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I could not hit my driver to save my life today. Max distance was 200 yds, I usually get around 245-260 on a drive. So I began to use the 3 wood and was drilling them straight for 200-215 yds. On the last hole I went back to my driver only to hit it for a sorry 180 yds.
It appears as though the ball starts out strong then dives straight down, like it has some serious top spin on it. Can someone help?

I'm guessing that you're catching the ball before the bottom of the swing and not on the upswing?

If a tee ball seems to drop out of the sky too fast, it's 90% most likely that you actually have too little spin. Backspin is what keeps the ball in the air for maximum carry. Excessive spin causes distance loss as well and is a much more frequent case, but inadequate spin is probably your problem. The key is to find your optimal spin rate and launch angle based on your ball speed.

I think getting fit by changing your shaft or getting fit for a whole new driver would help. Do you suspect your swing has changed for the worse?

All I can say about the driver is set up, set up, set up. google some videos and articles about setting up with a driver. You will probably find some fundamental flaws in your set up.

TRYING TOO HARD

Ease off and slow down the backswing, stop at the top of the backswing, swing through. LOL

Ive had the same thing happen to me a few times. It would appear that I was putting top spin on the ball, as it went out fairly low, and then nose dived even more. It's not just a lack of backspin, but top spin. My geuss is that I was pulling up out of the shot, and that caused the top spin. Hitting the ball before the bottom of the swing would not cause this. If you think about it, you hit the ball with an iron before the bottom of the swing, especially when you want to put more backspin on the ball. Try to swing thru the ball more, and stay in your stance well past impact and see if that helps. Good luck, as I'm sure you'll need it to get rid of this bad shot.

I am far from a good golfer, and I bet you're much better than me.. But to tell someone to get a whole new driver/shaft, because they're not hitting it great, seems a little nuts. Almost as if you got sucked into the hype that new clubs will help at all.
I could see if he got a NEW driver and this happened. but he stated that he hits his driver perfect at all times, and just this round he was messing up.. Its for sure, his swing, because I am sure you or Tiger Woods could grab his club and hit it just fine.

To the OP, This has happened to me allot, some days I hit my driver perfect and others I just cannot for the life of me hit it at all.. I can usually tell by the third hole how my clubs are going to react to me. just remember, this is golf and after all, if we could hit all of our clubs the same every single time, we would be on tour :)

That being said, AFTER my driver was messing up every shot, i went the range right after, and hit as many balls as I could, or atleast till I was streaming right down the middle 240-260 yards again.. Then I went home.. So far for the past 2 weeks i have been driving perfect. But don't think for a second I am going to mess up again.