What is YOUR key to hitting that Driver?

[dadivots]

I've read through quite a bit of the threads and comments. Golf life/life golf, yeah.

 

And as I have always seen that Driver is the thing that gets the least mention or attention. Not getting off the tee and the rest of the references to Its lack of proficiency is what we see. And its always the case on or off the course because if your hitting it well is worth talking about and the guy that can hit it well gets talked to about it. If your not, per norm, its not something that is broached for us ams and mortals. A personal thing and rightly treated as such.

 

So I have always wanted to ask, en masse as it were, what is your key to hitting that driver?

 

I gotta to tell ya there are some keys or basic concepts out there that to many, myself included, have missed and then have had to struggle with or even find in an attempt to hit that big stick like we should and could. And some sound advice for that dreaded Driver (swing), and that guy starting out could save him some of that grief to many of us have known all to well.

 

Thanks.

[Shankster]

Close my eyes. Say a little prayer and yell fore right at impact.

 

I struggled so bad with a driver for many years I usually hit my 2 iron off the tee. Then I took about 7 years off. Just really got back into golf in 2014. I didn't have much time being in the military to pursue my hobby. So in 2014 I spent a bunch of money on some used but state of the art to me clubs. I had an adams tight lies driver back in the day. The size of modern hybrids. Got my R1 in the mail and said holy sh!t how can you miss with this school bus. Took me a year and a half worth of driving range/simulator to get consistent. But now it's my fairway finder. If I'm off I just set up for a fade and let it rip... nah, I do that all the time.

 

So to sum up. I found my keys to the driver. Not sure where, but I've always relied on self teaching. Worked fairly well so far. Spent hours on the range till my hands bled. If I start hitting them OB I will go back and bloody them again.

 

Edit: my swing has always been similar (but nowhere as efficient) to Adam Scott's. So if I'm looking for inspiration I put him on YouTube repeat.

 

 

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[TSauer]

What usually works for me is putting it back in the bag and pulling out my 3W. Haha.

[null]

Don't treat it special. It counts just as much as a tap in putt so just relax and swing

 

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[StrokerAce]

Balance is incredibly important...

I try to remind myself to not sway and to swing from the ground up

 

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[PlaidJacket]

I don't claim I'm that great of a Driver of the ball like I do with my putting. But actually I do manage to Drive the ball well most days. Several of my regular playing partners will say to me that I "seem" to drive the ball pretty good - in the fairway. I suppose so. I rarely hit wild shots and play from the mow or first cut most days. My stock shot with Driver is a mid-high easy draw. Now granted I'm not a long-knock either. My Drives average around 248-250 total distance. I have a short back swing.

My key is to have good tempo. As most anyone would agree with. Also making a good shoulder turn. That's about it for me. When I do those two things I have a good day on the course with the driver.

 

Also... I put a ShotMaker in my driver several months ago and love it. I recommend it. I can truthfully say it's tightened up my dispersion a tad and the driver just feels better - more solid. The ShotMaker didn't effect my distance or shot shape one bit.

[Canucklehead]

My key is keeping the head out on my take away. I used to duck hook it really bad until one day I noticed how far inside the head was going and I tried to make a conscious effort to keep my left hand from turning to quickly and pushing it out like that. I found it really helped keep my arms from getting lazy in the backswing and swing arc naturally got wider. It isn't a sure thing, I still pull them once in a while but I've gotten much more consistent.

 

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[MGoBlue100]

Check alignment & ball position. Little breath to relax. Focus on a dimple on the back of the ball.

S M O O T H ...

 

 

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[EthanSterlingPrice]

The biggest key for me is a solid address position. I was fortunate to have my parents require me getting lessons when I started playing so I'm fairly sound on my mechanics which helps a bunch. After that I just try to make a good turn back and through while staying level with my head. Doesn't always work out but more often then not it's playable.

 

 

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[HighFade]

2 things I see most people do that wrecks their drive - over swinging and putting the ball too far back in their stance. But mostly over swinging.

 

So that's what I am working on. Ball forward, and smooth swing.

[cnosil]

For me driver success is driven by tempo and no overswinging. 

[jaskanski]

Nobody really pays enough attention to what you do before you even make a swing at the ball.

So if you paid the greatest amount of attention to your set up routine and shot visualisation, you would find a lot more drives in the fairway.

With that in mind, focus on the key factors of the shot. What does the shot look like? Fade, draw, straight?

Next, get your ball position and alignment correct. Next get your grip correct. Now get your stance set.

Now you have the perfect platform to execute the shot you visualised.

Driving is probably the hardest shot in golf, but is usually paid the least amount of attention. If you follow these simple but critical steps before even making a swing, then I guarantee your driving stats will improve. Ignore any other factors about your swing - get you set up correct first.

[StrokerAce]

One thing that might help is to shorten the shaft... NOT TRYING TO THREADJACK... it's just that even if you do all the right stuff sometimes a 46 inch driver can be the problem or at least make a small problem even bigger.  i.e. if I open the face a bit on a 44 inch driver I might end up in the rough but with a 46 I might end up in the trees.  

[tony@CIC]

I don't claim I'm that great of a Driver of the ball like I do with my putting. But actually I do manage to Drive the ball well most days. Several of my regular playing partners will say to me that I "seem" to drive the ball pretty good - in the fairway. I suppose so. I rarely hit wild shots and play from the mow or first cut most days. My stock shot with Driver is a mid-high easy draw. Now granted I'm not a long-knock either. My Drives average around 248-250 total distance. I have a short back swing.

