How to Drive a Golf Ball Straight
Driving a golf ball straight may be a golfer's most important task; all sorts of problems crop up when a golf ball lands in the rough. Yet keeping the ball in play with a straight drive can be very difficult. The driver is the longest club, and has the least loft, making it tough to control. Solid fundamentals can help guard against a "hook," pulling the ball to the left, or a "slice," sending the ball to the right. Proper alignment is one of the most important fundamentals. Visualizing a straight line from your ideal landing spot to the ball can also help immensely.
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Instructions
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Stand behind a teed-up golf ball and pick a landing spot that's straight down the middle of the fairway.
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Draw an imaginary line in your mind running from your ideal landing spot to your teed-up golf ball.
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Find something along the path of the imaginary line that is no more than 5 to 10 yards in front of your golf ball. It can be a leaf, a piece of paper, a discoloration in the grass or anything.
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Aim at the "landmark" that is 5 to 10 yards in front of your ball. Drive the ball along the imaginary line.
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Tips & Warnings
You can gain more control of your driver by moving your hands down the shaft several inches and "choking up," effectively reducing the length of the driver and giving you more control. If you limit your back swing, and go only three-quarters of the way to a full vertical position at the top of your swing, you can control the driver better--but will not hit the ball quite as far.
Don't be intimidated by hazards along the side of the fairway. Trust your swing and hit it straight down the middle of the fairway. Perhaps the most common mistake golfers make is to adjust their feet and body alignment in an effort to hit away from the hazard. Assume there is a lake along the right hand side of the fairway. A right-handed golfer will be tempted to move his front foot back and turn his body to the left. In this position, if he cuts across the golf ball with an outside-in swing, he will "slice" the golf ball right into the lake.
