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tadpole
8th July 2017, 02:02 PM
A fella in town here has lent me his old Ping G15 for a trial as I was in the market for a new driver. My current clubs are 20+ years old and do their job really well, but I figured a bit of extra distance with a modern club could be fun. It hasn't been fun yet. So I've taken this G15 out for a couple of rounds, hitting a few balls off the tee before I hit my game ball, but I keep getting a bloody savage slice, which is not only costing me 50 metres on my old driver, but putting me 50 metres further into the bush, to the point where I lost 4 brand new balls on the front nine last week. Ended up with 54 on the front and came home with a 45 once I put the bloody thing away. My natural flaw has generally been a duck hook, which I've straightened to a gentle draw most of the time, so a slice is unusual for me.
One thing I noticed is the difference in weight. The Ping feels much heavier than my old clubs. So that's taking me a bit to get used to. And I feel like I may be swinging on an out to in arc which would obviously be causing the sidespin for the slice, though I am hoping to video my swing so I can confirm my suspicions. Is there any exercises I can work through to try and straighten my line through the ball? I've tried closing the clubface, moving the ball in my stance and altering my grip angle but nothing changes the ball flight.

Grumpy8
8th July 2017, 04:23 PM
Use a couple of tees in the ground in front and behind your ball , create a line that points to your target down the fairway, align your feet and shoulders to the target line , square the club face to the line , start your backswing along the line ( over the back tee ) . That should tell you all you need to know

tadpole
8th July 2017, 04:59 PM
Use a couple of tees in the ground in front and behind your ball , create a line that points to your target down the fairway, align your feet and shoulders to the target line , square the club face to the line , start your backswing along the line ( over the back tee ) . That should tell you all you need to know

Rightio, I'll give that a go. I'm hoping to drag the wife down on Monday and get her on the camera to see if I can see any major differences between the way I swing my old driver in comparison to the Ping.

JoeS
8th July 2017, 05:12 PM
Might be the wrong shaft for you.Slow your swimg down a touch maybe.All depends what your other driver and shaft combo was and how you swumg using that club

thecollective
9th July 2017, 11:51 AM
tadpole: on the range move/position your left leg about a ruler length (30 cm) forward, like you want to hit an extreme draw

Hit a few balls like that and see what the result is, if your drives go straight (rather than hook or draw) my guess it's more to do with an 'over the top' swing rather than the driver weight.

Plenty of drills online to get rid of the 'over the top' the most common issue in all of golf with a slice

tadpole
10th July 2017, 09:16 AM
Cheers guys. Will head down to the course shortly and try those things and see what happens

okitoki
10th July 2017, 10:36 AM
I have tried the placing the ball slightly in front of left foot drill, making sure left shoulder is higher, and keep my view more on the behind of the ball... it seems to have tamed my slice to a fade to occasional slice when I really have a go at it.

However, I came across this youtube video by a US Korean lady pro, who suggested to keep a little more weight on the right foot... seems to really work for me if I conciously aware to maintain the weight on my right side, and keeps me from hit down the ball... it was weird, but good feeling to be able to trust myself to aim on the right side of the fairway without fear of the big bad slice :D

JoeS
10th July 2017, 01:48 PM
I have tried the placing the ball slightly in front of left foot drill, making sure left shoulder is higher, and keep my view more on the behind of the ball... it seems to have tamed my slice to a fade to occasional slice when I really have a go at it.

However, I came across this youtube video by a US Korean lady pro, who suggested to keep a little more weight on the right foot... seems to really work for me if I conciously aware to maintain the weight on my right side, and keeps me from hit down the ball... it was weird, but good feeling to be able to trust myself to aim on the right side of the fairway without fear of the big bad slice :D
Dustin Johnson is a believer in keeping the back foot as flat as possible,I tried it and now I have a massive duck hook when needed😁.

mrbluu
10th July 2017, 02:00 PM
Cheers guys. Will head down to the course shortly and try those things and see what happens

TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!!

TheNuclearOne
10th July 2017, 04:20 PM
Sounds like an equipment issue if you normally have no problems. How much longer is the Ping than your old driver when placed side by side? What exact shafts are in both?

3oneday
10th July 2017, 05:47 PM
To fit in here, you really should just buy another driver :)

mrbluu
10th July 2017, 06:27 PM
TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!!


Sounds like an equipment issue if you normally have no problems. How much longer is the Ping than your old driver when placed side by side? What exact shafts are in both?


To fit in here, you really should just buy another driver :)
Sorry lads I don't know what got into me.

