LONGER DRIVES
It’s the club we all openly or secretly yearn to hit longer or better, isn’t it? The big stick, which many of us call on for most or all of our par-4 and par-5 tee shots, has the potential to make or break our rounds.
If we can keep it in play a decent distance down the fairway, we have a chance. If we’re too wayward or not getting it out there as far as we could be, it all becomes more of a struggle.
Getting it right with the driver begins before you even take the club away, which is why this instruction feature with popular Youtube coach, Dan Hendriksen, starts at the very beginning with the set-up fundamentals. It then highlights the key moves that could see you driving it longer and straighter this year.
So, read on if you could really do with upping your driving game in 2021…
1 Driver set-up Stance
Your driver set-up should differ slightly from your iron set-up in three key ways...
If you’re going to be swinging this club as hard as you can while staying in control, you need a strong foundation and wide base. Set your feet about shoulder-width apart, or a touch more – wider than with an iron, where you’re not generating quite as much speed.
Ball position
You need to be hitting up on the ball with the driver to optimise launch and flight, so the ball should be just inside your left heel. With a mid-iron, where you’re looking to hit down on it, it should be just forward of centre, but with a driver you’re trying to sweep up on the ball.
Shoulder tilt
Shoulders (and hips) should be tilting slightly down to the right to again encourage that upward approach into the ball and a positive angle of attack. Your shoulders should be closer to a neutral angle with an iron to help with the more downward angle of attack.
Driver angle of attack can be very important in determining how far you hit it. Many golfers lose distance because they hit down into the ball too steeply with the driver.
Getting these set-up fundamentals right could unlock the door to instant distance gains. I’ve seen players pick up 10-30 yards simply by getting ball position and shoulder tilt right.
At address with the driver, the right shoulder should sit lower than the left to help encourage a more upward angle of attack
2 Takeaway to the top
You need a good transfer of weight from the set-up position to the top of the swing, moving your weight to the inside of your right foot on the takeaway. I see a lot of people swaying away and letting the weight drift to the outside of their right foot, rather than the inside.
Moving your weight across correctly and also turning your right hip as you start your swing will help you stay more centred over the ball, rather than swaying off it. Your right leg should straighten slightly if your right hip is starting to turn correctly.
As the takeaway continues into the swing, your arms and shoulders need to work together as the shoulders turn all the way to the top. Many golfers pick the club up with the arms and then collapse them at the top. What you need is a good turn, with the arms stretching away as much as possible to create width. The further you can stretch the arms away, the more power you can generate.
3
To help generate power in the backswing, focus on the centre point of your sternum and feel like you are really swinging around that, rather than moving off the ball in a mistaken bid to create power. Swinging around your sternum helps you to use the ground more efficiently.
A good way to keep yourself more centred is to really focus on your feet in your backswing. Stability is everything when it comes to generating power. Focusing on your feet can help you use the ground better, create good balance and hit the ball a little bit further.
Swing around your sternum
4 Stopping the slice
The slice is the most common club-golfer affliction. Cutting across the line with the driver leads to a glancing blow, which costs you speed and power and sees the ball curving away to the right to varying degrees. Focusing on two key things can help stop the over-the-top move, which is what leads to the club getting outside the ideal line as you bring it back down.
Wrist position
Look at the positions in the top photos. In a slicer, you’ll typically see a slight cupping of the left wrist, with the right wrist staying pretty flat. This opens the face a little at the top of the backswing. Flattening the left wrist and cupping the right wrist at the top will help square the clubface up, enabling you to drop the club into a much better position on the downswing and then through the ball.
Reverse pivot
Check out the backswing positions in the bottom photos. In a reverse pivot, golfers slide their hips to the right, with their top half toppling towards the target and all their weight moving on to the left side. In an attempt to recover, they then fall backwards away from the ball on the way down, sending the club outside the line. The key is to focus on turning rather than sliding on the way back as this gets the club working on a much better line, allowing you to create more power. 5
A major power leak in the downswing is shifting your weight on to your left side too early and getting too far ahead of the ball through impact. With the hands too far forward, you’ll lose control of the clubhead and quite possibly your overall stability, too.
At impact, I want you to visualise the club at address. As the club comes back into the ball, feel like your hands are staying a little bit behind and letting the clubhead catch up. If your hands get too far forward, you’ll have to recover the clubface with the smaller muscles in the hands and wrists, losing control and relying too much on timing.
If you can keep the bigger muscles moving through the shot, you’ll have a much better tempo and will maintain good speed through the ball.
From the top, focus on ‘uncocking’ the hands halfway down to allow the clubhead to move and start to catch up. This will let the clubhead ‘overtake’ the hands through impact and give you a good amount of speed through the ball.
Downswing power