I often conduct this demonstration for my students where I hit back to back shots and attempt to illustrate the value of hitting up on the driver and what it could mean to their tee shots. For good measure I also throw in a little fade versus draw at the same time.

My intent is to maintain a similar club speed from one swing to the next and if possible strike the ball in a similar location on the club face. As you’ll see this was an occasion where I managed to get pretty close…

The following trackman screenshots will illustrate some of the key differences we will see having similar clubhead speeds but hitting up on the driver vs hitting down and its effects on the ball and the resultant shot and curvature.

Let’s take a deeper look to see what some of the important differences are between these two interesting shots:

1. Attack Angle – The degree up or down difference is the primary reason why the second shot traveled significantly further than the initial attempt. This was achieved with a change in tee height, address position and intent.

2. Club Path – The degree (out to in vs in to out ) difference here will generally lead to a huge change in ball flight curvature . Findings have shown that when it comes to shot shape the club path plays a primary role.

3. Launch Angle – The old adage of ‘hit down to make the ball go up’ takes a beating here as the shot hit with an ascending strike launches significantly higher.

4. Club Speed – Nothing much to see here other than to verify that the club head for each shot is traveling at virtually identical speeds.

5. Ball Speed – Another interesting nugget here is that while the carry and total distances are significantly different there is very little difference in the ball speed from shot to shot.

6. Carry – Wow! That’s amazing isn’t it? While impact location for the second shot was slightly higher on the face (and a hint more toward the toe) which might lend to slightly longer carry distance the direction the club head was traveling (up and out) is the primary difference maker here.

7. Total – As you might imagine the increase in total distance follows suit along with the increase in carry distance.

I know we could all benefit from a gain in almost 30 yards off the tee. And keep in mind that’s at the same speed and with the same club! No need to hit the gym or shop for a new driver !!

Utilizing Trackman Technology you can also now gain 30 Yards of the tee. With the help of our qualified instructors come and visit EPGA to learn how to make the subtle adjustments you need to your driver swing to gain added distance .

By Quintin van der Berg – Head Teaching Professional – EPGA

If you can’t make it to EPGA, please send us your video so our pros can advise you.

Email: academy@epga.com.vn