Pop-Up / Sky Ball
A weak, high, short shot that comes off the top of the clubface and barely goes anywhere.
Why it happens
A pop-up happens when contact is made high on the clubface with a steep, descending angle of attack, when the driver actually wants a slightly ascending strike. That combination sends most of the energy upward instead of forward.
Possible causes in your swing, and how to fix each one
Tap any cause to see its fix. Work through them one at a time, usually one or two are the real culprit.
01
Ball position too far back in the stance
This sets up a descending blow with the driver, which the club's loft and design aren't built for.
Move the ball forward, in line with your left heel, which is the standard driver position.
02
Swinging too steeply
An upper-body dominant downswing tends to bring the club down at too sharp an angle into the ball.
Work on a shallower, more rounded swing, a common feel is letting the club "drop into the slot" on the way down instead of coming straight down from the top.
03
Tee height too high
Teeing the ball too high brings contact up near the top of the face, or even above it, on its own.
Lower your tee height so the ball's equator sits roughly level with the top edge of the driver's face at address.
04
Spine tilted toward the target at address
A driver setup should have your spine tilted slightly away from the target (right shoulder a touch lower), which encourages the upward strike the club needs.
Set up normally, then bump your hips slightly toward the target while keeping your upper body where it is, letting that small shift naturally tilt your spine away from the target and lower your right shoulder, rather than trying to tilt from the shoulders alone.
05
Lunging toward the target in transition
An aggressive forward move of the upper body in transition, more than your lower body's own weight shift, steepens the angle the club comes down into the ball, which is a big part of why a pop-up flies so high and spins so much.
Feel like your lower body starts the downswing with a small shift toward the target before your arms and shoulders move at all, a slight pause at the top can help separate the two.
Recommended video
Sky-ed Drives - How to Fix Skying Golf Shots with your Driver
Golf Distillery
How do you compare to the pros?
Average driving distance
A Pop-Up / Sky Ball costs distance directly, since the mishit steals ball speed that a clean strike would have kept.
Sources: PGA Tour driving distance, 2025 season average (about 303 yards); Arccos 2026 Annual Driving Distance Report, average male amateur (about 224 yards).
When to stop self-diagnosing
If you've genuinely worked through two or three of these causes over several range sessions and the miss keeps showing up, that's not a failure since it usually means the real cause is something you can't feel or see in your own swing. A single 30-minute lesson with a certified instructor, who can watch you hit balls, will find it faster than any website. Bring this page along and tell them what you've already ruled out; it'll save you both time.