How to Lower T-off ball flight?

[coyotecal]

Hi, I am trying to lower my ball flight from my drive as I feel I lose a lot of yardage because of it. I mean seriously high that everyone comments on it. It doesnt matter on Tee height and My driver is only 9.5loft plus it doesnt matter on my driver because it happens even when I use a different driver. Thanks in advance.

[jonf]

Do you hit a fade or a draw?

I naturally hit a fade and have always hit the ball very high with all of my clubs, and thought I lost quite a bit of yardage. In the last couple years I've made an effort to bring down my ball flight. Trying to hit down on the ball more with my irons. I have also begun working on hitting a draw. I adopted a draw setup with my driver, and after some practise, it's gotten quite consistent. It has definitely brought my ball flight significantly lower, and also added a lot more roll (my drives were famous for actually hopping about a foot backwards on landing, even on the hardest of fairways).

I should also note that I use an 8 degree driver

[314314]

I always struggle with the same issue until I got a driver with a UST Proforce V2 shaft so I would advice you to play close attention to the shaft. It might be more relevant that the head that you are using. I am playing a 9 head as well.

The trajectory is lower and I have more control over my drives. I hit the irons high as well but no complains as I prefer precision to distance. In the long run, you will save money and time if you get fit for the driver.

[Jason Munro]

To lower your ball flight try this drill:

Place a tee about 2-3" in front of your ball with the point facing the target. Try and swing through the ball and hit the tee as well. Try this with a 7 iron. The longer the club head stays along the ground the lower the ball flight. A buddy of mine suffers the same thing and his issue is he is fully catching the ball on the upswing and the face is aimed up at about a 18 degree angle. While he is very accurate with it he loses a lot of distance especially into the wind.

I saw that drill on the Golf Fix with Michael Breed this week so it should hold merit and probably has proven results.

JHMO

[Adska]

Like one of the posters said above, the shaft is VERY important in regards to your ball flight. The static loft of the club head is not as important as the dynamic loft at impact either. Second, hitting 'down' on the driver will actually cause your tee shots to spin more, and consequently go higher.

My advice would be to go to a certified fitting professional at an outdoor driving range (e.g. Kevin Haime) and get fitted to a driver using the Flight Scope. The numbers won't lie, and you'll get a plethora of information in real time that isn't generated by a simulator. Traditional launch monitors are OK, but they extrapolate the data from 4 pictures taken just after impact. The Flight Scope is a doppler radar that tracks the ball flight in its entirety.

[downhillslider]

The shaft can only increase your initial launch angle by no more than 2.5 degrees. Thats all ! So, a very low torque,tip stiff shaft will only decrease your L A a minimal ammount and probably feel really awful to you. Your problem sounds swing related. Golfers with this problem fall in to 2 categories. Hitting steeply down on the ball with an open clubface wich will serve up a big old slice, or hitting up on the ball by flipping your wrists forward at impact for wich there is no equipment change that will remedy this flaw.

[golfisforfun]

Not sure why people aren't looking at ball position. I am a 4 handicap and constantly change the ball position with my driver depending on desired trajectory.

If you play the ball off your fron foot, you are probably hitting the ball on the upswing resulting in a high ball flight. Try moving it back in your stance.

Or just hit a 1 iron.

[Adska]

coyotecal, do you live in the ottawa area? i'm the taylor made tech rep, and i'm doing a number of demo days throughout the summer. typically we use the r9 as a diagnostic tool at our demo days to determine the ideal fit.

downhillslider, i'm curious to see where you got those numbers from. we've seen changes in launch angle greater than 2.5 degrees between shafts using the flight scope.

[coyotecal]

No, I live out of town.

[Goshawk]

coyotecal, do you live in the ottawa area? i'm the taylor made tech rep, and i'm doing a number of demo days throughout the summer. typically we use the r9 as a diagnostic tool at our demo days to determine the ideal fit.

downhillslider, i'm curious to see where you got those numbers from. we've seen changes in launch angle greater than 2.5 degrees between shafts using the flight scope.

I have to agree with you. My own personal experience: I have a 9 degree Cobra that was only getting a launch angle of about 7 degrees on average (extremely low). After getting fitted with a different shaft with a softer tip and higher kick point, my launch angle with the same head and length is now about 12 degrees....not as high as I'd like, but the spin rate is right where I wanted it so I use it on very windy days.

[Adska]

Goshawk, it's really interesting isn't it?

The R9 TP comes with 9 different shaft options that all give different results - some dramatically. It's easy to tell how someone is attacking the ball after watching and listening to a few shots. Most of the time after a ball position tip and a unique single swing key, the majority of golfers coming to get fit can improve their launch conditions quite incredibly. Adding the right shaft and loft combination is an even more important piece to the 'tee-shot' puzzle.

I encourage all of you to take advantage of the demo days when they pop up! Especially those who feel like they're a bit behind on what's available nowadays in terms of technology.

[Bouche]

The shaft is everything on the Driver....I got a new shaft last year for my driver and it worked wonders. I no longer hit the ball high and my distance is much more consistent.

[downhillslider]

coyotecal, do you live in the ottawa area? i'm the taylor made tech rep, and i'm doing a number of demo days throughout the summer. typically we use the r9 as a diagnostic tool at our demo days to determine the ideal fit.

downhillslider, i'm curious to see where you got those numbers from. we've seen changes in launch angle greater than 2.5 degrees between shafts using the flight scope.

I am reffering to the initial angle the ball is launched at the moment of impact. Not to be confused with the trajectory of the ball. Yes, the design of shaft , in conjunction with one's swingspeed and how that swingspeed is generated will certainly affect the trajectory. The higher the velosity of the ball, the higher the trajectory will be, but the initial launch angle will only increase 2.5*, max based on the shaft.