To get the most out of your driver you need to have a few key data points nailed down. These data points are launch angle, spin loft, smash factor. We will not talk about smash factor today but launch angle and spin loft have a few things in common and that is Angle of Attack (AOA). AOA influences both and both are critical to getting the most out of your driver.
First let’s talk about launch angle, this is the angle created by AOA and dynamic loft. Dynamic loft is the amount of loft on the club face at impact and is measured relative to the horizon. Dynamic Loft actually has a greater influence on launch angle but can be fixed by simply changing your loft on the driver. Spin Loft is the other critical data point to hitting further drives and is a 3-dimensional angle created by what direction the club is moving and where the club face is pointing at impact. Spins loft is made up of club path, angle of attack, face to target, and dynamic loft which when all are put together create the backspin on the ball. The backspin on the ball will influence overall distance and also influence how much the spin axis affect the curvature.
Today we are just going to talk about one of these data points and that is AOA. To correct your driver’s AOA, this requires a swing change and today I have just the drill for you to get immediate feedback on whether your AOA with your drive is good or not.
DRILL
Use an empty sleeve of balls and place in front of your driver 5 to 8 inches. The closer you set the sleeve to the ball the more difficult the drill and the more you have to hit up on it to miss. This drill is a scare tactic and will force you to get the fill of hitting up on the ball the correct way which will decrease spin rate while increasing your launch angle! Make sure when you are making contact you are hitting the sweet spot or above sweet spot to get most out of this drill. Hitting on the bottom of driver even though your AOA is positive could have a negative affect on spin rate and increase it rather than decreasing.
