How to Hit a Driver Low

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Learn how easy it is to hit a driver low using RST.


Learn how to hit a driver low using RST.

The knockdown driver. It's one of my favorite golf shots to hit for students when I- At the end of the clinic I always like to demonstrate shots and they ask me to hit draws and cuts and all these things. What's interesting to most of the students is that my swing doesn't really look any different when I go to change any shot. Whether it's a high draw or a low draw or a low cut or whatever. All I'm really altering is my left hand.

                And people can't understand that at first until they really get into RST and they realize that your hands are really left there in reserve to manipulate ball flight if you choose to do so. And your body is really doing 90% of the heavy lifting. Your arms and hands should be so relaxed throughout the whole swing and through the hitting area that they really don't have to do anything. In fact I can almost completely let go of the club and that's kind of one of my visuals is, to really get my hands so soft through the hitting area that what it feels like is the club just takes over and does it's own thing.

                I don't want to be trying to steer and guide and control it. And so when I go to hit a big, different shot like that. Like I hit a ball with a driver ten feet off the ground, my club head speed was still 110 but the ball only carried 204 verses some of the shots you saw earlier which were carrying 284 yards. When you're hitting off a big elevated tee and you want it to roll or you're just trying to get it through the wind, my angle of tact changed five degrees there. But if you compare it to my other swings, they look pretty much the same.

                How how did I go from a positive two and half degree angle of attack, which is my normal driver angle of attack, to negative three but the swings look the same? Well, it's simple. When you're looking at the physics involved in the swing and the pushing verses pulling motion that RST harps on, that left hand is there to guide and control the club face. So all I did to completely change that trajectory, the height, everything on that shot, was this. That's it.

                I went from a positive two degree angle of attack to a negative three degree angle of attack by just slightly bowing my left wrist. That's all I had to do. And because my arms and hands are in reserve, they're not the stars of the show, they're allowed to start manipulating ball flight like that by making these tiny little finite changes to completely change my ball flight.

                In fact, I didn't even change the tee position. The ball is still up in my stance where it normally is. But by me just slightly bowing this left wrist, all of a sudden the ball changes flights completely. So the key here, when you start working on your swing, you want to make sure that every time you get over a shot, your arms and hands are being allowed to be a passenger instead of the star of the show.

                If you get up over the ball and you're all fighting, your wrists are tight and I look at your knuckles and they're draining the blood and they're all turning white, I know we've got a problem. It's really critical, if you want to become a great ball striker and a master of controlling ball flight, your arms and hands have got to be soft so that you can leave them in reserve so that you can manipulate ball flight as you choose to do so on every shot.

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Mark
Hi there. What to do... Chris Tyler's Low Bow Bullet Ball (teed lower and off the left ear from memory and keep left shoulder down) or Chuck's knockdown driver (teed up in stance, manipulated with a bowing of the wrist)? Are they just two different ways to achieve the same result? Is one more reliable? Thanks heaps, as always.
June 2, 2018
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Mark, both methods will provide a low ball flight. One method may or may not produce a higher spin rate based on your angle of attack. So, I would play around with both and see which one will work best for you. Thanks.
June 2, 2018
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Joel
Hi guys. I like the advice in this video of relaxing the hands/ arms to achieve speed. I definitely find that if I let either hand get too active through impact it throws off the direction of the shot. My question is this: where I play there are some quite strong grasses and some hard lies. I find that if I don't keep firm hands through some of these shots then the lie deflects the club face. The advice I have been given to play suspect lies is play the ball back in my stance and open the stance accordingly. I'd be interested in your advice re playing from bad lies specifically what technique and commenting on the firmness/softness of the arms/hands.
August 26, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Joel. It all depends on the lie. Uphill, downhill, sidehill, etc. You can see those type of shots in the specialty section. However, regarding grip firmness. You need to maintain good grip pressure. Your key will be to have a firm grip, but loose forearms/wrists. Enough to help stabilize the face, but not get in the way. Also, sometimes with thicker rough you may need to feel more of a "V" shaped swing to help chop it out.
August 27, 2016
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Christian
relax the arms. There was another instructor that recommended to tighten the core instead of your arms to swing faster. I am going to try this. Very exciting.
June 27, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Sounds good Christian. Good luck!
July 5, 2016
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charles
Keep hitting it,fat even though I'm wide on backswing and sit to squar. Trying to keep,right hand out of it Help. Cheers
June 22, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. I responded below.
June 22, 2016
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William
Fantastic video Mr. Quinton - any chance of checking this out face on? Thanks! William
June 21, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello William. I will see if he has one.
June 22, 2016
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Lance
Hi Chuck I am finding that variations in my ball flight do circle back to how my hands may vary (usually by accident or by being sloppy with the release). Do you have any videos that could help me train how to intentionally move the ball side to side / up or down without changing the alignment. I like the idea of limiting as many variables as possible. Please accept my compliments for your instruction - I am hitting the golf ball better than I ever thought possible because your fundamentals are solid. Several friends have remarked that they can't believe the solidness of my ball striking with both distance and accuracy. Just now after a year realizing that the movements are engrained and I can eliminate the focus on mechanics as I swing and focus more on the target. Really would like to take the next step in learning to control the ball flight at will without getting too complicated. Thanks - will definitely renew for another year!
June 21, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lance. Use the 9 Days to Amazing Ball Striking Section. You will learn how to control the ball more with the lead hand usage. Thanks for the compliments of the site and instruction. Happy to hear that you have made some great progress!
June 22, 2016
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charles
great site I line up the ball with my left ear at address. I transfer my weight by sit to square and still hit it fat a lot??? cheers.
June 21, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. Fat with the Driver? Make sure you post up on the lead leg properly and adjust your axis tilt. Take a look at the RST 5 Step System Step 2 and Proper Tee Height Video.
June 22, 2016
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charles
No fat with my irons. And thin to.
June 23, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Charles. Sounds like you are getting steep. Make sure you add a little more axis tilt and the path is shallow (Stop Coming Over the Top Video).
June 23, 2016

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