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How do you define distance with your driver? First you need to have a firm understanding of what and how the driver is to be used. It is not a club you use every time you walk on to the tee box. If distance is required to give you an acceptable approach shot to the green and you can not get it with any other club, then the driver is your club. Are you able to keep it in the fairway? If not, then don’t use the driver. It is better to be short and in the fairway, than to be long and in the trees! Think on this.
If you don’t know the answers to at least four of those six questions, don’t use the golf driver. If you swing your driver, you must get your right side (for right-handed players) through the ball. Releasing the clubface through the golf ball ensures the direction of the ball. Think about this while holding your chest behind the ball at impact. [This golf tip is courtesy of Leonard Jones, PGA instructor, Cedar Crest Golf Course, Dallas, Texas.] Never swing your driver more than 75 percent. Any more and you will lose control of the swing. Remember, never swing any club faster than your balance. This is a perfectly simple, but very important tip. The thought behind this is to first get balanced and stay balanced; don’t move. Once you have learned to get balanced and stay balanced you will find you can swing faster and faster. Notice I didn’t say hit it harder. To hit the ball hard does not mean to focus on just hitting the ball hard. It really means to swing as fast as you can and remain balanced. Doing this requires you to first adjust your swing plane so when you do make contact with the golf ball, it will be on line, on target. This is not easy. Once you start to swing fast you will find that striking it pure gets harder and harder. Now, you know this will be the difficult part. You must practice slowly until you find your plane and swing. 
A slow swing drill will be to hit balls by swinging to nine o’clock and finish full. Notice the distance with each club so when you are between clubs you will know which swing will get you the distance needed at that time. Gradually move to a full swing which will be 12 o’clock. Notice again how much harder it is to hit a pure shot from this position. The slower you swing, the better contact you are able to make; thus this will be the beginning of your hard swing. To hit it as hard as you can you must stay balanced and on plane. Does swinging at 70 percent or 80 percent sound familiar? That is as fast as most golfers can swing and stay in balance. |
