Attack Angle: How to Use It to Fix Every Bad Tee Shot
Follow this guide to diagnose and fix your most common mis-hits, and make sure you're using the right driver
By Bruce Patterson
Top 100 Teacher
HIGH SLICE
WHY IT'S HAPPENING:
1. Your clubface is open
2. Your swing path is out-to-in
3. Your angle of attack is too steep (greater than 50 degrees)
HOW TO FIX IT
1. Strengthen your grip (move both hands to the right).
2. Close your stance to the target by dropping your right foot, hip and shoulder back.
3. Try to swing the club more in-to-out. To ingrain this, try to imagine the golf ball divided into four quadrants and try to hit the lower inside quadrant.
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THE DRILL
Turn your back to the target on a 45-degree angle and just swing your arms. Your relaxed arms naturally swing shallower and you learn the feeling of an in-to-out swing. Your new swing path and stronger grip will allow you to hit high draws.
CLUBFITTING TIP
Try extra length, a softer-flex shaft and a more upright lie to change your big slice into a tight little cut. Get yourself an offset, draw-bias clubhead, which has extra weight in the heel to promote a right-to-left flight. A lower-spinning ball also reduces sidespin. Teeing the ball higher can increase launch angle and force you to swing more on plane.
LOW SLICE
WHY IT'S HAPPENING:
1. Your clubface is open to the swing path
2. Your clubhead swing path is in-to-out
3. Your angle of attack is too shallow
HOW TO FIX IT
To get your clubface square to your swing path, you need to adjust your grip to be stronger (move both hands to the right) and then work on grooving a steeper swing.
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THE DRILL
Take a very narrow stance, then drop your front foot back about a foot. Tee up the ball and try to hit shots without losing your balance. This drill forces you to swing your arms more in front of your body and keeps the path from being too shallow and too in-to-out.
CLUBFITTING TIP
You need to decrease spin to get in the fairway more often. Try using a shorter shaft, so you can make a more repeatable and controlled swing. (Your current shaft might be promoting a shallow swing path.) You'll likely strike the center of the face more often, which increases ball speed. You might consider a lower-spinning driver head, more loft and a softer shaft flex.
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LOW HOOK
WHY IT'S HAPPENING:
1. Your clubhead is closed in relation to your swing path
2. Your swing path is out-to-in
3. Your angle of attack is too steep
HOW TO FIX IT
Weaken your grip (move your hands to the left more).
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THE DRILL
Make practice half-swings, checking to make sure that you swing the clubhead toe-up to toe-up. The most likely reason for your low hook is that you are swinging the clubhead back in a closed position.
CLUBFITTING TIP
Increase driver loft, possibly to 12° or higher, and use a heavier, stiffer shaft. Additional loft means you can get under the ball for enough spin and a higher trajectory. A stiff flex shaft (with stiff tip, low torque) can make misses more predictable by neutralizing the hook. Try a flatter lie, too. A softer ball is easier to compress. This, in turn, could reduce sidespin.
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POP-UP
WHY IT'S HAPPENING:
1. Your clubhead is square to your swing path
2. Your swing path is in-to-square-to-in
3. Your angle of attack is way too steep
HOW TO FIX IT
You need to shallow out the bottom of your swing. Try to feel more of a baseball-type swing plane.
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THE DRILL
Take your driver and place the ball on the ground (or tee it very low) and try to hit some shots. You will soon learn that in order to make solid contact, you need to flatten out the bottom of your swing.
CLUBFITTING TIP
You're actually a good candidate for a high-lofted driver (say 12° or higher). It offers the control of a 3-wood without sacrificing the juice of a driver. The high loft helps to increase launch angle and backspin while reducing sidespin. A large (460cc), forgiving head with the ball teed up a little higher (after you master the drill above) can give more margin of error.
