Up up and away

By up I refer to the advice to hit up on driver off the tee. Naturally, I was skeptical about this - a fear of loss of good contact, skied shots, difficulty in finding fairways, etc. But I might have been wrong to worry too much.

In my last couple of rounds I've teed the ball higher, played the ball well forward (off the front toes), tilted my upper body back, and swung up. Funny thing, it worked, at least as far as gaining distance. And it was a noticeable gain - probably up to 20 yards.

However, while there seemed to be no major loss of control, perhaps because hitting up reduces the spin imparted to the ball; and with less spin there is less backspin and less curvature, it was somewhat more difficult to find the centre of the clubface. I started hitting heel or toe shots more often.

And another adjustment needed was to aim, which needs to be more right edge of fairway, mainly because the club is moving back to the left in the swing arc as contact is made. This new aim can be achieved partly by changing alignment simply by taking ones right foot back a little (right-handers).

The reality is this, unfortunately, this aiming strategy is not always a good idea, it depends on the hole being played. Sometimes the shape of the hole, the hazards, whatever, make it inadvisable to be aiming right and effectively dragging the ball left. At times you might also want a fairway finder rather than a long ball.

Also, with my re-discovered connected swing a problem can arise because my swing already favors drawn shots rather than fades. I'm happy to eliminate one side of the course, but not add significantly to the danger of missing left (right-hander).

Fingers crossed, I can find a good, sensible driver ball position and (re)gain some distance off the tee, and find enough fairways to give myself more chances of pars and the odd birdie. If so, I'll be up up and away.