I know what you're thinking. How can a straight drive bounce to the right instead of straight? Well, it is possible but if you're truly hitting the ball straight it's not likely.
Samuel Vasquez is convinced that his straight drives are bouncing to the right once they hit the fairway. This leads me to believe that there must be some sort of left to right spin on his ball. Regardless, I'm going to provide a few instances where a straight ball could actually bounce to the right or left when it hits the ground. I'm also going to share what I believe is happening during Sam's swing that is probably causing his ball to react the way it is.
Surge,
I am 65 years old and have been using your swing for about 2 years. It took me over a year to master your swing (it's not perfect yet but I am getting there). Between your videos that I purchased and the daily videos you send out, my swing has improved. I am starting to hit the ball down the middle constantly. I only have one problem that I hope you can help me with. When I hit the ball I can see it go straight but when it hits the ground the ball bounces to the right. So I am losing distance. Can you help me solve this problem?
Samuel Vasquez
If Sam plays at the same course every time, it's possible that the fairways are sloped a certain way. This could be the natural lay of the land or the way the drainage system was designed to keep the fairways safe from flooding. Either way, it could make the ball bounce a certain way when it hits the ground.
There are more likely reasons why Sam is seeing his ball bounce to the right when it lands, all of which I go over in today's video. This is a good reminder that you should always get a friend to watch you swing. He or she may see something that you're not. In this case, Sam may believe that he's hitting the ball straight but it might actually have a very slight fade to it. Check out the video to see why this can happen.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
If you can't view the YouTube video above try CLICKING HERE. You must allow popups from this site for the link to work.
Comments
photo sequence
hi.i ve had computer probs. lost a lot things i had bookmarked. can someone please post a link for that excellent series of photos of Dons swing. cant remember the name of it but think it begins with P.
thanks in advance
richard in the UK.
Fade/Hook
"You can talk to a fade but a hook won't listen".- Lee Trevino
It was interesting to me on Golf Channel several years ago Chi Chi Rodriquez said that better golfers will take into account which way their ball bounces and spins. So if you are hitting a wedge into a flag you should always land on the side of the hole that will allow the ball to spin toward the hole and not away. I normally have left to right spin so will take this into account. Just an FYI that many of you already knew but others may not.
Seems that Samuel V. must have left to right spin. Likely he also hits down too steeply with his driver (many do) and along with coming slightly out to in although the ball flys straight it spins and bounces right after landing.
Lately I have been working on learning to draw the ball when needed and it is so true that a draw or hook can really take off left after landing and takes some practice to regulate or "talk to" at all. Indeed it doesn't like to listen and can be tricky. Oh so pretty when it comes off correctly.
edit; wanted to add that Samuel and others at 65 (or any age) and losing distance may want to consider learning how to draw the ball. I see older guys all the time that hit a fairly penetrating right to left draw and get some considerable distance. I still get good distance and so choose to draw the ball only a few times a round as I have a natural straight to slight fade most of the time. However I can see that as I gradually lose distance I will more frequently be using a draw off the tee and even from the fairway to get enough distance.
Surges "working the ball " video that can be purchased and down loaded are excellent for learning to shape the ball and I highly recommend it.