Why Do I Hit My Driver So High? How to Stop Popping It Up
By Coach Erik Schjolberg – Jan 12, 2024
Key Takeaways
- You’re teeing the ball too high
- Your swing path is too steep
- Incorrect ball position leads to incorrect swing path
- Use impact tape/powder spray to identify EXACTLY where contact is made
- Practice hitting up on the ball to correct a steep swing
Popping up the golf ball can be extremely frustrating. You might have been hitting great shots all around, leading your friends in the game. Suddenly, without any warning, the ball launches straight up into the air and lands a very short distance away. It’s a disheartening experience, especially after careful planning of your shots.
In this particular hole, a perfect drive was necessary to reach the green in regulation. Pop-up drives can be a game changer, possibly costing you the lead against your friends. Let’s explore the potential reasons behind this unexpected outcome and hitting your driver too high.
WHY Am I Hitting the Driver Too High?
- Teeing the golf ball too high… most of the time by accident – this gives you much more of a chance to get under the ball, hitting the driver too high on the face, thus a high ball flight.
- The swing path is too steep for the ball, causing the club head to pass under the ball and hit down vs up and in the sweet spot.
- Incorrect ball position at setup – too far back and you’re likely to hit down on the ball and catch it too high on the face.
- You’re “casting” – a type of golf swing where the club head travels from outside the target line to inside (also known as an “over the top” golf swing).
- Dropping the trail shoulder just before impact – dropping the trail shoulder causes you to lower your swing plane, resulting in hitting the ball and increasing the launch angle.
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How to STOP Popping Up Driver
Now comes the million-dollar question. How do we solve the pop-up problem?
Ball Position
The key to preventing the ball from reaching a high altitude is to ensure that the ball is positioned just off the front foot’s heel or even as far forward as the toe.
By doing this, you can make sure impact occurs while the club head is moving slightly UP in the golf swing, instead of down. So yes, you want to hit the golf ball on the up part of your swing.
Tee Height
Next, make sure not to accidentally tee the ball excessively high. This is the standard tee height.
Body Position
In golf, achieving the correct tee height and ball position is crucial for impacting the ball on the upswing. To set up the correct position for the driver, start by placing the golf ball directly in front of the heel of the lead foot with the feet together. This helps in swinging up with the driver on tee shots.
Next, step back with the back foot into a relatively wide stance (wider than your normal iron swing).
Once there, place the club head on the ground behind the ball, and place your lead hand in its proper position on the club. The butt or grip end of the club should be pointing somewhat toward your lead armpit.
Now, place your trail hand on the golf club in the proper golf position. This should automatically tilt your shoulders and upper body towards your trail side. You need this tilted position to guarantee that the angle of impact is going up and not down.
Check this guy out below. He has a wide stance, the ball positioned up by the front foot, his shoulders are tilted back, the ball is teed up to the right height… PERFECT driver setup right there!
Focal Point
Finally, choose a focal point either near the back of the golf ball or just behind the ball.
To reiterate and sum up this section:
- Standard tee height should be where only half the golf ball is above the top of the driver when rested on the ground.
- Driver ball position should nearly always be either your lead foot’s heel or slightly inside the toe.
- The upper body should be tilted away from the target line.
- The focal point should be on the back of the golf ball or just ever so slightly behind it.
- And your swing at impact should be UP and not down (I know, it sounds counterintuitive to hitting the golf ball lower, but trust me. When you hit down with a driver, it causes you to catch the ball too high on the face, and likely a big reason why you are slicing your driver).
Video – Golf with Aimee
If all that wasn’t enough, here’s an excellent video explaining most of what I just talked about.
And let’s be honest, she’s one of the best women drivers of the golf ball on YouTube.
Drills That Will Help
Hitting UP Into an Impact Bag
The first simple drill to prevent the pop-up ball flight is to use an old bean bag chair, or a golf impact bag, and practice short strokes while making sure you’re hitting up and not down during the swing.
While doing this, choose a focal point just behind the bag and keep your eyes there during your backswing and through impact.
Impact Tape or Foot Spray Drill
If you’ve never heard of this drill before, it’s used to determine where on the face you’re hitting your driver (or any club really). If you’re hitting the driver too high on the face, it’s going to pop up the golf ball.
Get some impact tape from Amazon, or simply use some foot spray powder. Put it on your driver’s face, swing, and hit the ball.