TP the obvious answer is go buy a putter or some wedges that should fix your driving!!! 😁😁

tadpole
10th July 2017, 07:26 PM
TP you're off 20 something, just got and get some lessons off a pro!!! The nearest pro to me would be at least 400km away unfortunately. I literally live in the middle of nowhere.Didn't get to the course today like I hoped, was suffering from a major case of laziness. Heading down for 18 holes tomorrow

tadpole
12th July 2017, 06:59 PM
Well tried a few things suggested here today, have managed to get it from a wicked slice to now hitting what I'd call a fade. Hit a drive on the 9th that went about 300m. I've never had distance like that so I'm a pretty happy golfer. Cheers everyone!

okitoki
12th July 2017, 07:49 PM
300M?

mrbluu
12th July 2017, 08:47 PM
300M?
Probably cos it was into the wind and up hill.😁😁

Coldtopper
12th July 2017, 09:51 PM
The nearest pro to me would be at least 400km away unfortunately. honeymoon time ?

okitoki
12th July 2017, 10:37 PM
Took my old ping zing to the driving range today and applied the same principle of concentrating more weight on the right foot..... I was very surprised it actually worked... And managed to hit the ball straight(er) than before.

Using some impact sticker I noticed my ball strikes were more to the heel.. So tried addressing the ball more to the toe.. Impact seems to be more to the centre... Feels more solid on impact now... Using a cheap shot monitor my swing/ball mph has improved from 90s/100s to about 90s/115+

Grumpy8
13th July 2017, 07:16 AM
If I keep weight on my right foot I snap hook

tadpole
13th July 2017, 12:43 PM
300M? 30-40m short of the green on a 340m par 4. Our fairways are hard packed red dirt (desert) so we get plenty of roll. So yes, 300m

3oneday
13th July 2017, 01:18 PM
What, no grass?

Daves
13th July 2017, 04:04 PM
What, no grass?


Not a blade by the looks;

http://www.australiagolf.com/courses/western-australia/leinster-gc/

3oneday
13th July 2017, 04:10 PM
Looks like you'd even wear out Topflites there! :shock:

tadpole
13th July 2017, 08:06 PM
Yeah it's all bare earth. Alot of the courses out here are the same. It's been a hell of a learning curve, and probably helps contribute to the inconsistency in my game! I've been using Optima XTDs as they seem to be most most durable ball I've found, and they're cheap, usually lose a couple of balls a round. Getting through 18 holes with 1 ball is a cause for celebration! But if your ball lands on a hard patch, 50m+ of roll (or bounce!) is not out of the question. Will put up a full course review when I get time for those interested in seeing a desert track

tadpole
19th July 2017, 02:00 AM
tadpole: on the range move/position your left leg about a ruler length (30 cm) forward, like you want to hit an extreme draw

Hit a few balls like that and see what the result is, if your drives go straight (rather than hook or draw) my guess it's more to do with an 'over the top' swing rather than the driver weight.

Plenty of drills online to get rid of the 'over the top' the most common issue in all of golf with a slice

Went out yesterday morning after nightshift and belted about 60 balls with this driver. Turns out this technique worked. Except it was a movement of only about 1 to 2 inches which did it. I've got the Leinster Open this weekend so it was a timely fix. Had a mate from work standing behind me and he said my through swing straightened dramatically after doing this so many thanks :mrgreen:

okitoki
2nd August 2017, 11:33 PM
OK... This might sound really stupid but after struggling with slicing badly for awhile... I had a light bulb moment tonight at the driving range.
I looked at the bottom of my xr 16. Noted where the middle is and used a sticker forming an alignment line.

I realised I have been aligning incorrectly having the club face more open to my target. Causing it to slice.

During the practice with the new alignment. My slice is now down to a slight fade....

Possible success?

I guess I had success with my previous old Callaway Diablo Octane because of the crown graphics makes it easier to align

tadpole
11th August 2017, 12:57 PM
Well I'm happy to try something new. The Leinster Open weekend I went in with confidence, by about halfway through the first round, the driver went in the bag and stayed there for the rest of the weekend. I'm now 3 weeks into a month long hiatus from golf, just trying to get my head back into a positive space. I'm almost at the point of going back to my old driver I've been playing with for 20 years. I lose about 50m off the tee, but it hits fairways!

Rodent
11th August 2017, 04:18 PM
Well I'm happy to try something new. The Leinster Open weekend I went in with confidence, by about halfway through the first round, the driver went in the bag and stayed there for the rest of the weekend. I'm now 3 weeks into a month long hiatus from golf, just trying to get my head back into a positive space. I'm almost at the point of going back to my old driver I've been playing with for 20 years. I lose about 50m off the tee, but it hits fairways!
What sort of shaft is in your old driver compared to the Ping?

tadpole
12th August 2017, 11:31 AM
Have no idea honestly. It's fairly stiff, like there's literally bugger all play when you flop it around. Though it has a rather small clubhead. The Ping is regular flex. Half considering flying to Perth at some stage and trading this Ping in and getting one setup properly