My key is to have good tempo. As most anyone would agree with. Also making a good shoulder turn. That's about it for me. When I do those two things I have a good day on the course with the driver.

 

Also... I put a ShotMaker in my driver several months ago and love it. I recommend it. I can truthfully say it's tightened up my dispersion a tad and the driver just feels better - more solid. The ShotMaker didn't effect my distance or shot shape one bit.

Shotmaker? Tell us more

 

 

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[silver & black]

Most of the time, driver is my best club. For me, I make sure my tempo is right. If it starts to get away from me, I start counting (in my head, 1.......2), your tempo may vary.  I try to keep the swing smooth and not violent. The old saying is true... swing easy, hit far. 

[cnosil]

Shotmaker? Tell us more

 

 

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There are a couple of threads about the Harrison Shotmaker.  

 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/17733-harrison-shotmaker-revisited

[downlowkey]

It's the longest club in the bag so a smooth transition is key to setting the proper plane. At impact I want my head behind the ball and both arms to feel long and relaxed (aka - stay off the ball).

 

 

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[StrokerAce]

One thing I try to do is find someone who is similar to my body type and watch what they do.  The plane, the hands, the arms, the legs, etc.

 

I've been watching Peter Finch on youtube lately.  He seems about my size and I think he has one of the best driver swings.

[ole gray]

I like all the posts about tempo. It's a solid swing key with any stick and most importantly off the tee.

 

For me, I have to keep my hands slightly behind the ball which for someone reason helps me turn behind the ball better.  If I use good tempo and turn my left shoulder behind the ball it keeps everything moving in the same direction.  

[dru_]

In a strange twist of fate, up until this year, my answer would have been 'pray'.

 

Then I broke a rib this winter.

 

I have ALWAYS hit a push/fade with an outright slice bing my miss with thte driver ( ask Bones, he's seen it first hand, and it ain't pretty ).

 

Then I broke my rib and didn't take any time off.

 

Six weeks of golf with a broken rib has completely changed how I swing my driver, and the result is, to be blunt, almost worth it the discomfort it took getting here. Turns out, that the golf instructor I worked with actually knew what he was talking about, but he couldn't come up with a drill that prevented me from doing what the sharp pain of twisting too far with a broken rib did . I had a nasty twist in the shoulders and hips late in the swing that pulled the club from outside in, that imparted anot insigificant amount of off axis spin.

 

Take away that rotation, and things are suddenly great.

 

Now, my biggest driver road block isn't the ball trajectory, but remembering the most simple of things. "There is no need to swing hard". If I don't overswing, driver is 285-295, aim 10 yards right of target. Swing and launch 5 yards left of aim mark, with a 5-8 yard right to left draw. If I overswing, it's about 70 yards of worm burner and a walk of shame to hit it again .

[jlew2144]

For me..its been shortening the backswing. I watched the guys on tour twist and contort their bodies which resulted in mile long drives that I wanted to emulate.

 

Yeah there's a reason those guys are on tour and I'm not. I started messing with my swing and went out for a solo round to try some of my new tactics and came to see that shortening it helped keep it in the short stuff.

 

I mentioned in another thread that it's similar to Rahms swing and I'm still putting it out 235-240 carry so I will take it!!

 

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[Kkaw1988]

If I was Superman the driver would be my Kryptonite. That said slowing down and taking my time followed by not trying to hit it like I'm lifting 300 lbs has helped. I used to be grip it and rip it and my baseball swing would fill in the blanks, now it's calm relaxed and working out much better as of late.

 

 

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[Rtracymog]

Tee it high, drop my back shoulder, and swing hard to a full finish.

 

 

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[Badfish]

The key to my driver is Ibuprofen, or Aleve.  Without either its the mini driver, or a hybrid for the first few holes.  Alcohol works, but you always run the risk of drinking past the sweet spot.  Jokes aside, for me it's keeping my core/head still, and reminding myself that giving it a little extra doesn't give you any extra. 

[ecks208]

Tempo and finishing in balance!!

 

On every shot my only swing thought is "be smooth."

 

I'm way more accurate and hit the ball further when everything is in sync.

 

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[Kor.A.Door]

G and R it. Don't think. Just let'er fly.

[DiscipleofPenick]

One thing that might help is to shorten the shaft... NOT TRYING TO THREADJACK... it's just that even if you do all the right stuff sometimes a 46 inch driver can be the problem or at least make a small problem even bigger. i.e. if I open the face a bit on a 44 inch driver I might end up in the rough but with a 46 I might end up in the trees.

Persimmon drivers were 43" so that was the standard for a long time. You are exactly right that a shorter club will help.

 

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[DiscipleofPenick]

Smooth and staying behind it. Slow back to get a full load and the rip through. Don't go past parallel, you're not DJ and all that extra movement is that much more you have to line back up to square the club face.

 

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[MmmmmmBuddy]

I like to think that driving the ball is the thing I do best on the course. I am fairly accurate, and long enough to play most courses. The biggest tip I have is to pick a small target, trust yourself and hit it. If you think too much, try to steer it into play, or control the shot, you are destined for the trees|lake|bunker|desert ect... You have hit hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of perfect drives on the range and course during your golfing career, so you know that they are in there. You just have to let them out. The swing happens way too fast to micro manage any part of it. I think that Ron Popiel said it best. Just set it and forget it!

 

https://youtu.be/tLq27iOW0R0

 

Do all the work before you take it back. During the swing, no thoughts, only a dial tone..  

[HighFade]

I like all the posts about tempo. It's a solid swing key with any stick and most importantly off the tee.

Yeah, we all KNOW what to do, it's doing it that's hard :-)