Golf is basically about two things – distance and direction. Every golfer dreams of hitting their drives further, with more power and without losing accuracy. It’s undeniable that more length off the tee makes your golf a lot easier, as long as you don’t sacrifice direction. Driving the ball long and straight is an extremely important skill for all golfers to develop. It builds your confidence, leads to shorter approach shots, more greens in regulations and better golf scores. So how do you get more distance out of your swing? There are a few factors you need to consider.
Control your swing tempo
Although it seems like swinging your club harder and faster will improve your distance, this is actually not the case. When you’re trying to hit the ball harder, your wrists and elbows tense up, decreasing your swing arc and preventing you from making good contact with the ball. You need good form before you can try to swing faster, as without mastering proper swing form, all you’ll find yourself doing is hitting faster swings with poor technique.
Slowing down your swing is a better strategy, and if you watch the pros closely, you’ll see many of them have wide, slower swings that still provide great distance. Aim for around 75% of your maximum speed for your slower swing. Keep your elbows and wrists loose so that you can get a wider arc, and finish with a smooth follow-through, keeping your spine vertical. Don’t rush your downswing, and try and keep the full arc of your swing happening at around the same speed. Consistency is key, and will make it easier to hit the ball with your club’s sweet spot.
You’ll need to practice this strategy to get your swing feeling smooth and powerful, but if you stick with it, you’ll see improved results. Long, slow swings are much better for distance than short, fast swings.
Relax your arms
There are three moving parts to the golf swing – your body, your hands and your arms. All are important parts of generating power during the swing. Most players feel the need to keep their hands and arms tight throughout their swing. Rather than giving you more power, this slows the swing speed and gives you the opposite result than what you were aiming for. Instead, keep your arms soft and relaxed during the swing. Keep your arms relaxed and hanging from your shoulders at address, and at impact fully extend your arms and allow your hands to release.
Take a full shoulder turn on the backswing
To get the most out of the energy stored in your body, the upper body should make a complete shoulder turn on the backswing. As you move into the downswing, the arms should drop and swing around the body, before the arms straighten and the hands release at impact. The speed of the swing should continue to increase as the arms straighten, giving your swing more power and distance.
Get your grip right
The grip for a drive should be in your fingers, not the palms of your hands. When practicing, get in the habit of rating your grip pressure out of ten for each shot, and take note of how this affects your swing and the quality and outcome of your shots. Once you become more aware of this, start aiming for a grip pressure of two to three out of ten. This will allow for better ball striking and greater distance, and you should be able to feel the position of the club face during the swing much more.
Widen your stance
To get the best stable base for your swing and encourage extra resistance in the backswing, take a slightly wider stance than normal. Feet should be a little wider than your shoulders, with toes pointed slightly outwards. Try to keep around 70% of your weight on the right foot. This will help you stay balanced and centred at address, and will give you a good foundations for solid contact and maximum distance.
Rotate the shaft through impact
Let your hands turn over and release to create maximum club head speed. Stay loose and keep your head and upper body behind the ball at impact.
Maintain your resistance
Keep plenty of resistance in your hips and legs by making sure you don’t flex your knees or extend too much as you turn back.
Tee the ball up higher
The rule of thumb is that the centre of the ball should be in line with the top of the clubface at setup. Teeing the ball at this height will encourage an upwards strike and help you achieve more distance.
Try these tips and you’ll soon be confidently launching your ball down the middle of the fairway with a long and straight drive.
For more tips to improve your long game, click here.
