For many golfers, shooting in the 60s is a huge target. Obviously, technique comes into lowering your scores, but some simple strategies can also help you take shots off your scorecard. PGA pro Jack Backhouse is here to help.
Being a good driver of the ball means that you have fewer penalty shots, fewer chip outs, and more straightforward shots into the green. It doesn’t guarantee you low scores, but it certainly goes a long way in stopping high scores. Here are 5 golf driver drills you can do to dramatically improve your driving without a major technique overhaul.
You can watch the video above, but if you would prefer to read the article keep reading…
5 Golf Driver Drills
Driver drill 1: Start line drill
Having control of your start line goes a long way in ensuring your ball ends up in play. Whether you draw or fade it, if you can manage the initial direction of the ball, you will hit more fairways.
A great way to drill this is to put 2 alignment sticks in the ground 3 yards away from the ball about 1.5 feet apart on the desired initial line of your shot. Take 10 balls and see how many drivers you can hit through the sticks, and try to better your score each session.
Driver drill 2: Angle of attack drill
If you’re searching for more distance, one way of doing this is by optimising your angle of attack. Hitting up on the golf ball means a higher launch with less spin, which results in more yards.
There are 2 ways to work on this. The first is to simply tee the ball as high as possible and hit shots without skying the driver. The second is to put a headcover out in front of the ball about 1 foot, then make swings hitting the ball and missing the headcover.
Drill 3: Swing path drill
If you are looking to straighten out the curve of your tee shots, you need a swing path drill. Using a headcover, put it down either just inside the ball or just outside, depending on if you slice or hook the ball, and make some swings trying to avoid hitting it.
This is a tough drill and will feel pretty extreme, but swing path changes are generally the hardest to make, as a small change feels huge.
Driver drill 4: The bowler drill
The bowler drill is great for players who slice the ball and want some more distance, as it trains swing path and angle of attack.
Address the ball as normal, and drop your trail foot back so that you have no weight on it and can only use it for balance. Hit some shots like this and feel how much more inside you swing on the way back and down to stay in balance.
Any kind of over-the-top or outside-to-in path will cause you to tip over or lose balance, so this is how you know you’re not doing it correctly.
Drill 5: Strike location
Some golfer’s driver issues are caused not by swing path or poor face control, but simply by the strike. Heel strikes will cause the ball to slice, and toe strikes will cause the ball to hook. You can check your strike pattern by either wetting the face of the driver or spraying the face with foot spray and hitting some shots.
the ball will leave an impression on the face so you will quickly see what your tendencies are. It is then good practice to deliberately try to move the strike to different locations around the face. Hitting the centre of the face regularly will give you loads more distance and potentially straighter shots.
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