push

Question
QUESTION: whats up stanley!!!!

I have asked you about many different problems before, but, my normal shot shape is a draw, and i push the ball every now and then.  This is caused by lower body faster than upper, inside-out swing, and maybe a bad grip.  i just want to know that if I was out golfing and a bad push showed up in the middle of the round, do you have like a quick fix to help me?

here is a photo of my grip also
http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/ff141/augafan48/?action=view¤t=Grip.jpg

both of my v's look to be right, so i hope this helps.  by the way, i got a new three wood, cleveland launcher comp, and i st4ill dont seem to be able to hit the ball high.  if i told tiger i was doing a stinger, he would be proud, but i dont, so how can i hit it higher, really with all clubs?

thanks,
garrett

ANSWER: unfortunately, there is no quick fix for your problem.  the chances are, your problems will neer go away.  everyone pushes the ball out to the right every once in awhile.  its just something that u can't eliminate.  at the same time, i am glad to hear that you are concerend about your grip.  i checked out the pic and it seems fine.  one thing that you need to fix is that you need to make your grip smaller.  just think about it this way.  i saw that the gap between your left hand and your right hand is too much.  close the gap. this can increase your distance as you will ocuppy less of the grip.  the bigger your grip is, the shorter you will hit it.  imagine putting a brake your club as you are swinging it.  you don't want to occupy too much of the grip.  so i would try and fix that.  it will feel like the club is little more loose.  and that is perfectly fine.  the v's are right, at least from what i can see.  so as of right now, your grip is not affecting your accuracy.  
regarding your ball trajectory, i can guess that you are not hitting it solid on the clubface.  how deep of a divot are you taking when you are hitting irons?  a little?  maybe this is why.  after you hit the ball, you need to make a divot a size of a bacon slice.  not so thick but LONG AND SHALLOW.  don't confuse yourself from digging the ground.  rather, think about a thin strip of divot that is about 5 to 6 inches long.  in order to do this, you need to attack the ball in a shallow angle and make sure that you stay down on the ball throughout your follow through.  make sure that u have a nice backswing too.  don;t lift your body up when you are taking a swing.  another thing that you need to concentrate is on your club speed.  usually, when your club speed is faster, the ball goes higher.  thats why when you try to hit the ball under the tree, you swing slower and you will see that the ball goes lower.  
so three things that you need to concentrate on.  better body positons through the swing, better follow through and an increase of the swing speed.  
HOWEVER, swinging faster will decrease the chances of you hitting the ball solid.  so i would probably not be so concerned about it right now.  just concentrate on hitting the ball SOLID with good divots and let the clubs do the work.  regarding your driver, you can try teeing the ball higher.  your contact is obviously not very good.  so here is what you should do.  get a sharpie.  make a mark on the ball taht you are hitting.  place the mark on a spot where you would be making a contact with the club.  hit the ball this way and see where the mark is on your club. it should be SLIGHTLY above the center of the club.  try to adjust your swing to match this. good luck

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks stanley,

another thing that i always struggle with is the ball position as in how far from your body the ball should be, not the ball in your stance.  i can't really find a set-up that feels comfortable.  normally, it must be to close because i hit a shank, then i move it out, and i look at my swing on video and im REALLY reaching out for the ball, and seeing all the pro swings like scott and tiger, they just let there arms hang naturally.  i do this and i cant extend my arms enouggh through the swing, if i do, shank.  my spine angle isn't too steep,  but if i make it more vertical, i lose some much power and my ball striking is worse.  just annoying.

Answer
i have just got the solution for you.  relax your arms, feel like you are bending them.  it feels like when you are close to the ball, your arms don't feel comfortable and awkward.  RELAX those arms.  get close to the ball and bend it.  i know you heard that you should extend your arm but you still will even when you bend them.  i want you to really bend the arm to the point where you are comfortable. almost form a triangle and maintain it on your backswing.  it may feel like you need to extend but DON'T.  go ahead and look at your swing through your video camera. it won't look like you are bending your arms at all.  do this as much as you can without looking like you are bending your arms