It’s looking like three drivers are getting most of the attention in 2009. And, deservedly so.

Now, admittedly, this is a very unscientific survey. And, yes, many will disagree or wonder why their favorite driver isn’t mentioned. And I do realize there are a lot of great drivers - and there are different price points as well.

But the (3) that I see in play most often (and observe on TV) are:

Taylor Made R9
Ping G10
Callaway FT-9

We’ll be reviewing these in detail very soon - but for now, here are some quick observations.

The Taylor Made R9 is definitely Taylor Made’s newest high-tech driver. It has a classic look and is very appealing to the eye. But, what makes it so intriguing is the adjustability that it has.

The ability to dial in draw of fade settings, and normal or upright, is simply a terrific feature. Most likely, you will leave it in your favorite setting… but it’s nice to know that you can always change it if your swing changes or if playing conditions change.

The Ping G10 is very popular and golfers not only like how it looks, but they are getting great distance with it. In addition, the “draw” driver has helped many golfers either develop a distance-getting draw - or reduce a slice to a fade.

It’s a very nice club getting a lot of play even though it’s been around a couple of years and will soon be replaced by the next version (Ping rep told me to expect it this fall).

And, finally, the Callaway FT-9 is well-liked because of it’s great looks and feel. The large clubhead is very comforting to see and you feel as if you can just wail at the ball and still make great contact. I have one on order and am presently using a demo and like it very much. It will replace my much-liked FT-3 that has served me well for the last 4 or 5 years.

Anyway, that’s my early summer 2009 observations on the most popular drivers.

Certainly, Titleist and Cobra, and perhaps even Cleveland, drivers are doing well… and all make fine clubs.

So, it’s a great time to be in the market for a driver as there are many great choices available today.

Do you have a club that hooks, fades or slices more that you would like?

If you do, or if you purchase one in the future, I’ll show you the simple and cheap way to make that club do just exactly what you want.

Now, before we get going, this is not going to cure a huge slice that is caused by inherent swing flaws. But, it will tone it down.

All you need is some lead tape and a litte time on the range. You can get lead tape for golf clubs for just a few dollars.

By applying the tape to the back of your club, you can affect the amount of hook/fade and trajectory of your ball flight. Let’s take a look at the hook and fade corrections.

I recently purchased a new driver and adjusted the internal weights to get my optimum trajectory. But, that left me with a dead straight ball flight and I wanted to draw the ball a bit. (Hey, I’m getting older, ya know, and I could use the draw to pick up a few more yards).

By the way, last year’s drivers can be had really cheap now that it’s a new season and stores want to unload some inventory.

Anyway, what I did next was apply three strips of lead tape to the heel of the driver and, wallah, I had a nice little hook. Now, I could put more tape on for more hook or less on to get just a slight draw.

And it took all of about two minutes to do.

Now, you can do the opposite to reduce or eliminate a hook. In fact, I did just that with one of my hybrid clubs.

My Taylor-Made Rescue club was great in every way except this particular club hooked too much. And I want this club to go dead straight.

So, a little tape on the TOE of the club, and, all of a sudden, I had the perfect club… dead straight shots that felt awesome.

To summarize where to place the tape…

You place the tape on the heel to promote a draw (or reduce a slice) as this helps close the clubhead during impact.

And you place the tape on the toe to promote a fade (or reduce a hook) as this slows the closing of the clubhead during impact.

If you’ve ever looked closely in the bag of most pros, you’ll see lead tape on many, if not all of their clubs.

This is how they fine tune their clubs to get just the right ball flight pattern they desire… as well as feel.

While they may be much more talented than you and I are, you can use this same adjustment to help your game and get immediate results without even having to change your swing.

Give it a try on any “problem” clubs you may have. You’ll be amazed at how well it works.

Ever need to fade a fairway shot around a dogleg? Maybe even into the wind and keep it low.

If you have a dogleg hole with trees at the corner of the dogleg that force you to keep your shot low - here’s what you can do.

It’s simple and you don’t have to change your swing much at all.

Just hit your driver off the deck. That’s right. Hit your driver.

Grip down a little bit for control and just make a swing with good tempo.

The ball will fly low and fade due to the low loft of the driver and the fact that you are hitting it off the ground.

Now, you probably should practice this on the range before you try it on the course.

