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Before the winter, I was maxing out my driver at 260. The trajectory was nice but I was swinging as hard as I could each time. Now, I've improved my swing and have a new driver, Taylormade Burner 09...9.5 S flex, and I hit it way too high, carry it 230-240 and get no role. It comes straight down out of the air. When I was *****ing around a golf galaxy, I saw that on my smoothest swings, I swing the club at 98mph, launch it at 18 degrees, and have a spin of 3400 about. I know there is something wrong here. I have to assume that 18 degrees is way way too high, but searching the internet is useless, they only want to talk about the optimum specs of a guy that swings at 120mph. I plan on going to a pro to optimize my driver, but for now it really frustrates me to make sweet contact and have every drive plug in the fairway.


Any thoughts...thanks

Sometimes I feel like I don't have a role in my driver swing as well...



98mph ss and getting 240 carry is about as good as it's gonna get...

May I suggest that you work on your body core for 30 - 40 minutes each day for the next few months. I did that many years ago as I was finishing college and could not believe the extra distance I got. My drives (this was in 1964) went from about 250 to well over 300, and the control was easy to obtain. I just had to carefully plan where I wanted my ball to land on each driving hole.

I'm sure you were playing with Arnie and Jack with that 300 yard swing and knowing where it was going to land. You should be on the Senior Tour with that swing and with the ball and club technology back in 64.

Dan; I'd recommend you try a shaft with a higher bend point to lower your launch angle closer to 14 to 16*. That should help with the carry and the lack of roll out. With your 98 MPH swing, you're not going to get much more carry than your are now, but you should be able to gain a good bit more roll with less spin and a lower angle of descent.

Are you a hater or a doubter?...just curious.

Shade

Or a Cubs fan?

Any one know what the yardage was that lead the PGA tour back in 64? Not saying Andy couldn't hit the ball "well over 300 yards" bach in 64, but that does sound like a lot of distance for the drivers and golf balls in use back then. Pretty good distance NOW, much less some 44 years ago.

I am officially a doubter that someone went from 250 to 300 back in 1960's and could place the ball where they wanted it and was not playing the tour.

BillyG was the person who claimed the distance. I was just the person who doubted it.

Distance and scoring are two different things. While Billy's 300 yards in 64 would have been longer than Jack's drives, that doen't mean he belonged on the PGA tour. Winners of long driving competitions are not tour players, If Billy says he drove 300 yards in 1964, I believe it.

Also, the purses (and endorsements) were smaller then. If Billy had scored well enough to be number 40 on the money list in 64, he would have probably still needed an offseason job. Not everyone who was good enough to play on the tour chose to do it. (For example, in a different sport, Jerry Ford was drafted to play in the NFL, but he chose not to. The pay simply was not that good back then.)

I believe a lot of people think they hit the ball farther than they really do.

Maybe I am just too cynical in my old age. I think Conan indicated that he hates Cynicism in his farewell show, maybe he just needs more time and experience.

BillyG was a collegiate golfer, has been playing his whole life and recently shot his age (and better, a 64)...the guy is the best player on the board and I believe every word...Arnie hit a 344yarder in competition and drove a green with that shot in the mid 60s...it wasn't and isn't impossible, you have to have been durn good, and that's what you're looking at...

Sorry Andy, my mistake, didn't mean to type your name instead of Billys'.

I'd still be interested in knowing the the long guys on tour were hitting the ball back in mid 60's if anyone knows.