Now check the face. There will be an imprint that shows EXACTLY where you struck the golf ball with your golf swing.
Just by being aware of where you’re usually making contact on the clubface, you can adjust and fix your golf swing accordingly.
Figure out how to hit the sweet spot and you’ll stop skying your driver in no time.
Get a More Forgiving Driver
If you’re struggling to hit the golf ball in the sweet spot consistently, you may want to consider getting a more forgiving driver. They are designed to have larger sweet spots than standard, allowing for the most forgiveness possible in drivers today.
Slow Golf Swing Drill
Once you feel comfortable with the other drills, try to swing the club at a significantly reduced speed for a while.
Focus on making solid contact in the middle of the face (you learned this in the impact tape drill) and hitting UP on the golf ball.
Of course, before you swing, make sure you have the right setup I talked about with the ball position, shaft position at setup, wide stance, and shoulder tilt.
After you can put everything together at a slow swing speed, start hitting your driver a little faster.
Once your swing speed is close to your normal speed, stop there for a while (like a few weeks honestly)! You were probably swinging way too hard before anyway.
Ok, now that you’ve mastered the feel and you’re comfortable you’re not going to pop up your tee shots (and embarrass yourself in front of your golfing buddies), then go for the full Monty and swing away at full power.
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FAQ – Stop Popping Up Your Driver
Note – Some of these FAQs were covered throughout the article, but I still get these questions a lot… so here are the “short and sweet” answers to the most common questions:
The high trajectory of your driver shots may be due to making contact too high on the club head, resulting in elevated ball flight.
The causes of this issue can be attributed to not hitting UP on the ball, having the ball positioned too far back in your stance, or teeing it up too high initially.
To hit your driver lower, try all or a combination of the following:
1. Tee the ball lower
2. Move the ball forward in your stance (up near your lead foot’s heal or even the toe) to encourage hitting UP don’t he ball (if you hit down on the ball, it will make contact high on the face, and thus a higher ball flight)
3. Make sure you are titled back at setup (encouraging you to hit UP on the ball through impact)
You keep skying your driver, which is the same thing as simply hitting it too high, because you either have the ball teed up too high, you’re making contact too high on the face of the driver, or you’re hitting down on the golf ball.
It’s best to hit a driver with a medium trajectory, not too low, not too high. This will provide for your highest average golf drive distance.
You pop the ball up with your driver, which is the same as “skying the driver” or simply hitting it too high because you’re making contact too high on the clubface during your golf swing.
Contacting the golf ball high on the clubface is going to promote a high ball flight type of trajectory.
There are a few reasons you may be hitting your driver high on the face. It’s usually one or a combination of the following errors:
1. Simply, you have the ball teed up too high
2. The golf ball position is too far back in your stance
3. You’re hitting down on the ball instead of UP (due to not tilting your rear shoulder down at setup)
Ideally, you should be hitting your driver around 25 yards high (75ft, or 23 meters). If you have an unusually high swing speed, then 30 yards high (90 ft, or 27 meters) is more acceptable.
You should be hitting ALL of your golf clubs about the same height. There are exceptions of course if you’re playing in windy conditions, in which you’ll want to hit it lower.
Check out the following graphic from Trackman… it’s the average of LPGA tour players (who have a similar swing speed to amateur golfers). You can see they are hitting their driver about 25 yards high.
PGA pros hit their driver around 30 yards high (90 ft, or 27 meters). And LPGA pros hit their driver around 25 yards high (75ft, or 23 meters).
In truth, golf professionals hit ALL their golf clubs about the same height.
Check out the graphic below from Trackman showing the averages of PGA tour players.
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Final Thoughts
- Make sure not to tee your ball too high. Proper tee height should be where the upper half of the ball is just above the top of the club head.
- The ball position should be off your lead foot, either using the heel or just inside the toe.
- After gripping the golf club, your upper body should be tilted away from your target, even as much as 45 degrees. This tilt will guarantee you hit UP on the ball instead of down.
- Finally, your head and eyes should stay focused behind the golf ball through the impact of the swing. Like body tilt, this helps to make sure you swing up at impact and not down.
Stop striking too high on the driver’s face https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qisXgWqsUwU&pp=ygU5V2h5IERvIEkgSGl0IE15IERyaXZlciBTbyBIaWdoPyBIb3cgdG8gU3RvcCBQb3BwaW5nIEl0IFVw