Often times players will wonder why they can hit their irons off
the fairway OK but can’t seem to hit the driver off the tee very
well. This happens because most of the time the player tries to
swing the same way with the irons and the tee shot.
Often times players will wonder why they can hit their irons off the fairway OK but can’t seem to hit the driver off the tee very well. This happens because most of the time the player tries to swing the same way with the irons and the tee shot. A ball off the ground has to be struck differently than a ball off the tee. Now I’m not saying that you have to learn a whole new swing when hitting a tee shot versus a fairway shot, but you must understand the major difference between the two.
That major difference is in the weight transfer. With a fairway shot you want to strike the ball as the club is on the downward arc, thus hitting the ball first and making ground contact in front of the ball. You accomplish this by transferring your weight to your front leg before impact. With your weight out in front, it makes the bottom of the arc out in front, thus allowing you to hit the ball on the downswing. On your tee shot your weight transfer is delayed so that your weight is still behind the ball at impact. With the weight behind the ball and driving, the bottom of the swing is behind the ball and you can now hit your tee shot on the upward arc.
Remember, wherever your weight is, that will be the bottom of the arc of the swing. So if your weight is back, the bottom of the swing will be back. If it’s forward, the bottom will be forward.
Don DeLorenzo is a PGA-certified instructor at Gilroy Golf Course. To schedule a lesson, call Gilroy GC at 848-0490.
