Skying my driver as a junior golfer was the most frustrating miss. You’re left with the ball barely past the tee box and dread that the next tee shot is going to be the same. The worst part? Those skyed drives often feel like a halfway decent golf swing.
The good news is that the pop-up drive isn’t a major swing flaw. Most of the time, it just takes a few simple tweaks to get back on track. Let’s break down why driver pop-ups happen and how to fix them.
Why does a pop-up happen?
A driver pop-up (or “skyed” shot) happens when your driver swings down too steeply into the ball instead of sweeping or hitting slightly on the upswing. Drivers are designed to be hit on the way up, but if your chest and head drift in front of the ball, your angle of attack becomes too steep.
That descending strike causes the top edge or crown of the driver to collide with the ball, sending it almost straight up. This is why so many golfers see sky marks on their driver head after a round with a few pop -ups.
Most of the time, the problem isn’t your swing speed or even your mechanics. It’s ball position, setup and staying behind the ball through impact.