And don’t try this if you are a beginner.

But if you find yourself facing this shot, give it a try. You will be suprised at how easy it is to hit.

Dave

Hitting longer tee shots is something just about every golfer would like to be able to do. But, most make the mistake of simply trying to swing harder at the ball. Wrong!

Here’s a few quick tips you can easily try to start hitting drives farther than you ever imagined.

1) Make a bigger turn with your shoulders. This will give you a bigger swing arc, more leverage and will also help prevent your swing from being too “armsy”.

2) Take a wider stance than normal. Spread you feet 1-2 inches wider to get a more firm base. But, don’t overdo it. If you get too wide you will start to restrict your swing and turn.

3) Tee the ball higher. Today’s new driver’s work best if the ball is struck higher on the face of the club. So, tee it up more than you used to. I have even gone to longer tees to make sure I get it teed up just right.

4) Accelerate through the ball. When hitting tee shots it is important to not just swing at the ball, but to swing “through the ball”. This will ensure that you are not stopping your swing at the ball. Think of your follow-through to help you get the feel of completing the full swing.

For many more tips on hitting longer tee shots and complete, simple-to-understand explanations of the above tips and many more… sign up for the free report at the top of this page.

Do you ever miss a shot to the left or right when you think you made a good swing?  Or do you have trouble hitting putts on the intended line?  If you do, you’re not alone.

Today, I’d like to talk about a simple way to check your aim. After all golf is a game of correct distance and accuracy, isn’t it?

Can you imagine a marksman trying to hit a target bullseye and not aiming carefully?  He’s got no chance.

It’s the same with us golfers.  But what I find is that we tend to get a little sloppy when it comes to aiming.  We casually see the target, step into our stance perhaps somewhat carelessly thinking we’re aimed in the general direction, and then swing.

This is not a good plan for hitting great shots and shooting lower scores.

Good golfing alignment can get away from us so gradually that we don’t even realize it’s become a problem until it’s a major problem. 

First, we’re off a just a little bit.  Then, next week it’s a little bit more.  Finally, we’re not aiming anywhere close to where we think we are.

This ever happen to you?

Let me tell you about a recent session I had with a golfer who was having major putting problems.  And how you can learn from it.

This golfer wasn’t making anything and couldn’t figure out why.

At first he just wanted me to look at his stroke in his home. Fortunately, I suggested we go to a putting green.

And here’s why it was a good idea.  This is what I saw.

His putter was aimed way right of his target and his feet were aimed even more to the right!

On a straight eight foot putt, his putter was aimed a full cup to the right of the hole.  But his feet, which he said were intended to be parallel to his intended line, were aimed 3 cups to the right.

And he is a 10 handicapper…not a bad golfer by any means.

So, to make a putt he had to pull the ball back on line with a compensating stroke…and he had to guess how much to pull it each time.  Now bear in mind he didn’t even realize he had to do this in order to make a putt.

And get this…if he hit a putt straight at where he was aiming…his best stroke…he always missed right and didn’t know why.  The stroke felt fine to him.

The solution?

I had him take his address for that straight, eight foot putt. Then, I did two things.

First, I put a golf club along his toe line (he had said his stance was supposed to be square).  Then, I held his putter in its exact position and asked him to step back and look at how he was aimed from behind the ball.

He couldn’t believe what he saw!

He could look at the putter himself now and see it was aimed about a cup to the right.  And he could see that the golf club on the ground indicating his foot position was actually aimed about 3 cups to the right.  Normally, it should have been pointed left of the hole, so as to be “parallel left.”

Now he could see what I saw.  His aim was so far off he had little chance of making many putts.

Now there is a reason why I am telling you all of this.  There is something YOU CAN LEARN from it.

GET ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR ALIGNMENT, whether it be putts or full shots.

Did I do anything special or teach him some new technique.  No, not at all.

All I did was show him how much his aim was off.  He couldn’t see it with his own eyes.

Next, we worked on carefully aiming the putter before taking his stance.  Then he could take his stance with his feet parallel left of the target.

And finally, we had him stroke the putter straight back and straight through.

At first, this looked quite different to him.  But it didn’t take long and then…

Boom…Putts started dropping like crazy.

THAT WAS ALL WE DID!

Next time we’ll look at checking your alignment on full swing shots.

Hit ‘em straight,
Cush