Driving a golf ball is obviously critical. A good drive can land you on the fairway right next to the hole, a bad one can land you on in the rough. It doesn’t matter how good your putting skills are: poor driving will seriously impede your chances of success.
So, how do you drive a golf ball? It may be a question you’re too scared to ask. It’s the first action you carry out in golfing, so if you can’t do it, should you really be playing golf in the first place?
In this guide, we’ll clear up any doubts you might have about driving a golf ball. This article will cover it all: from factors that can impact your swing to common challenges faced. By the end, you’ll be able to confidently take on the trickiest of drives.
Factors that Impact Driving a Golf Ball
Before we get to how to drive a golf ball, let’s take a look at the preliminary factors you need to get right to create the perfect driver golf swing.
Tee height
The perfect tee height is 1.5 inches. To achieve this, insert your tee in the tee box and place your golf ball on top of it. Next, hold your driver flat on the ground next to your golf tee. The ball should be halfway above (in other words, just peeking above) the top edge of your club head. This will allow you to “hit up” on the ball.
If your tee is too high, you’ll likely hit the ball too low (which is known as a sky shot).
Ball position
When lining up your feet against the ball, ensure the ball is just inside your front foot. Although it may seem most obvious to have the ball in the middle of your legs, this would cause an out-to-in swing. If you were to place the ball closer to your back foot, you’d probably end up hitting down on the ball, which would prevent it from going airborne.
Having the ball inside your front foot gives you the best chance of squaring upon impact with the ball. If you hit the ball straight, it will achieve maximum height, speed, and distance.
Distance from the ball
There is no set distance that you need to stand from the ball. However, you need to be comfortable to hit the golf ball straight on. You need to be able to reach the ball without overstraining or losing balance. You should be able to extend your arms and naturally reach the ball. When doing so, you have a slight bend in your knees.
You should practice the whole range of motion necessary to create a swing path. If you can do all this naturally without losing balance, consider yourself at the correct distance from the ball.
Hand grip pressure
We’ll cover different hand grip styles in the next section. However, it’s worth mentioning here that how firmly you hold the club impacts how well you can drive a golf ball.
Generally, your grip shouldn’t be too tight, but it should be firm. You need to apply enough pressure to keep in control of the club. If you apply too much pressure, your posture becomes too tense, and you can’t swing the club freely.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being holding your club as tightly as possible), most pro golfers would recommend holding your golf club at 5 or 6 – like you are giving it a firm handshake. This gives you enough pressure to control the club without overloading it with pressure.
How Should You Grip a Golf Club When Driving?
To hit the golf ball on target and with power, you need to decide on which golf grip style works best for you. There isn’t one correct style, but you should at least choose one of the following:
Ten-finger grip
This grip style involves placing all 10 of your fingers directly on the handle.
The ten-finger grip style is the most commonly used in golfing and, therefore, is the hand position most recommended to beginners.
To get this right, place your non-dominant hand at the bottom of the golf club (i.e., at the directly opposite end from the golf head).
Point your thumb down toward the golf head, and grip the handle with your fingers.
Place your dominant hand directly above your non-dominant hand. Point your thumb downwards, and grip the handle with your fingers. The pinky on this hand should touch the index finger on your other hand.
Overlap
If you want greater stability when driving, you should try the overlap grip style.
To do this, start with a ten-finger grip. Instead of having the pinky on your dominant hand merely touching the index finger on your non-dominant hand, put it on top of your non-dominant hand. Rest it between your index and middle fingers.
Interlock
You can go a step further than an overlap by interlocking your fingers.
To do this, hold your club in an overlap style. Next, place the index finger on your non-dominant hand between your dominant pinky and middle finger.
Overview of the Perfect Stance for Golf Driving
We talked a bit earlier about getting the perfect distance from the ball, but how do you achieve the best stance to hit the ball straight and with added power?
The key to achieving the perfect stance is to stand with your back straight, with your upper body bent slightly forward towards the ball. If you slouch or bring your head too far back, your swing path and accuracy will likely be affected. As always, keep your body relaxed – don’t let it get tense.
Your feet should be shoulder-width apart, with your body weight evenly distributed between them. You should feel perfectly balanced.
There is such a thing as a wide stance, which is where your feet are stretched out further than your shoulders. Rory McIlroy is noted for driving with a wide stance. Similarly, a narrow stance is when you stand with your feet at a shorter width than your shoulders.
While standing with your feet shoulder-width apart may be the “perfect” stance, there is no official correct position. You could start with the basic stance, and either widen or narrow your position depending on what feels comfortable.
