Got a question from Dana S. Jerry. Dana asked this: “I'm not sure what the heck I'm doing wrong but I feel like I'm doing everything right, obviously not but when I do this swing with my driver I find that it looks good at first and then i end up in someone's back yard to the right any pointers at all will be very helpful. Thanks.”
Well Dana got an answer from Amos, who actually gave him four check points. His first check point is:
“1. Check your alignment. Are you parallel left to the target line?
“2. Tempo — proper release in the hitting area would 'square' the club face — and produce a pull to the left.”
“3. SBG, the Sacred Burial Ground. I think you are taking the club too far inside. Getting stuck in the SBG and forced to come over the top. Probably leading with the upper body. I sometimes have this problem”
Alright, so Amos is speaking for experience there. Getting into the Sacred Burial Ground means you're turning with too much and getting the club behind you. So the only way back to the aiming line is pulling your body to the left and pulling your arms and club back out to the aiming line, but once you start pulling it it goes too far out. Then you're outside the line and you pull across and as you swing outside to in, with an open clubface at impact, it could start on line, then the big slice. When you say that it looks good at first, I think that's an assumption that Dana is saying his ball starts down the middle and looks pretty good, but then has a big slice to the right, as compared to hitting it just dead right.
So I definitely think he's hitting a big slice. The fourth thing Amos says is: “Start the forward swing with the 'bump' — this may be the most difficult “timing issue” to master in the PPGS swing. It is like taking medicine — a LITTLE bump does wonders — but too big a 'bump' is equally as disastrous as no bump.”
Amen! How true is that? Because if you over bump, meaning your lower body slid too far past the ball, that means you're ahead of it and that means your hands are in there late. If they're coming in late and the face is open, that ball could start down the middle, maybe a little the right, but then produce a big slice.
All those answers are very much a possibility there.
Another answer came in from Think87. And Think said: “Maybe its not you. Maybe its the tools…. Go check your clubs by a fitter!”
Amen again! What is Dana saying to us? He's basically hitting it pretty good except when he gets to his driver. The thing I want to keep presenting and reinforcing here all the time: If you hit many for your clubs good and you have one or few of them that are bad, especially if it's your longest clubs in the bag — and especially the driver — your first assumption should be that it's the club, not you.
It seems in golf we always tend to immediately blame ourselves. That can be detrimental. Remember, this is not like tennis where we have just one racquet. If you're playing with a full set of golf clubs, you have 14 clubs. Taking out the putter you have 13 you hit long shots with. If you're hitting most of them pretty good, then you really need to think about, if you're having big problems with one or two, the club could be the issue. Get yourself to a club fitter and have him check out that club. Start with that.
Whatever is happening here, it's got to be that the club is coming outside to in and starting the ball on line but it slices pretty hard. That means the face is open, which starts the ball down the line, maybe a little to the right of your line, appearing to be a good shot until the rotation takes over the ball and slices it.
A big probability could be alignment, as well as turning too much and over swinging which are the two biggest causes of coming from inside to out so on the downswing the swing is outside to in. Inside meaning you're deep inside your toe line and spinning out to get the club out from behind your body, gets you an outside in path.
Another one could be, if you're moving your upper body moving forward to fast, getting ahead of the ball and the club never get's squared up at impact. It can still start somewhat straight and then slice because you're cutting across the ball.
Dana, I think I would start out by getting that driver checked.
The Surge!