor. Softer fairways will lessen the roll.

Watch The Masters, or any other tournament for that matter. If it rains the shorter hitters are in trouble as there is no roll on those fairways. When the fairways are dry and firm the big hitters flat our bomb it.

I know for a fact the course I work at offers less roll after a rain. Those fairways soften up and the roll decreases. That is when you want height on your drives to get the carry in the air. Most of the tour guys are inching up higher in lofts on their drivers, they want more carry.

Plus, some of us get shorter off the tee as our ages increase

[Big Johnny69]

Tee it up lower.

Oxy moron????

[Samick]

Like a few others have said, you could use a stiffer shaft with a stiff tip to keep spin off and perhaps knock the ball down a bit. Personally, I think lower loft would be more effective at this point.

Another thing you could look at, if your typically a high spin player, is to change your ball. Find something that spins less off your existing driver. I went the other way to get more hang time on my drives for clearing corners of doglegs, ponds, etc... I now use the Nike One Platinum which in a magazine article not so long ago it was rated as one of the highest spinning, but also shortest distance performance ball on the market. I'm not concerned with total distance, only height.

[Section Thirty One]

Do you have a Diamana Whiteboard in your inventory right now? That is THE lowest launching, lowest spinning shaft i've ever come across. Throw that in your current head and it will definitely do the trick.

I was fooling around with one in a 907D2 head at Golftown and could barely get it off the ground.

[acadian]

Diamana HAS NOTHING against the graphite design, PM702X prototype ,,, now that is a LOW dispersion shaft ,,,
this is like hitting a reebar , heheh i've hit many drivers with the diamana shaft in it red or blue one and they can't even come close to the PM702X.
(as far as launch angle is concerned)
A couple years ago i was watching hank kuhene , Couples , Sighn and John daly play ,,and they had a couple holes with the high speed cameras and they were showing their swing speeds and lauch angle,,
Daly actually had one of the slowest clubhead speeds , but ended up with the longest drives ?????? so it's not only about club head speed , it's launch angle (positive), and spin ,,,,
but believe you me , if you want to lower that drive and get tons of roll ,try out this shaft (pm702X) , you will be amazed. ,,,, Be warned , this is a shaft men only, not pee-wees , lol

[one16th]

Another shaft to test out to drop your launch angle is the Aldila NV ProtoPYPE. This is a very very stiff tipped shaft and will without question lower your launch.

Personally I have one tipped 1/2" in a L4V X head paying at 44" and it does the trick for me. They are hard to find but still out there but be warned you need the swing speed to get it off the ground.

[corchard]

If I typically have a high launch and would like to bring the tragectory down and add more roll (and more distance), what changes in the driver would you make. Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of things like replacing the shaft with one that has a higher bend point and changing the driver head with a less lofted one. What about weight or other changes to get more roll?

Any other suggestions?

Buy another driver (like you need any encouragement). For the yucky spring conditions, I've got a 9.5 TM R7 TP fully loaded with bottom weights and a pershing 65g that carries 260-270 with no roll. For the full on summer I've got a 8.5 infinity propulsion with a whiteboard.