How to Hit Your Driver: Learn to Hit Straighter, Longer Drives

First, it is important to note that what you do before you even swing the club matters. The pre-swing fundamentals of posture, grip, and alignment are critical for playing the game well. This is true no matter what club you use. Your stance, grip, and body alignment can significantly impact the outcome of your swing.

Posture is how you set your body up to the ball before you swing. Setting up with the correct posture allows your body to move properly once you start the swing. 

Ball position is also a crucial part of the setup. When using the driver, you want a slightly wider stance, slightly past shoulder width. The ball should be positioned near the front of your stance, just off the heel of your lead foot. For right-handed golfers, that would be your left heel, and for left-handed golfers, just off the heel of your right foot. This ball position helps you achieve a more upward angle of attack at impact. A proper secondary spine tilt also increases your launch angle.

Your grip is also essential, as it is your only connection between your body and the club. The way you hold the golf club can significantly affect your success. Your grip literally controls what the clubface does during your swing. 

A squarely struck shot with your driver, or any club, requires your hands to deliver the clubface squarely into the ball. When it comes to hitting the ball straighter, your lead hand has the biggest influence.

Alignment is one of the most crucial aspects of driving the ball accurately, as it determines the direction of your shot. Golfers often align their bodies directly to the target, but this is incorrect because when you align your body to the target, your clubface will be too far right (for right-handed golfers) or too far left (for left-handed golfers).

For correct alignment, your clubface (not your body) must be square to the target line.

Right-handed golfers should align their bodies parallel left of the target. This includes having their feet, knees, hips, and shoulders all in line and stacked on top of each other. Left-handed golfers should align their bodies parallel right of the target line. 

When your pre-swing fundamentals are solid, your set your swing up for a better chance of success. This includes the takeaway, backswing, positioning at the top of your swing, downswing, and impact.

Golfers often find that having strong pre-swing fundamentals helps resolve driving issues. This is typically achieved by working on alignment and grip. Once you improve these elements, the problems tend to fade away, so always check your alignment before taking a swing.

Assuming you have proper alignment and a good grip, only two main swing elements can lead to inaccurate drives. They are the face of your golf club at impact and your swing path. 

To hit the driver straighter and eliminate slices, hooks, pushes and pulls, you need to understand the dynamics of face and path.

To truly begin to learn and understand how to swing a golf club correctly, you should become familiar with the Modern Ball Flight Laws. Knowing these principles will set you on the right path toward improvement. Once you become more comfortable with your understanding of the relationship between path and face, hitting the ball straighter will become a breeze.

One easy way to figure out why your golf ball is starting, and curving, the way that it is is to remember that the club face sends it, and the path bends it. The ball will start in the direction your club face is pointed at impact, and it will bend in the opposite direction of your path (if your path is to the left, your ball will curve to the right). Here’s how this translates to your ball flight.

I use the following two drills to help my students improve their club face and path to hit straighter drives. Practicing these drills at the range, on the course, or at home into a net can lead to significant benefits on the course.

Do you need help with alignment and club face control? If so, you're not alone. These are crucial elements that can make or break your game. But don't worry, I have a solution: the Lines and Gate Drill, which I use often with my students.

This drill requires just two alignment sticks and two tees. It's a simple yet effective way to practice your alignment and clubface control on the course. 

Here's how it works:

First, stand a few feet behind your ball and visualize your target line. Once you've found the target line, place the first alignment stick behind the ball and directly down the target line. Double-check the accuracy by standing behind the line and verifying its positioning. 

Next, place the second alignment stick where your toe line would be as you address the shot. It should run parallel to the left of the target line alignment stick. This is a common practice for many golfers.

Finally, after setting up the alignment sticks, place two tees in the ground on either side of your ball, roughly half an inch from the ball. This gate will help you visualize having a square face at impact.

To really kick this drill up a notch, do it on the course during less busy times. Practicing on the course sheds light on the importance of alignment and clubface control, something most golfers need to focus on during their practice sessions. 

The Lines and Gate Drill might be the game-changer you've been looking for.

One factor that can help golfers hit the ball straighter is the length of their driver. Many golfers play with drivers that are too long, which makes it hard to control the clubface as it approaches the ball, and also makes it more difficult to hit the sweet spot.

The average length of a driver on the PGA TOUR is about 44.75 inches, while the average length of an amateur driver is between 45.25 and 46 inches (the USGA limit is 46 inches). 

Using a shorter driver can also help golfers hit the ball further. This is because a shorter driver allows the golfer to hit the center of the clubface more often, which transfers more energy from the club to the ball.

Golfers really should focus on hitting the ball straight and staying in the fairway rather than trying to hit the ball far. A shorter driver can help golfers achieve this goal. It provides more control and accuracy.

Hitting the driver well consistently requires a marriage between fully understanding golf principles and having a great mindset. Through knowledge, practice, and having the proper driver in your hands, you are well on your way to being the driver you want to be on the course. 

However, there are a few more things to consider.

A firm understanding of your tendencies with the driver is very important. That knowledge will help you formulate a proper game plan on every tee box that requires you to hit the driver. One part of the equation is analyzing the hole, including where your landing spot should be and where trouble lurks. Making note of the outside elements that will affect the shot, including wind direction and speed, is another critical factor. 

Process all that information, make a firm decision on your plan, visualize that shot in your mind's eye, and execute it.

Don't fall into the trap of making rash decisions on the tee based on emotions. Pulling out the driver on a hole you probably should not, just because you are upset about a three-putt on the previous green, is not something you want to have happen too often. 

You must try to have balanced emotions when you play this game, especially when you have a driver in your hand. An emotional or even angry golfer, with a driver in their hands, very often leads to bad things. Always make sure you are centered and of clear mind before hitting your driver.

If you are struggling with your driver, know that you can eventually be a great driver of the golf ball. Following my tips in this article will allow you to become the driver you have always dreamed of being on the golf course.