Want to hit your driver 15-20 yards further? The golf drill below trains you to do that. It’s a great backyard golf drill for ingraining one critical golf driving tip: Sweep the ball off the tee. The golf drill is simple, easy, and fun. Just make sure you have room in your backyard to do it.
You won’t be hitting any balls in this golf drill. You’re just going to be taking practice swings. So, get your driver out and head to your backyard. The grass in your yard is the perfect height to help you master a sweeping motion off the tee.
Choose an open spot where the grass is about rough height. That’s usually about the length of a tee. Set up with your driver just touching the top of the grass. Now take some swings. You want the bottom of the club to skim the top of the grass, not dig into it.
This motion is perfect for hitting the ball off the tee. Keep doing that until you’ve ingrained the feeling. Then, head to the range and try it there. You should find yourself hitting longer drives.
Sweeping the ball off the tee is a critical golf driving tip you need to master to take your game to the next level. Mastering it can help you gain 15 or 20 yards off the tee.
Where to Tee the Ball: 7 Golf Driving Tips
When you talk about golf driving tips, most golfers think of swing changes. Making the right changes plugs leaks and boosts power. Hitting longer drives leaves you with shorter—and easier—approach shots.
That can help you rack up more birdies and pars. Lower scores will whittle strokes off your scores and help you go low consistently.
You can also save strokes, however, by where you tee off in the box. If you’re like some weekend golfers, you place in the middle of the tee box regardless. Others pick a side they’re comfortable with and stay with that the whole round.
Serious golfers know that where you tee off from makes a difference in your scores. Below are seven golf driving tips that can help you tee up from the perfect spot:
- Aim away from the junk — Avoid the junk. Plain and simple. If there are hazards on the right side of the hole, hit from the right side. That way, you’re hitting away from the junk.
- Use left side for a draw — If you’re a right-handed golfer and you hit a draw, place your tee on the left half of the box. You’ll have more room aiming down the right side. (Vice versa, if you hit a fade.)
- Attacking doglegs — If you’re playing a dogleg, hit from the opposite side of the curve. In other words, place the ball on the right side for a dogleg left. This location gives you a straight line to the heart of the fairway.
- Attacking doglegs II— If you tend to pull your driver, do the opposite on a dogleg. Peg your tee on the same side of the curve. That widens part of the fairway you can attack. You’ll have more room to make an error.
- Teeing up the ball for fast swingers— If you’re a fast swinger—your clubhead speed exceeds 100 mph—tee the ball so that one-quarter of the ball sits above the clubhead’s crown. That boosts control without sacrificing yards.
- Teeing up the ball for slow swingers— If your swing speed is less than 100 mph, tee up the ball from the equator to three quarters above the clubhead. That helps you hit up on the ball.
- Teeing up on par 3s — Jack Nicklaus hit longer irons better than just about anyone who ever played. He set the ball threequarters of an inch above the ground on these holes. That let him sweep the ball off the peg.
Keep these seven golf driving tips in mind next time you play. They’ll help you cut down on mistakes that can cost strokes. More importantly, they’ll help you lower your scores without making swing changes.
Use These 6 Golf Driving Tips to Reclaim Your Swing
What’s the most critical part of your game to work on after a long layoff? Many would say your short game. And they’d be right. Regaining your short game touch and feel is critical to going low.
Trial and error is the best way to do that. So, develop a practice plan that focuses on putting, pitching, and chipping. Make sure you include golf drills in the program to get the most out of your time. Then, execute the plan.
Working on your short game, however, is only the first step in regaining your form. The next step is working on your long game. Pay special attention to hitting your driver. How well you hit it makes a difference.
To help you work the kinks out of your driving, we’ve included six golf driving tips below. These are proven basics people forget over long layoffs. So, keep these golf tips in mind next time you go to the range to hit a few buckets.
Things will feel odd initially. So, don’t overdo it at first. Instead, take your time, stay within yourself, and zero in on regaining rhythm and consistency.
1. Grip your driver loosely
It’s normal to grip the club too tightly after a layoff. Strangling the club tenses your arms and hands. That prevents a smooth, free-flowing swing. Instead, loosen your grip by grabbing the club more with your fingers than palms. That will relax your arms and hands, and allow you to cock your wrists naturally.
2. Create a solid base
Executing this fundamental stabilizes your core. It also promotes balance, rhythm, and consistency. To regain the feel of a solid base, try this exercise: Place a short iron in front of you, with the grip pointing toward you. Now put, one hand on top of that. Then, put your other hand on top of that. Now, push the club into a ground. That’s the feeling you want.
3. Prop up your posture
Posture at address is another basic that golfers forget after a long layoff. It’s a critical fundamental you need to make solid contact. Here’s how to make sure you have proper posture:
- Stand upright with straight legs
- Relax your arms. Keep them straight
- Hold the club at waist height
- Tilt forward from your hips until you ground the club
- Soften your knees, so your weight is on the balls of your feet
Now you’re ready to hit the ball. Make sure your stance is shoulder width when hitting irons and a little wider than shoulder width for hitting woods.
4. Pause at the top
It’s natural the first few times out to rush your transition at the top. Doing that, however, prevents you from making a smooth transition. That causes mishits. Instead, make a concerted effort to slow your swing down and pause at the top.
If you’re having a hard time doing this, try counting one to yourself on the backswing. Then, count two to yourself on the downswing. Or, repeat the phrase “low and slow” to yourself. That’s what Ernie Els does. And he’s not too bad a player.
5. Make a good shoulder turn
Overturning is common for players just coming back. So, if you find yourself hitting shanks, dribblers, and worm burners, you may be overturning. To cut down on your turn, keep your back knee flexed a little.
This move restricts your hip turn, produces a more controlled rotation, and sets you up to swing the club on a straight path back to the ball. You’ll create solid contact and hit straighter shots.
6. Shorten your swing
Another common error when just returning is making your swing too long. This swing fault hampers constancy and short-circuits power. To correct this fault, push your hands away from your head as far as you can.
Pushing your hands allows you to swing the club down in front of your body when coming down. You should also focus on keeping your back arm wide on the backswing.
These six golf driving tips will help you regain the touch and feel of hitting good drives. They’re a great antidote to a long layoff. After all, the driver is a scoring club, too. It’s not quite as crucial as your putter and wedges to breaking 80, it’s still critical.
So, spend time working on this phase of the game as well as your short game. The hard work will pay off with longer drives, straighter shots, and lower scores.
