The "Sky Ball": How to Stop Leaving Scuff Marks on Your Driver

The sky ball, or "pop-up", is a frustrating and powerless shot. It happens when you hit the ball on the top edge or crown of the driver, which sends it almost straight up with a huge amount of backspin.

So, what's going on? Simply put, your angle of attack is far too steep. You're hitting down on the teed-up ball so severely that the club is travelling underneath the ball's equator at impact. Instead of the face hitting the back of the ball, the top of the clubhead hits the bottom of the ball.

With an iron, we want to hit down on the ball. With a driver, we want to hit the ball on a level, or slightly ascending, path. The sky ball is a sign that you're using an iron swing for your driver.

Padraig Harrington lesson to stop topping driver

Covers posture, ball position, and sweeping motion feels to restore centre strike.

Want to keep the driver strike centred? Topped Driver Shots: How to Stop Dribbling It Off the Tee shows the low-strike version of the same tee-ball miss, and How to Hit it High and Low: Taking Control of Your Trajectory teaches window control once contact is stable.

Why does that dreaded sky ball appear?

• An Extreme Downward Angle of Attack: This is the root cause. It's often a result of an "over the top" move, where the downswing is initiated with the upper body, throwing the club onto a steep, downward plane.
• Ball Position is Too Far Back: Your swing arc is a circle. The lowest point is near the middle of your stance. If your ball position is too central, you'll make contact while the club is still travelling steeply downwards. The correct driver ball position is forward, just off the inside of your lead heel, which allows the club to reach the bottom of its arc and start ascending before impact.
• Tee Height is Too High (for your swing): Now, a high tee is generally good for a driver, as it promotes an upward strike. However, if you have a steep, downward swing, a high tee is a recipe for disaster. You'll just swing right underneath it. You need to shallow out your swing before you can take advantage of a higher tee.
• Too Much Forward Shaft Lean: Trying to lean the handle forward at impact, like you would with an iron to compress the ball, is a death move with the driver. It de-lofts the clubface and drives the leading edge down, making it very easy to get under the ball and produce a pop-up.

How to Achieve a Powerful, Ascending Strike

Fixing the sky ball is all about creating the right conditions in your setup and learning the feeling of a shallow, sweeping swing.

• Perfect Your Driver Setup: This is non-negotiable. Get your setup right to promote the swing you want.
  • Ball Position: Line the ball up with the inside of your lead heel.
  • Stance Width: Take a wide, stable stance, approximately two ball-widths wider than your 7-iron.
  • Spine Tilt: Tilt your upper body slightly away from the target, so your trail shoulder is noticeably lower than your lead shoulder. This tilt pre-sets your body to launch the ball on an upswing.
• Lower the Tee (For Now): As a temporary fix, lower your tee height so that only about a third of the ball is above the crown of the driver. This will give you more margin for error as you work on shallowing out your swing. As your angle of attack improves, you can gradually raise it back up.
• Feel Like You "Stay Behind" the Ball: This is the key feeling. As you swing, feel like your head and sternum stay behind the golf ball at impact. This maintains your spine tilt and ensures the clubhead approaches the ball on a shallow, ascending path. Players who hit pop-ups often have their chest lunging forward and getting on top of the ball.
• Feel a "Sweeping" Motion: Forget about "hitting down." Think about "sweeping" the ball off the tee. A good drill is to place your empty sleeve of balls or a headcover a foot in front of your teed ball and try to swing the clubhead over it after impact. This encourages a shallow, wide, and ascending arc.

Stop hitting your driver with an iron swing. Use your setup to create the ideal launch conditions, then learn to stay behind the ball and sweep it off the tee. You'll trade that high, weak pop-up for a powerful, penetrating ball flight.

What's the quick recap before you tee it up again?

A skied ball is usually a setup issue that puts you in position to hit down on a teed ball.

• Usual culprits
• Ball too far forward without tilt, so you catch it before the arc rises.
• Tee too high with no width - you'll hang back and pop it up.

• Reverse pivot: weight goes left then bails right, bottoming out before the ball.

• Driver baseline (per the guide) Use your widest stance, and put the back of the ball opposite the inside of the lead heel. That forward position with width lets you hit up on the ball. Tee it so about half the ball sits above the crown - enough height to meet the sweet spot while ascending.

• What it fixes Moving the ball to the correct forward spot changes your angle of attack. Instead of chopping down and glancing the top, you'll catch it centre‑face, launching high with playable spin. Keep your posture; don't jump up at it.

What are the quick questions golfers keep asking?

Q: Why does the sky-ball mark appear on the crown?
A: Because you're catching the ball on the upswing with the face sliding under it-usually from teeing it too low or leaning back.

Q: How high should you tee it once the strike settles down?
A: Half the ball above the crown encourages a neutral upward strike without letting the club climb under the ball.