2 Simple Driver Tips for Longer and Straighter Drives

March 13, 2021

There are few things better in golf than bombing a drive down the middle of the fairway. Sadly, though, golfers at all levels can find it difficult to do that on a consistent basis, leading to wayward tee shots that can make it really difficult to shoot low scores.

However, we have two simple driver tips that will give you more distance and accuracy off the tee so you can step up to the tee box with confidence every time.

Driver tip number 1: Lead shoulder over back leg

The first driver tip is to get your lead shoulder directly above your back leg at the top of the backswing, by moving your upper body and loading your weight onto the back leg.

This will allow you to hit up on the ball on the downswing – giving you distance – while also giving you more time to square the driver club face, which will improve your accuracy and help you hit straighter drives.

Longer drives ✅

Straighter drives ✅

The drill

Get two alignment sticks and, getting a friend to help you if you can, have one pointing directly at your back shoulder.

Set up the second alignment stick behind, and parallel to, your back leg at address.

The aim is to turn your upper body in the backswing so that your lead shoulder moves in line with the alignment stick that was originally pointing to your back shoulder.

We also want another alignment stick set up behind and parallel to your back leg on address. In your backswing, avoid moving your hips back and touching the alignment stick to remove any sway from your swing, which will hinder your ability to send your drive with maximum power.

Driver tip number 2: Hip rotation for maximum power

A great tip for getting more power and consistency into your drives is to focus on developing your hip rotation in the driver backswing.

Here are two simple pieces of advice for generating more turn in your hips:

Flare out your back foot to open up the hip
Focus on your lead knee pointing back behind the golf ball as you turn, creating more freedom in the hips

The drill:

Put one alignment stick in your belt loop so the majority of the stick is sticking out and away from you to the left-hand side.

Put a second alignment stick on the floor at 45 degrees to your target line.

When you start your swing, aim to get the alignment stick in the belt loop pointing to – at least – the stick on the ground to begin with. This will show you that you have a 45 degree hip turn at the top of your backswing.

However, you should ultimately aim to go further than 45 degrees by pointing the alignment stick in your belt loop at the ball at the top of the swing.

This will make it easier for your lead shoulder to get back and generate as much power as possible in the downswing.