1. Driver Set-up
Always come back here first if you are struggling with your driver.
There are 4 things to check in your driver set-up.
- Ball Position: Inside your left heel (or lead foot). Either right at your heel or no more than a ball width inside.
- Stance – The inside of your feet should be no more than shoulder width apart. You can error more narrow but not wider or you will likely sway.
- Balance from left to right foot so that your head is centered between your feet, not over the ball.
- Reverse letter K – or a little tilt in your spine so that your right shoulder is slightly lower than your left…because your right hand is lower on the club than your left and the ball is forward. This is what creates the slight tilt. We call this being behind the ball at address.
Watch the video below
2. THE DRIVER SWING
Your driver swing needs to have a few key elements to hit good golf shots.
- Wide back swing – This means that you are creating width with your left arm. No folding arm or leaving your chest facing the ball on the back swing. Your driver needs a big wide swing circle. So practice some back swings and make sure you are turning your chest back and that your left arm (lead arm) is straight or extended. This never means I want you stretching outside of your feet or getting your arm super stiff.
- Tempo! – Your driver has a long way to travel to the top of your swing. There is no rush. Take your time on getting to the top of your swing then pause for a second before you swing back to the ball. Getting out of sequence is a huge issue when it comes to swinging the longest club in your bag.
Watch the video below for visuals
3. BALANCE
“If you hit a good golf shot and were out of balance…you got lucky”
You want to work to keep your balance in your driver swing, and every swing. It is most common to come out of balance with your driver because it is the longest club in your bag and golfers tend to swing super hard or fast.
Get in the habit of holding your finish until the ball stops rolling. It will greatly help your consistency
HOMEWORK (course work)
- On the driving range, make sure that your set-up is on point with EVERY shot. Put a club down like I have on the main page, to make sure the ball is in the right spot each swing.
- Practice wide back swings (5-10) if you need that. Make sure that your left arm is extended and that you are turning – on both sides of your swing.
- Practice tempo – hit 5-10 drivers and with a slow backswing pause for a count of one, one thousand. Then swing down. It may feel like you are up on the top of your swing for a long time but you aren’t.
- Practice balance – hit 5-10 drivers and focus solely on holding your finish and having balance.
- Put it all together – hit 5-10 balls and see if you can put it all together.