One key to slashing your golf handicap is your driving. Conventional wisdom encourag-es golfers to hit accurate drives then go for distance. This approach holds that 220-yard drives in the fairway trump 250-yard drives in deep rough. But some Tour players, in-cluding veteran pro golfer Nick Price, favor a different approach. They say learn to hit the ball as far as possible first, address control later. Regardless of what side of the argument you favor, mastering the five golf tips below, will help make you a great driver.
• Hit A Draw
Some players like to hit power fades off the tee. Jack Nicklaus did. That might not work for you. Tour players fade the ball differently than a weekend golfer. They use a draw type swing, with the clubhead approaching from inside the line of play instead of swiping across it. This approach increases control, but is difficult to learn. If your fade is costing you yardage, you might be better off hitting a draw. It adds distance to your drives be-cause the clubhead comes into the ball on a shallow, head-on angle, compressing the ball more efficiently. Draws also tend to run when they hit, lengthening out the drive.
• Catch It On The Upswing
One key to hitting great drives, we tell golfers in our golf lessons, is catching the ball on the upswing. This adds both carry and distance to the drive. To increase your chances of hitting on the upswing, tee the ball a little higher than normally and position the ball an inch or two farther forward. The ball should be directly below your left pectoral muscle. Another golf tip is to increase your backswing turn. You need a full turn to hit great drives.
• Increase Loft
Many of the weekend golfers attending our golf instruction sessions tend to hit their drives more on a line than Tour players. The ball shoots up like a line drive, hangs up at the peak of its trajectory, and then flutters down. This type of ball flight costs you yar-dage. Instead, try hitting the ball higher. Balls hit with more height continue to fly for-ward rather than fluttering down. Watch your ball flight next time you go to the driving range. If you see your ball falling abruptly from its peak, find a driver with more loft than your current club, say one with 12 to 15 degrees of loft.
• Get A Good Lie
Another tendency we see in our golf instructions sessions is failing to find a good lie in the tee box. Tee boxes aren’t perfect. They may slope in one direction or the other or have a hollow or two. To hit great drives, you must find a level area to hit from. If you tee your ball up in a place where your feet are even a half-inch higher or lower than the ball, you’re asking for trouble because you’re hitting off a side hill lie. Instead, tee up near a ball marker or move back a club length-or two. The flatter the spot you hit from, the better.
• Play Safe When You Need To
Some golfers in our golf lessons can ramp up their swings on command. But many can’t. It just messes up their swings. Our advice: Avoid trying to carry a bunker or other trouble spot if you can’t carry it with your normal swing. If you have to swing even a little harder than you normally do, then lay-up. If you gamble and lose, you’ll cost yourself a stroke or more. It may also put you into a bad frame of mind for the rest of the round. Also, never aim for a bunker, a water hazard, or other trouble. If the ball goes straight, it costs you. Don’t get penalized for hitting the ball straight.
Mastering these five golf tips helps generate more distance off the tee. Longer drives that hit the fairway mean shorter and easier shots into the green, which increases your chances of hitting more greens in regulation (GIR). Hit more GIRs and you increase your chances of carding more birdies and pars. More birdies and pars slash scores and golf handicaps.
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