Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
I may be a swing nerd, but I’m far from a gear nerd. Sure, I know some of the basics about modern gear, but once you start getting into the weeds a little, I get lost quickly.
Unfortunately, this has a negative effect on my golf IQ. Without his knowledge HOW My device works, I feel like I’m hitting the table. And in a game where saving shots is so important, that’s something I’ve been looking to change.
For help with this, I’ve been leaning on the gear nerds here at GOLF.com. And last year GOLF Top 100 Teachers Jake Morrow of Summit, Fully Equipped walked me through a quick driver tuning tutorial to teach me the basics.
See below.
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What I learned about driver tuning
1. More right, more left
After watching me hit a few shots, Jake asked me what my miss was, to which I told him it was the big, right miss. So the first thing we did is adjust the driver to be a little straighter.
“You’re pushing everything,” Jake said. “So I’m going to take this from wherever it is right now and make it a little bit straighter. And what it’s going to do is lift the toe up a little bit and launch the ball a little bit to the left.”
If you find yourself missing the ball a little off the mark (like me), it might be wise to adjust your driver to be a little fairer.
2. Add loft to close the face (and vice versa)
Another interesting thing that Jake taught me is that when you adjust the driver’s loft, you are also adjusting the face orientation.
“If you add the loft, you’ll close the face a little bit,” Jake said. “If you take the loft off, you’re going to open up your face a little bit. That’s the way it is. It’s impossible to deny that.”
When trying to hit the ball higher or lower, it’s important to keep this in mind. If you don’t, you might find yourself missing the ball right or left for a reason you didn’t even know.
3. The right adjustments add speed
One of the best things about having a driver that fits your specifications is that it allows you to move around freely. When you don’t have to worry so much about where the ball is going, you can swing more freely—and harder.
“Don’t change what you’re doing,” Jake said. “Let the equipment work to do what it needs to do.”
That doesn’t mean going out and buying a new driver will solve every problem you have off the tee. But if you adapt to clubs that work for your swing, it becomes much easier to trust your swing and hit lower scores.
