Driver problems

Question
I am 19 years old a 3.4 handicap and recently i have been struggling with my driver. I am not hitting my driver solid. When i bought the driver (Titleist 905 R with Speeder shaft stiff 8.5 degrees) i was pounding it out their over 300 yards. However i stopped playing for awhile due to tennis elbow and lost some strength. I hit all my other clubs solid but rarely my driver. I tried everything and i am thinking it is my shaft. possibly to stiff or to low torque. I have noticed that i break my tees with my driver alot however i have almost always done that. I know that that means my swing is to steep and i am coming down to steep at impact but i still break the tees when i take it as low and slow as possible. One other thing that is affecting my distance is i hit the ball to high and the ball flight is not what i wold like. If you have any tips on how i can improve my ball striking, ball flight and consistency with my driver please let me know. Thanks so much, Nate

Answer
Hello Nate:  If at one time you were hitting your driver great, it doesn't stand to reason the physics of the club have changed so that now you have troubles.  The fact that you're weaker can be remedied with some effort.  More likely is you've changed your set-up and/or address position due either to your layoff or by favoring your injury.

Like so many of us that only think to do this when it's too late, we don't possess photos of ourselves when we were hitting it great.  So unless you have someone who's very perceptive and was paying attention who can point out how you've altered your position, you're left with trial and error to find what you had.

A great place to begin is with the pros.  Finding one with a similar physique to yours is the first step.  Then copy his set-up from in front and down the line.  Down the line is more important because the spine angle you create at address influences your swing plane and path.  The points to look for from this view are: 1.  Amount of knee flex, 2.  Amount of bend from the hips and 3.  Distance from the ball (arms should be very close to hanging from shoulders)  And from the front:  1.  Ball position and 2.  Width of stance.

And when you begin to hit it like you like, take several photos of your address position so you'll have references if things go bad again.

A good place to start is http://www.golfdigest.com/login/login.ssf?/instruction/swingsequences/

You'll have to join to become an Insider but it's free.

I know I didn't provide "the" answer Nate but you've got a good start at finding it.

Fairways and Greens,

John
www.golfnutts.com