No one wants sky marks on their $1,000 driver.
Launching a high ball with the driver is often a good thing, especially for slower swingers who need to keep shots in the air longer to max out distance. That said, hitting pop-ups, skyballs, rainmakers, satellite killers – you pick the name – is not the way to get all you can out of your tee shots. The good news is, you can easily fix this mis-hit if you follow these steps.
STEP ONE: Avoid the pop-up setup
- Square your alignment, and play the ball in line with the lead heel.
- Once you get set, hold the club above the ground about mid-stance [above left].
- Move the clubhead out to the ball by lowering your trail shoulder [above right].
- Hover the clubhead behind the ball to reinforce sweet-spot contact.
STEP TWO: Turn your torso, and take it back steep
- Keeping your hands low, start turning your torso away from the target.
- Hinge the club upward with your wrists three-quarters of the way back.
- Check that the butt of the club is pointing in line with your toes [above].
- Feel like the backswing is more vertical than normal, which incentivises a shallower downswing.
STEP THREE: Drop your trail shoulder
- From the top, move your trail shoulder towards the toes of your trail foot [above left].
- Feel the club shallowing from its steeper backswing plane.
- As the clubhead approaches impact, it should be swinging level to the ground.
- Try to sweep the ball off the tee with a slightly upward strike [above right].
STEP FOUR: Swing out to the right
- Swing through on an in-to-out path in relation to the target line.
- Feel as if you’re swinging out towards the right (for right-handers).
- Let the trail arm fully extend in that direction [above]. You’ll bomb it!
Photographs by J.D. Cuban
