How to bomb driver
It’s statistically proven that more distance equals lower scores, but where do you start?
Hitting the ball further is a crucial part of consistently lowering your scores in the long term. So let’s have a look at a few ways you can adjust your technique to increase your club speed and hit longer drives
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How to drive longer
Drive Longer Tip 1: Tee the ball higher
The first tip to increase your driver distance is to tee it up higher. Increasing tee height will allow a golfer to strike the ball more on the up, or at least shallow the angle of attack somewhat.
We want to do this as the more we hit down on the ball, generally the lower it will launch and the more it will spin, which is not optimal or maximum distance.
Hitting more up on the ball gives us a better energy transfer from club to ball out of the sweet spot, which means you are getting maximum distance for your club head speed. it allows you to launch the golf ball higher with less spin, which is the most efficient way of producing distance. Teeing the ball higher might also help neutralise your swing path, as if you swing steep and over the top making good contact is very difficult.
Drive Longer Tip 2: Widen the stance
Widening the stance might seem like a simple tip, but it’s what a wider stance allows us to do that is important.
One of the key ways to gain speed is to just swing it longer, as the longer the swing the more time the clubhead has to generate speed in the downswing, think John Daly.
It is very hard to have a long swing and remain in balance with a narrow stance, so we must widen it to have a solid base to swing off. Another benefit is that a wider stance tilts our spine away from the target which again shallows the angle of attack.
Drive Longer Tip 3: Get more turn
The bigger the body turn the more speed you can generate when hitting your driver. A huge shoulder turn starts with a huge hip turn, so allow your trail leg to straighten and your front knee to bend, and you will be amazed at how much freedom this gives your shoulders. The more body rotation you get going back, the more time you have to generate momentum in the downswing for long drives.
This can be practiced at home without a ball, in your garden or even inside without a club.
Drive Longer Drill : Overspeed training
You need to train your body to move quicker than it normally does, so the best way to do this is with over-speed training. Grab an alignment stick or something that is way lighter than your driver, and make some swings swinging as fast as you can. This will be quicker than when you have driver in your hands, so you are training yourself to move faster. This will over time translate into faster swings with your driver.
You can also purchase training aids like the Stack system or super speed sticks which give you workout programs to follow using different weighted clubs, doing different types of swings which will help you hit the ball harder.
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Jack Backhouse
Jack is a PGA Golf Professional who specialises in coaching, teaching golf to beginners and top-level amateurs for 10+ years. He also loves his golf equipment and analysing the data of the latest clubs on the market using launch monitors, specialising in blade irons and low-spinning drivers despite having a chronically low ball flight.
Although Jack has no formal journalism training, He has been reading What's In The Bag articles since he started playing at 12 and studying golf swings since his dad first filmed his swing to reveal one of the worst over-the-top slice swings he reckons has ever been recorded, which set him off on the path to be a coach. His favourite club ever owned was a Ping G10 driver bought from a local top amateur with the hope that some of the quality golf shots would come with it (they didn't), and worst was a Nike SQ driver he only bought because Tiger was using it.
Jack is a member of Sand Moor Golf Club and regularly gets out on the golf course to prepare for tournaments. Jack uses a TaylorMade BRNR Mini driver, a half set of TaylorMade P7MB irons, MG4 wedges and a TaylorMade TP Reserve putter.