Working the Driver; #1 Most Popular Golf Teacher on You Tube Shawn Clement

[nizza594]

Check out "Skully" sat in the Golf cart!!! Hahaha!!! Shawn has got really desperate for playing partners because everybody is tired of having their arse kicked!!

[Patchkaa33]

Great video shawn, I watched your video on using a strong grip really backed up my thoughts of strong vs weak grip!

[jmswng77]

My fades or cuts, especially off the drivers, tends to go further than my draws. Is that normal? Thx again.

[iandavidson1]

Hi Shawn.

I took your advice on the driver regarding leg drive and whipping the club through impact. I was so amazed to feel the result and the quality of impact was fantastic. Direction was not too bad either, one seemed to bring the other :) I will now work on hitting through to the target as you suggested in your other videos. Thanks.

[luker78]

Quick question... In this video you line up the ball to the center of the fairway and swing towards the tree line. But where are your feet, hips and shoulders aligned? Towards the trees or the center of the fairway?

[clemshaw]

@luker78 Great question! Have a look at my "working the ball" part 1, 2 and 3 videos; especially part 3; you will understand why on the answer as well; Shawn

[clemshaw]

@luker78 They are at the center of the fairway; have a look at my "Working the ball; shawn clement" part 3; to see the difference between fade and draw shots; Shawn

[luker78]

@clemshaw ok, I watched part 4 and I understand how it's done. My next question is with the driver. If I play the ball further back in my stance to play a draw, won't that change the launch agle as well?

[luker78]

@luker78 oops. Part 3 not 4.

[clemshaw]

@luker78 No, because of how you get behind the shot; have a look at my "draw and fade part 3" and then see my latest "Feel the Braced Tilt" and the "Braced tilt down the line" you don't pre-turn on the fade but you do on the draw to always feel that your centre of mass is right behind the ball. Shawn

[liamcal93]

@jt456789

Obviously, that's why he's a scrath golfer both right and lefted hand and teaches golf. #MORON

[balharbir]

I have a huge trouble hitting with a driver..My ball fades to the right almost 90 degrees! Whereas, if i hit with a 3 Wood ..It goes straight. Don't know what rocket science my driver needs :(

[liamcal93]

@balharbir I have had the same problem, have a look at your grip, is it weak or strong, use Shawn's video on this to help you. Also, try having a look at your shoulders, do they point left of your target? This seems to be my problem. Your body recognises how you're pointing in the wrong direction to the target, so it tries to correct it on your down-swing my trying to push the ball to the centre of the fairway. Hope this helps

[balharbir]

@liamcal93 Thanks buddy! I realised that my shoulders were pointing way left to the target..Little adjustments and now looks better..still fades..

[mikehuntisbleeding]

excellent thankx!

[tshoey22]

that Micheal Breed Guy has nothing over you ...your are much better at explaining this "golf stuff" than he does...

[bboardma]

I'm trying to understand the logic of the wider woods requiring an ahead of center alignment. I'm not questioning that this works, just trying to glue together the why. The face of the club is in the same alignment as Irons, directly adjacent to the shaft. So forward for woods, is to allow the trailing portion of the head bottoming out at the center and beginning to move up and return to the inside? ?? Thanks I'll also post on the forum.

[clemshaw]

@bboardma It is not just the face but the center of gravity of the club head which is way back of the face; this makes a big difference in the set up; Shawn

[mondeoclub]

Great tips.

[ProOcho116]

from a fellow pga professional (apprentice actually), i'd like to wish you good luck with the golf channel challenge. i will be pulling for you as your videos are super-informative, practical, and impactful. your instruction has been invaluable to me and my teaching experience on the whole. good luck

[clemshaw]

@ProOcho116 Thank you ProOcho116! I hope you were able to give me the thumbs up! :)

[Cushdrive]

Shawn looking at the other entries, I think you stand a very real chance at becoming the next instructor for the golf channel. Best of luck and thanks so much for the videos.

[clemshaw]

@Cushdrive Thank you very much! Just make sure you click on the thumbs up logo on the right side of the video and talk it up on your facebook network! One can never get enough support when it comes to these situations!

Thanks again for the support! Shawn

[glb121053]

I agree,throw your hat in the mix to get the shot to do golf channel...plus thanks for the tip...glb121053

[clemshaw]

@glb121053 It is in there! Have a look and make sure you click on that thumbs up!

Thanks for the comment! Shawn

[SnowmobileCookeCity]

Shawn, long time watcher, first time commenter. I wanted to make sure to support you on the Golf Channel Search. Am I missing something though? Is there a way to vote for you, if so I don't see it. Thanks!

[clemshaw]

@SnowmobileCookeCity

Thank you! What you do is go to the page where all the videos are from each teacher and choose mine; you will see a "thumbs up" logo on the right and a "like it?" prompt; just give me a thumbs up! :) You may have to register with the golf channel website but this will come in handy when the time comes to pick one of the top 4 at the end; which I hope to be one of them; so the thumbs up is a way to get their attention! Thanks again! Shawn

[tshoey22]

shawn are you directing the momentum of your swing towards the target where you want the ball to end up or the line where you want the ball to start?

[clemshaw]

@tshoey22 On the line you want the ball to start; Shawn

[glb121053]

shawn i hit my 5 wood 240 to250 but can't hit my driver or 3 wood ,any ideas...gary from ohio

[clemshaw]

@glb121053 I would get yourself fit for a driver with a launch monitor to see what loft and shaft combo work better for you and just stick to a solid 4 wood; I hit mine 270 fairway and 250 carry which is the same distance as my strong 3 wood; I carry the driver 285 which would be proportionate; ditch the 3 wood and stick to the 5 or get a good 4 wood (17 degrees) Shawn

[alex10for2]

Shawn, question: when you move the ball up .5 to 1 inches for the fade -- is that a move parallel (horizontally) to the position it would be for a draw or do you also move the ball slightly closer to your body? the reason I ask is that since the swing is on an arc, you would think that if you just move the ball up horizontally and don't adjust it vertically, it you will catch the ball on slightly closer to the toe.

