Today, we’re going to go through different tips on how to make your driver shot straighter, more accurate, more solid, and with greater distance. We’re going through the basics, common mistakes, and forgotten fundamentals that will really help you improve your game.
Alignment with the driver
A lot of golfers struggle with a slice in the drive shot. One of the primary reasons is that their right arm, right shoulder, and body tend to go over the top. This causes the driver to wipe across the ball with a face open and results in the ball flying off straight or a little to the right then slicing further to the right.
Now the tendency of the golfer is to now move further and further to the left which even exaggerates the problem and goes even more going over the top. This results in more slicing and curved balls.
Place a mark on your target line that points towards your target in the distance you want to land. What you should do is to stay parallel to your target line. Close your stance a little bit and your front foot a little bit more to the right. This allows you to increase your range of mobility during rotation to swing in a circle and within the proper swing path to maximize the distance.
Ball position
Ball setup is critical. If you want to really drive the ball to a great distance, you need to hit it in an upswing. However, it is inevitable for a golf ball not to have a backspin. The proper ball position typically is in line with the lead foot instep. This allows your body and shoulder to rotate relatively within the swing plane and your club in contact with the ball on an upward angle giving you a maximum distance.
Rotate your torso
One key to adding speed to your shot is how you turn your body. Allowing your hips, arms, and shoulder to rotate really far back gives you more space and time to accelerate the club. Think of it this way, less turn equals less speed. The more room you give your swing, the more you can add speed.
The speed with your hands and arms
You can maximize your speed just with your hands and arms alone. A natural mistake most golfers commit is pushing the club forward as soon as they reach the top of backswing. The misconception is the faster you swing your club, the better speed you have. However, by releasing the club early, the angle disconnects as well as the lag. This actually consumes the speed, and by the time you reach impact, the speed has already slowed down.
What you want to happen is to increase the lag as you start the downswing. This is through sharpening the angle between the club and the arm, and from there, you release the club out in front. In the downswing, to increase the lag, open your hips and let your knees and feet rotate.
As you open your hips, release the club in front. It’s called the straight-line release, which is getting the lag and releasing your hips, arms, and shoulders in front while in alignment.
Follow these simple keys - set the right ball position, get your alignment so you can work with better space, and then get that lag and release it in front to make driver shot a lot easier.
A beginner golfer can on average get 200 yards on a driver shot. But a good player gets an average of 300 yards. However, getting into the correct form and alignment can give you an additional 20-30yards and an additional 10mph on every shot.