How to Drive a Golf Ball: A Step-By-Step Guide
Now you’ve got the golf ball and your body lined up, here’s how to actually drive the ball up the golf course:
1. Address the ball
Before going into the backswing, you should address the ball a couple of times, and make sure your swing path feels natural. Run through the whole range of motion a couple of times, from holding the club around the back of your head to the club head making contact with the ball.
During this part, you should also ascertain that your body is positioned correctly.
Specifically:
- Make sure your feet are positioned parallel to the target line.
- Ensure your shoulders are also pointing parallel to your target line.
- Apply a slight amount of shoulder tilt (in the direction opposite your target, i.e., your left shoulder if you’re swinging to the right).
While running through your swing, you should also practice turning your feet marginally outwards during the backswing. This allows you to make a wider turn and strike the ball with more power.
2. The Backswing
To successfully carry out the backswing, you need to shift your weight to your back foot while rotating your torso, shoulders, and hips. All your concentration should be on rotating your upper body. Your entire body should also be behind the golf ball at all times.
Keep your non-dominant arm as straight as possible. Once the driver is over your head, the club head should be pointing roughly in the direction of your target. Ideally, the club itself should be parallel to the ground at this point, or as close as you can physically get it to parallel.
3. The Downswing
For the downswing, you’re essentially doing the backswing motion in reverse – only with much more swing speed. You need to maintain your body shape and keep it behind the golf ball.
You should start the downswing by rotating your hips towards the target while shifting your weight from your back foot to your front. Keep your eye on the ball and don’t alter the posture of your spine. Follow your swing path through and hit the ball on target with the middle of your club face.
Your arms should lag slightly behind your lower body, and the club should lag slightly behind your arms. This will allow the face to hit the ball with maximum impact.
4. The Follow-through
The swing doesn’t end when you make contact with the ball. Like a pendulum, your arms should naturally follow through until the club is up and over your head on the other side.
While hitting the ball impacts the ball’s flight the most, the follow-through also influences the speed and direction of the ball.
Plus, following through allows you to better control the momentum left over from hitting the ball. This prevents your body from straining and minimizes the risk of injury.
Overcoming Common Driving Challenges
Now you know how to drive a golf ball, you can hit the golf club with confidence.
However, simply knowing how isn’t always enough to hit straight on the driving range. Here’s a list of common problems and driving challenges, as well as solutions you could try to overcome them:
Slicing the ball
Slicing the ball refers to when you put a side spin on the ball, causing it to go too far left or too far right. Right-handed golfers slice balls to the right, while left-handed golfers slice to the left. This is either caused by an out-to-in swing path, a weak grip, or by hitting the ball with an open club face.
To fix this, you either have to rectify one of the above causes. You should work on swinging inside to out, rather than out to in. You could change how you grip the handle or practice hitting the ball with a square club face.
Hooking the ball
Hooking the ball works the opposite way from slicing. This is when right-handed golfers hit the ball far left, and vice versa. This is normally either caused by hitting the ball with a closed face or by holding the golf club with too firm a grip.
To stop yourself from hooking the ball, either practice hitting the ball square or loosen your grip on the handle.
How to handle windy conditions
Ah, the number one enemy of many golfers – the wind.
Even the most skilled golfers can struggle to get the club head speed right to drive a golf ball in the wind. Once you’ve made an impact with the ball, the wind determines where the ball goes.
To increase the success rate of driving in windy conditions, try lowering the tee. This way, you could send the ball below wind paths, and still make it reach a significant distance. Additionally, you should determine the direction the wind is blowing in and use it to your advantage. Aim your ball slightly toward the wind to help it fly straight.
Get more air by using more loft
If you’re hitting the ball square on, but aren’t getting enough height, you should adjust the loft of the club. If you’ve got a modern club, you should be able to adjust the loft easily via a hosel or loft sleeve. If not, you should use a driver that offers a higher loft than your current one does.
Fix your swing by losing the tension
If you’re constantly hitting the ball too hard, you need to reduce the tension in your swing. When you’re feeling tense, you forget about your posture, target line, and driver swing. It’s important to relax while driving the ball, which will relieve tension and allow you to focus on the important elements of the swing.
FAQs
How do you hit a golf ball farther with a shorter swing?
To hit a golf ball far with a short swing you need to work on your posture. With good balance and your feet planted comfortably in position, you should be able to generate a powerful short swing. You should also push off the ground during your downswing and twist your lower body faster to add strength to your swing.
How do you hit a golf ball low and far?
You can hit a golf ball low and far by adjusting the position of the ball as well as the height of your tee. Lowering your tee slightly will promote a low launch angle. You should also the golf ball slightly closer to your left foot (or right, whichever one is furthest away from your target). This will allow you to hit the ball at a downward angle.
If you hit the ball squarely with enough force, you should propel it far and low.