10 things golfers need to do to hit longer drives

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10 things golfers need to do to hit longer drives

 

 

 

There aren’t many of us who don’t want to hit the ball farther, especially with our driver. Nothing is more fun than ripping a shot off the tee, approaching the green from close range, and making birdie. A solid, long drive starts the chain of good events. It’s like a domino effect that leads to better golf and lower scores. Here are some fundamentals and techniques that will help you to gain this additional yardage.

 

1. Groove center contact
While it may seem a bit obvious, hitting your driver properly in the center of the face makes a huge difference. One of the wonders of all of today’s technology is that we can actually measure the percentage of distance loss in off-center hits. You can mark your driver face with face tape or a powder spray that will show you the contact point of the ball and the face. Grove good contact by starting with slow and small swings, with a good grip and setup. Once you find the sweet spot doing that, add speed. I will often say to my students: “As you gain confidence (usually comes with good shots), add speed.

 

 

2. Get a good setup
Most of your set up fundamentals apply to all clubs when the ball is on the ground. The driver breaks the rules. Proper ball position should be very forward and typically in line with the lead foot instep. The high tee allows this. When your ball position is forward with your driver, the ability to tilt your shoulders back and away from the target allows the shoulder alignment to stay relatively parallel to the alignment of the face, but yet contact the golf ball on an upward angle where the club makes contact with the back of the ball. It can make a huge difference in distance. A great way to check this is to hug your club in the middle of your chest and then bow forward until the club shaft drops between your legs. Next, tilt away from the target until the club shaft makes contact with your lead leg. This will help you to feel proper bowing posture as well as the tilt away from the target needed to hit longer and often better launching drivers. If you tend to hit your driver solidly but too low, this is often one of the best fundamentals to check.

 

 

 

3. Turn your torso
Now that you are set up well and making good contact, you want to start gathering power. A backswing that is powerful includes an upper body rotating away from the target. While different flexibilities allow for different degrees of rotation on the backswing, this can be adjusted with foot flare. The more your flexibility is limited, the more you should consider turning your toes out to help increase your bodies ability to move. The simplest way that I have discovered to promote this is by keeping your arms connected and in sync with your torso. You can also practice this by crossing your arms close to your chest, like you see my fellow GOLF Top 100 Teacher John Tillery demonstrating above. All this will help you feel a circular rotation away from the target with a more athletic turn.

Continue reading: https://golf.com/instruction/driving/golf-longer-drive-more-power/