Learning to drive a golf ball well is a challenging task. It can take time and constant practice to become effective at hitting this club. The reason the driver is the hardest club to hit is because it is the longest club in the bag, making it harder to control. Plus, any small flaw in your swing can result in big variances in the end result, so the driver will reveal how fine-tuned his swing really is.
Don’t expect to become perfect hitting a driver, as even the best professional golfers regularly miss this club. Instead, focus on developing enough consistency to allow him to hit enough fairways with enough distance so that you can then use his short game to make more birdies for low scores. It’s important to learn how to hit a long, straight driver because golf courses are getting longer and more difficult, so you need both distance and accuracy.
The good news is that there is a direct relationship between hitting a golf ball accurately and hitting it further. If you consistently hit your driver straight, over time you will also hit the ball far. Remember that lopsided drives don’t go very far, so the first step to hitting a driver more is to focus on accuracy first. You need to develop a swing that consistently hits the golf ball.
To develop an accurate golf swing, you must have great control over the club. This means you’ll need to develop a more relaxed swing where you’re not using your muscles to try to force more clubhead speed in an effort to hit the ball further. Use your muscles and strength to support your golf swing, but let the club do most of the work.
Remember that golf clubs are designed to hit the ball far if you make good contact, so you don’t need great muscle strength. You need to take advantage of leverage, which is what will allow you to generate maximum clubhead speed. The best way to take advantage of leverage is to think of the club as a whip and feel like you are throwing the club across the hitting zone. However, this does not mean that you have really forced your downswing.
Rather have a relaxed swing on both the backswing and downswing. Always aim to finish in a balanced position. If you notice that you regularly lose your balance at the end, then you should back off a bit and stop trying so hard. Most amateurs and even many professionals are guilty of having a rushed backswing and this can affect your hitting of the ball.
Also, if you’re deliberate with your swing on both the backswing and downswing, you’re much more likely to make better contact, and if you make a mistake, you’re more likely to find that mistake faster. Another helpful tip to help you generate more power is to think about your left shoulder exploding on your downswing. This will help keep your swing in the correct plane where the club is going from the inside out and will also allow you to create more leverage.
Grip pressure can also make a big difference in your swing and hit it further. You want to use your left hand to apply pressure to the grip and your right hand should remain passive. If you try to get your right hand too involved in your swing, you’ll end up throwing the club or coming from the outside to the inside, resulting in a lot of cuts. Use some of these strategies to help you drive the ball better.