Are you fighting off that “balloon” shot that goes nowhere, and frustrates you to wits end? I have been there many times, and I still hit the occasional high ball every now and then. This ball flight can be caused by a number of things, and during this section, I will cover some of the causes and how to correct them. I know there are tons of sites and articles out there that claim that one they have a cure all to everything, but I will cover what actually works for me and has made me successful throughout my career. Each move can be performed by golfers at any level.

The first thing you need to do is take a bag of balls to the range and analyze your swing and your shots. Are you hitting the balloon shots with your irons or your woods, or both? The majority of golfer’s battle the balloon ball with your driver, and don’t worry this is a common mistake. As the saying goes, it is not always the Indian, but the arrow. The same thing applies to the balloon ball, although it may be your swing flaws causing this result, a lot of these balls occur because of using the wrong equipment. Are you using a drive that has the correct amount of loft? Are you using a shaft that is the correct flex for your swing? If you answered yes to both of these, then it is time to turn to your swing because something is flawed. With that said, you need to really invest the time into sitting down with a club fitter to make sure you have the correct equipment. I battled a balloon ball for years, and it turned out nothing was wrong with my swing, but I was using a shaft that was not stiff enough for me and had way too much torque. A shaft that has a high torque can cause worlds of problems, with the most common being the balloon ball. The second I switched my driver shaft to one with very low torque, I saw an immediate boost in my accuracy off the tee, and plenty of added distance. I now use a steel driver shaft (I don’t not recommend unless your driver swing speed is very high) because it gives me a much lower ball flight, with little to no spin.

I will focus most of this article around your ball flight off the tee, because this is where the majority of your problems are coming from. Now that we have come to the conclusion that it is not your equipment, but something in your swing, I want you to take a few swings and note where your misses are going. If you are hitting the balloon shot, then you are doing one of two things. The first thing you are doing is swinging up on the ball and reaching on your follow through. What I mean by this, is that you are not following through all the way, but basically stopping your body movement early causing your hands to try and do too much work. The first step to ending this motion is to take a golf tee and place it about 10 inches in front of your ball. While you are taking swings, you need to focus on trying to hit that tee that is in front of the ball. This will ensure that you are not only completing your entire swing, but that you are also following through and keeping the club face square throughout. You need to at least focus a week of practice on this motion to make sure that you can confidently apply this to the course. Although this motion is only for the driver, you can use the same drill for every club in your bag. If you are struggling with your irons, then practice this drill with each club until the balloon shot starts to disappear.

In all, a drive that is going way too high can truly be caused by a number of things. If you have done the tee drill and the ball is still ballooning on you, then it is time to be fit for a driver, or at the least invest some time online shopping for a driver shaft that fits your swing better than the one you have. I know that most golfers turn to lessons to correct a flaw in their game, but with this particular flaw the majority of the problems do come from the equipment you are using, but this is actually a good thing since it does provide the quickest fix of all. It is much easier to swap out a shaft, then try and correct multiple movements in your swing.