How to Drive a Golf Club

A golf club driver is a formidable weapon in the game of golf. With the right golf swing and enough practice at a golf driving range, you’ll be able to improve the distance and speed of your drive to a remarkable degree. Read on to bring you closer to the goal of driving over 300 yards.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Golf driving range or golf course
• Lofted golf driver
• Bucket of golf balls
• Golf tees

1. Position your stance so that the ball lines either up with the front foot or several inches to the right of the front heel (slightly more toward your back leg). Firmly plant your feet so that you will be ready to shift your weight from the back foot on your downswing to the front foot on your upswing.

2. Grip the club with your right hand firmly but without tension. Place your left hand above your right hand on the golf driver shaft. You may choose to interlock your right pinkie and your left index finger if that is a comfortable grip in addition to transforming your arms into one tool.

3. Start your downswing steadily. Rushing the downswing decreases your potential power. Make sure your leading hand (left for right-handers) stays straight, but not rigid, through the elbow and the wrist. This will keep your swing even and give you more leverage.

4. Cock the right wrist on your downswing to increase the speed of the golf ball.

5. Maintain the “v” position of your arms on the downswing and on the upswing until the club is nearly parallel to the ground and pointing toward the target, with club face at a right angle to the target. At this point in your upswing you can bend your arms so the club follows through over the left shoulder.

6. Rotate your hips all the way through your upswing. Power derives from this hip rotation. Upon completion of your rotation, the right heel will pop up and rotate inward to follow the body.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your head down. Allowing your head to pop up early will cause your body to open up and out too soon, which often results in topping the golf ball. Topping the ball is also occasionally the result of teeing up the ball too low. Look at how thick your driver is to get an idea of how high to tee up the ball. Modern clubs are rather chunky so you may need to purchase extra-long tees.
• Try not to “kill” the drive with an overzealous golf swing. Maintain a powerful golf stroke without hammering the ball.