The ball won't go as far and the thin shots sting the hands for a few holes. The distance differences aren't that drastic and can be adjusted fairly quickly. If you practice at the same facility throughout the year you should be able to see the difference in distances on the range. In most areas of the country where golf can still be played during the winter the ground is more bare and difficult to hit short shots from. When the ground is more firm and tight you can't open the clubface as much around the green or the back of the flange will bounce off the ground and the leading edge will hit the center of the ball.

Mike, this is one of those questions I need a few hours to answer. The best advice I can give you without seeing your swing is that you need to understand how speed works in the swing. Clubhead speed comes from whip not muscle. This is why a skinny, seemingly frail player can hit the ball farther than a bulky, offensive lineman type. Speed is about timing, soft arms, a dynamic change of direction from backswing to downswing and the ability to make the club snap or crack like a whip at impact.

The best thing you can do at this point is think of your athletic background and draw upon those skills when you are swinging a club. If you can send me a link to your swing on You Tube that would really help.

Sticks have become all the rage in the bags of good players from the junior ranks to the PGA Tour. They are most beneficial for alignment purposes but can help the player work on numerous swing issues from swing path to plane and beyond. The drill you are speaking of can help a player who is attacking from an excessively inside path combined with too much clubface rotation. The sticks help the player visualize the proper swing path and track for the clubhead to follow through impact while the clubface remains "square." This is a specific fix for a specific problem and can be harmful to your ball-striking if your issue isn't the same.

I highly recommend using the sticks for alignment purposes but keep in mind that another club out of your bag is just as effective.

The tee heights don't change based upon your ability, but they can vary based upon your desired ball-flight and personal preference. The driver tee height has changed quite a bit over the last decade since the introduction of larger, deeper clubhead designs. In the past the standard was the equator of the ball should be at the top of the clubhead. As the head has gotten larger over the years the top of the clubhead has become taller, leading to the need for longer tees. In addition, the old standard of equator of the ball has lost its iron-clad status and players often get the entire ball above the top of the clubhead.

The fact is that the ball-flight you are trying to create can be affected by the height of the tee. For example, it is easier to hit a draw from a higher tee than a shorter tee and easier to hit a fade from a shorter tee than a higher tee. If you aren't sure get the ball up a little higher than "standard" with the driver.

In terms of the other woods, a little lower than the driver standard is usually a better strategy because these clubs are hit with a bit more of a descending blow than the driver. If the tee gets too high, it can be easy to pop up.

I agree with you Paul that the driver is the most critical club in the bag. If you can't get started on a hole the game is way too difficult. As always I would like to see you have a plan for your driver. It sounds like the experiment to go left to right hasn't worked all that well and you would be happier hitting a slight draw. With this in mind the start of your improvement needs to begin by sticking with a desired ball-flight, in your case a draw and develop your swing around it.

Once you have done this take a hard look at your address position. Make sure you have enough tilt in your right side away from the target to facilitate a more inside attack to the ball. Be aware that the tendency for right to left players is to become too closed with the feet, so make sure you are creating some parallel lines between your shoulders, feet, knees, and hips relative to the target line.

In your golf swing you need to combine the slightly inside attack with the proper face rotation and see the ball start slightly right of the target. Once you have developed the proper shape of shot, you can begin to read your misses. Too little draw and you need to allow the club to pass your body more through impact. Too much draw and you are hanging back on the right side too long causing your clubface to over-rotate. Once the misses make sense you can adjust on the course and begin to drive the ball consistently from day to day.

CJ, to answer this question properly I would need several hours. I would tell you that Haney and Leadbetter are more likely to impose their methodology on the student where Butch will take what the student has and work with their strengths and weaknesses. There is no way to break down their styles in a blog but in my opinion Butch is more versatile and likely to help a broader spectrum of players than the other two.

Players change coaches because they are always looking for something to help them get a little better. When they have heard a specific set of instructions from the same teacher over a period of time and aren't gettting the results they want they will move on. It is that simple. Tour instructors are like NBA coaches, you get hired to get fired. It usually goes coach, caddie, wife, in that order, when it comes to the chopping block.

He has had a better year in 2009 than he did in 2008. When you try to figure out why he hasn't won much there is nothing that stands out. He did finish 2nd twice this year, but I agree that he hasn't lived up to the hype. His statistics are very average, with no specific strength or weakness shinning through which may give some reason to why he can't break through.

I always like to look at two stats, total driving and putting. He is 128th in total driving and 106th in putts per round. If the old line holds true, "you drive for show and putt for dough,", then this is why he hasn't produced like we all thought he would.

It all depends on how your heel comes up. If your right heel is coming up immediately as the downswing begins then their isn't enough weight in your heel at the top of the swing. This will make it very difficult to attack on the ball on the proper path. In the best-case scenario, the right foot will come up later in the downswing as the club is approaching impact. The foot should be leaned toward the inside of the sole. In other words, you don't want the entire front of your shoe on the ground with the heel coming up. The "pinky" toe should come up, not the "big" toe. This may seem like an overanalysis of the weight in your feet but after your clubface position and your swing path, your weight is next in the order of importance.

AFTER LOOKING AT THE VIDEO:

My earlier suspicion about the weight not being in your right heel at the top of the swing was correct. Go to my website www.redgoat.smugmug.com and check out the section on Redgoat fundamentals, Tush Line. This will give you some great visuals about the issue. The fact is that if you draw a line vertically down touching the tush at address you will see by the time you reach the top of the swing the right cheek has lost contact with the line. At impact, your tush is nowhere near the line and your spine angle has changed dramatically.

To fix this you must change your address position. Start with your weight toward the balls of your feet. During the backswing make sure your weight moves into your right heel at the top of the swing and then into your left heel at impact. This will help you maintain your forward lean and significantly improve your ball-striking. You will also notice that your right heel will remain in contact with the ground much longer on the downswing.