No consistency with my Driver or fairway woods.

Question
Hello,

       To begin, I'm 24 years old, 6'4, 200 pounds. I use a Mega Bear 450 10 degree loft driver with what I assume is a graphite shaft, (it says GB UL mid flex firm-tip shaft on the side), the rest of my clubs are a System Golf Icon set. I can hit my irons relatively well, however I cannot hit my driver with any consistency at all. I had all my Irons lengthened by and inch and it really helped, also I had my clubs re-gripped to fit my hands. I spoke with the pro that re-gripped my clubs and he showed me what to do with my hands on the club. I just can't seem to hit my driver long and straight consistently. I go to the range and hit hundreds of balls and I get to where I can hit it well then I go to the course and on 18 I may hit 2-3 decent, not good, drives. The ball seems to mainly veer immediately to the right but it varies. One main issue I have is I cannot seem to address the ball the same every time, I never know how far to place the ball away from me and if I should reach as far as I can with the driver to the ball at address or if I should fully extend to the club at address. (hope that makes sense). I really love golf and am willing to do whatever it takes to get better. Thank you for your help and time.

Answer
Blaine,

I feel your frustration with your woods. One of the things that will help immediately is to have a good routine for your address position. This is the position you're in prior to your back swing.

I call this the three step routine.

1) Place your hands on the club. A great grip is so important. For good reading buy Ben Hogan's book "Five Golf Lessons" and read chapter one three or four times. It's all about the correct grip and it's well illustrated.

2) Place the club behind the ball. Steps one and two are interchangeable.

3) The last step is to set your feet. Keep in mind that your arms should be hanging loosely from your shoulders perpendicular to the ground. A good rule of thumb is that the back of hands should be no more than 6" inches from the front of your thighs.

There is more to the address position than the three step routine but remember if your address position is INconsistent your results have to be INconsistent. If your address position is the same every time,the chances of your results being consistent are greatly improved.

Make note I said consistent not necessarily straight down the middle. If you get to a point where you are making good contact and hitting the ball in a consistent pattern, even if it's not straight away, you are making considerable progress.

When you get to this point please follow up and let me know how you're doing.

Michael Hoffman
PGA Professional