Ball falling out the sky w/ driver

wpfisher · June 30, 2006

why?

I play a mitsubishi diamana 93x w/ a Titleist 905r, 8.5. I hit the ball plenty far but as of late, the ball seems like it goes forever, then just drops like a rock, with no roll whatsoever. I usually play a Titleist pro v1x, the new and old version. Is the spin too low? Am I hitting the ball too much on the upswing?My swing speed is about 117-120.

bobcat · June 30, 2006

Actually, sounds to me like you may be producing too much spin with your driver, hence the ball balloons. If that is the case, you may get great hang time but the shot lacks sufficient forward penentration and just drops with no roll as you described.

The biggest contributing factor to "ballooning" is normally using too much loft, for your swingspeed, and the shaft, and the flex may be a factor here too. However, considering your equipment, hard to say you need a lower loft than 8.5* or a stiffer shaft. Doubt the ball is the problem here. I do know that some of today's larger drivers can create additional "dynamic" loft because the COG is so low and much further away from the face than the smaller heads were. Not sure if that applies to your particular Titleist model. I do know I had the same problem when I tried a 10.5* R540XD-TP Tour equpped with a 757 Stiff tipped 1/2". Tried the exact same driver/shaft/flex/tip combo in 8.5* of loft, and bingo, the ball suddenly penetrated and rolled like crazy....major difference with the loft change.

Soemtimes, it takes a launch monitor session to get it properly sorted out. Good luck!

wpfisher · June 30, 2006

Could hitting too much on the upswing cause the loft of the driver to increase, thus creating more spin? Could this also be a cause?

flamtap · June 30, 2006

Could hitting too much on the upswing cause the loft of the driver to increase, thus creating more spin? Could this also be a cause?

exactly, move the ball farther back in your stance and it should fix your ballooning, because it wont be catching your upswing.

:yahoo: Paul

taylormadefan · June 30, 2006

Could hitting too much on the upswing cause the loft of the driver to increase, thus creating more spin? Could this also be a cause?
exactly, move the ball farther back in your stance and it should fix your ballooning, because it wont be catching your upswing.

:yahoo: Paul

Catching it too much on the upswing (you're supposed to catch the ball slightly on hte up swing) won't cause balooning, hitting the driver too steep or with a descending blow is definatley a way to cause balooning though.

Actually, this sounds like a good way to get even more balooning. Moving it too far back in the stance leads to a steeper angle of attack and even more spin . . .

I'd go see a pro and see if it's an equipment or a swing issue.

MrBig · July 1, 2006

right on tmf... "gear effect" hit down - ball go up. You should check ball position to verify you are actually hitting on the upswing. Also check tee hieght, stricking the ball on the top half of the club head produces the least ammount of backspin - ie the knuckle ball.

G

wpfisher · July 1, 2006

I know I am definitely hitting the ball on the upswing. I usually play the ball off my left foot. I am gonna try to play it about an inch or two back, and see if it helps. If not, then it has to be an equipment issue and will get it checked out on a monitor.

tm8838 · July 1, 2006

You could be hitting the ball to much on the bottom of the club face resulting in the high spin. If you hit higher on the club face the spin of the ball reduces.

cjdrcc · July 1, 2006

Well, I'm no expert and I haven't seen you swing a club, but the diamana is not exactly a super low spin shaft. I might try a slightly lower spin shaft. Also, if this is a "new" development with the driver and you just started over spinning it, I would look at mechanics.