What Causes a Golf Driver to Pop Up?

Nothing is more frustrating than teeing up on a long par-5, winding up for a huge drive, and watching your ball shoot nearly straight up into the air and land just a few yards in front of the tee box. This shot, often called a pop-up or a sky ball, robs you of distance and confidence. The good news is that it’s almost always caused by a few common, correctable mistakes. This guide will walk you through exactly why you’re popping up your driver and provide clear, actionable steps to fix it for good.

Cause #1: Your Angle of Attack is Too Steep

If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be this: the single biggest reason golfers pop up their driver is a steep angle of attack. In simple terms, this means your club head is descending and hitting down on the golf ball, much like you would with an iron shot. To launch a driver long and high, you need to do the exact opposite - you must strike the ball on the upswing.

When your driver, the least lofted club in your bag, strikes down on a teed-up ball, the force drives the ball straight up off the top edge of the clubface. This creates enormous backspin and very little forward momentum, resulting in that weak, towering shot that goes nowhere. So, why are you hitting down on it?

The Common Culprits of a Steep Attack Angle

• Weight Forward: Many golfers unknowingly set up with their weight centered or, even worse, favoring their lead foot. This shifts the low point of their swing forward, making a downward strike almost inevitable.
• An "Over the Top" Swing: This classic swing fault happens when your first move in the downswing is to throw your hands and arms "over the plane," creating a steep, chopping motion down towards the ball.
• Negative Spine Tilt: This setup flaw involves tilting your upper body towards the target at address. It’s a natural instinct for some, but it positions your swing center too far forward and pre-sets a steep angle of attack.

How to Fix It: Learn to Hit Up on the Ball

To fix your steep attack, we need to focus on setup and swing sequence. These adjustments are designed to get your club sweeping up into the ball at impact.

1. The "Reverse K" Setup

Your setup is the foundation of a good drive. It dictates how your body can move and what kind of swing path you can create.

• Ball Position: Place the ball off the heel or instep of your lead foot. Don't move it back in your stance. This forward position gives the clubhead time to bottom out and start its ascent before reaching the ball.
• Stance Width: Take a wide stance, about shoulder-width or slightly wider. This creates a stable base and helps you stay centered while rotating.
• Spine Tilt: This is the most important part. Get into your posture and then gently bump your lead hip towards the target. This will naturally cause your spine to tilt away from the target. Your lead shoulder should be higher than your back shoulder. From a face-on view, your body should form a "Reverse K" shape. This tilt positions your head and sternum behind the ball, making it much easier to catch it on the upswing.

2. Drill: The Step-Back Launch

This drill helps you feel the proper sequence of the downswing - shifting your weight and turning, not chopping from the top.

1. Set up to the ball with your ideal "Reverse K" posture.
2. Just before you start your backswing, take a small step back with your trail foot.
3. Perform your backswing, feeling a good turn into your back leg.
4. To start the downswing, smoothly "step forward" with that trail foot back to its original position as you begin to unwind your body.

This "step" forces your lower body to initiate the downswing and keeps your upper body from lurching forward, promoting a shallower club path that sweeps up into the ball.

Cause #2: Your Tee Height is Incorrect

Something as simple as how high you tee the ball can make a world of difference. While it might seem like a minor detail, the wrong tee height directly impacts your ability to make clean contact in the center of the clubface.

Why Tee Height Matters

• Too High: If you tee the ball excessively high, you increase the odds of swinging right underneath it. The clubface can slide completely under the ball's equator, sending it straight up with a classic "sky mark" on the crown of your driver.
• Too Low: This is a sneaky cause. When the ball is teed too low, your brain instinctively knows it needs help getting airborne. This often triggers a compensation where you try to "lift" the ball, which usually involves a steep, chopping downswing motion - the very thing we're trying to avoid!

How to Fix It: Find Your Optimal Launch Window

Every golfer and driver combination is slightly different, but there’s a universally accepted starting point for tee height.

The "Half-Ball" Rule:

Set your driver head down on the ground next to the teed ball. The general rule of thumb is that about half of the golf ball should be visible above the crown of the driver.

• Stand behind the setup to get a clear view. If you can see much more than half the ball, it's likely too high. If you can barely see the ball peeking over the top, it's too low.
• Start with this half-ball rule and hit a few shots. Don't be afraid to experiment. Hitting a little higher on the face is often desirable for a high-launch, low-spin shot. Use some impact tape or foot spray on your clubface to see where you're making contact. Adjust the tee by a tiny amount until you're consistently striking slightly above the center of the face.
• Once you find your perfect height, consider getting tees with measurement lines on them. This removes all guesswork and ensures you're consistent every single time.

Cause #3: The Ball is Too Far Back in Your Stance

This cause is married to our first point, the angle of attack. For any given golf swing, the club travels in an arc. It descends, reaches its lowest point, and then begins to ascend. If your ball position is incorrect, you can have a perfect swing and still make poor contact.

How Ball Position Leads to Pop-Ups

Your swing arc bottoms out roughly in line with the center of your stance or your lead shoulder. If you place the golf ball in the middle of your stance, like you might with a short iron, your driver will be descending when it arrives at the ball. The result? A steep impact and a guaranteed pop-up.

You must place the ball far enough forward to give the club time to pass the low point of its arc and begin traveling upward.

How to Fix It: The Alignment Stick Check

Developing a consistent and correct ball position is non-negotiable for solid driving. Here's how to lock it in every time.

1. Take your stance without a ball.
2. Place an alignment stick (or another golf club) on the ground so that it's perpendicular to your target line, running from the inside of your lead foot's heel straight back.
3. Now, place your golf ball on the target line, right where the alignment stick is. This is your ideal driver ball position.
4. Hit a few shots using this guide. Pay attention to how it feels. For many golfers who struggle with pop-ups, this will feel like the ball is extremely far forward. Trust it. This positioning allows your well-sequenced swing to do its job.

Practice this on the range until this forward ball position becomes second nature and feels completely normal.

Final Thoughts

Fixing the dreaded driver pop-up boils down to understanding one core concept: you must hit up on the ball. This is achieved by mastering your setup with a forward ball position and proper spine tilt, and sequencing your swing so your body rotates and delivers the club on a shallow, ascending path. By checking your tee height, setup posture, and swing motion, you can eliminate the steep attack angle that causes sky balls and start launching high, powerful drives down the fairway.

Fine-tuning these moves can be tricky on your own, as feel often isn't real. For truly personalized guidance, my virtual coaching partner, Caddie AI, makes expert feedback accessible anytime. You can even take a video of your setup, and our AI can analyze your spine tilt and ball position, giving you instant, actionable advice right on the range. If you're struggling to diagnose your swing faults or just want a second opinion on a specific drill, our platform is designed to provide the clear, simple answers you need to stop guessing and start improving.