[clemshaw]

@alex10for2 Correct!! Splendid deduction Alex! :)

Thanks for the comment and terrific observation! Shawn

[AmericanDragonIDH]

Hey Shawn, I have an unorthodox swing/stance for driving, and I'm told I look stupid swinging. However, my drives probably average 215-225 yards, if not more. However, I have a completely different swing for the rest of my clubs, and I can't get a consistant swing.  Should I completely revamp my stance, or should I try to hit with my irons like I hit with my driver?

Hope you get to this, understand if you don't.

-Ian

[clemshaw]

@AmericanDragonIDH Very difficult to diagnose from the information you have given me; there are reasons you are not having consistency through the set though and I would have to say that it is the same swing for all clubs except that the arc gets wider and flatter with the longer clubs; we are still swinging to a target using gravity and centrifugal force to twirl the arm-club unit...best advice would be to get my dvd series and take it one step at a time and get all your ducks in a row!

[itsadryheat]

Great video, as always, Shawn. I'm one of those "short straight" hitters. If i'm playing in the company golf league on a par-3 course, I top the charts, as it's all mid irons. However, if I move to a regulation course, I struggle due to length off the tee. I've been trying to figure out how to add a draw to my drive for that extra few yards. Looking forward to putting your tips to work on the practice tee.

[jlnewma7]

Not to be too ticky, but what about the low draw (i.e. into the wind) or the high fade in terms of ball position. I have been playing my draw in the middle of my stance to keep from pulling it, but find I hit some low snap hooks with that position. I also tend to pull my fades into trouble before they have time to fade. Thanks for the vid, been waiting on this one!!

[451mnu]

Shawn, I received my DVD and enjoyed the first 3 disks. Wealth of information and such a treat to get more in-depth info on Skully :-) and great on-course tips. I was disappointed I topped every ball on the elephant walk which tells me I'm hypnotized by the ball instead of the pendulum motion to target on beat.

[clemshaw]

@rfulton5512 I see this often and thanks for the question; the key here is to make sure you are swinging into a complete picture and not towards the ball! Pick a line you want to start the ball on and then pick a line you want the ball to end on and send that effortless whip to the spot you want to start it on...Be aware of 2 things after the shot is done: 1-was the focus on target and 2-was it an effortless whip to that target! If no on one or both, don't waste any time looking elsewhere! :)

[451mnu]

@clemshaw You've mentioned before you raise up your head on BS guarding against head moving forward. About 3.05 you start with a slight lowering or sitting as right knee presses forward which triggers the slight stand up then your FS begins with a sit down and you stand up again for the finish. So is it fair to summarize the head movement as "down - up - down - up" ? Thank you.

[clemshaw]

@451mnu Yes it is but don't get hung up on this; if you are topping the ball, it means that your focus is only tentatively on target with concerns of contact with the ball; the ball will always win this one. See "golf pro lesson distance to ball part 2" as well as "golf pro lesson strike it pure" part 1 and 2 and simply feel that the bottom of the arc is in front of the ball and that the ball and the ground (In that order) are in the way of YOUR ACTION TO TARGET. Shawn

[451mnu]

@clemshaw I don't normaly top the ball except the elephant walk. I planted left and then hit which worked with PW. I'm learning a similar head movement sequence like yours to cultivate some rythym and stop moving my head forward at the start of my regular swing. Also camera confirmed I loose right butt connection (Hogan's Leverage) on FS - may explain some of my fat shots with the 8 or 5 iron - particularly if I squat and pull which crashes the club straight into the center of the earth.

[FairwayJack]

Do you get similar distance on both drives or does the draw give you more run ??

[clemshaw]

@FairwayJack You will typically get about 15 yards more with the draw when there is no wind; more when it is into the wind as the draw bores better. But there is nothing like shaping a fade into a left to right fairway...:)

Shawn

[tfdoke]

I didn't really understand the part about "tee the ball higher for draw and lower for a fade"....wouldn't a draw be a little back in the arc so you would tee it lower and the fade be farther ahead in the arc so you tee it higher?

[clemshaw]

@tfdoke The draw requires more tilt and thus will encourage a more upward motion through the ball and with such little loft and such a wide head, it is only natural to have it higher; since the fade has less tilt, it would not be wise to invite any possibility of a pop fly that would rob you of 80% of your distance; make sense?

Shawn

[vkoster]

Hi Shawn,

thanks for all of these great videos. They are by now my main source of reference when my swing gets out of sync.

As to this video, where do you align/aim for example for the draw? Towards where the ball is to start (treeline) or towards where it is to end up (middle of fairway)?

I remember from your shaping video to align the body towards where the ball is to start and the clubface towards where it is to end up.

Regards and greetings from Germany

Volker

[clemshaw]

@vkoster Have a look at my new "golf pro lesson work the ball" part 1 and 2; now with the driver, I like to aim the logo of the ball to where I want to end up and set up perfectly parallel to that for the draw; then play the ball inside the left instep and get behind it; it will feel like the swing will brush a bit across the logo of the ball to the right which will give you a ball that starts a bit right of the target and draw back to the target. I like to be a bit more open with the fade...

[jkpassage]

As a chronic slicer of my drives, I needed this video. Thanks a lot, Shawn. Really appreciate your help. Jeff P.