The drive, also known as the tee shot, is probably both the scariest and hardest swing of the whole game. This first swing is supposed to be what drives your ball down the field and get it close to the hole. Failing the drive means more room to cover, which obviously ruins your score, plus it’s embarrassing to either miss the swing or to have a subpar drive.
While practice makes perfect and you need to actually hit the ball to get better, there are plenty of golf driving tips for beginners that can help you improve your overall score and swing. Here we’ll go through a few tips so that you can nail this crucial part of the play. Just stay calm and remember to keep trying until you get it just right.
01.The Right Stance
Every beginner has to practice their stance so that they can properly hold their club and hit the ball. While the general instructions that you get can help you through the game, which is usually to have a shoulder-width stance and nothing wider or narrower, this is actually detrimental to your swing. A shoulder-width stance is a good middle ground for newer players when you don’t know how to refine your swing, but slight changes can make all the difference.
When it comes to the drive, you have to understand how to club works and the swing mechanics. The driver itself is the longest and largest club in your arsenal, and for good reason. A club like this is made specifically to hit hard and throw the ball as far as possible. Due to the large swing needed to get enough power for the drive, you have to ensure that the swing ends low before curving back up to hit the ball from the tee.
With all of these factors considered, one of the best golf driving tips for beginners is to have a wider stance to accommodate for the swing, power and curve. While you shouldn’t go too wide, you should be wider than shoulder length. The driver should just touch the grass and be able to swing up to hit the ball, so adjust yourself until this is natural.
02.Best Ball Position
Much like with stance, most beginners tend to place the ball right in the middle of their stance. This isn’t bad for most swings, but much like with stance, we can improve the position for optimal distance and power. So, think about how the swing goes. When the club is directly in front of you, it should be at low to the ground as possible so that when it comes back up it hits the ball with as much force as you can muster.
Since we have to wait for the swing to go slightly upwards, it’s best if the ball is positioned slightly to the left. This means that, when you are in the proper stance, the ball should be close to your left foot. If you are a lefty, then the ball should be closer to your right foot. This maximizes the power of your swing and dramatically increases the distance. This also reduces spin on the ball, which results in a straighter shot and better overall accuracy.
03.Hand and Body Position
Positioning the club and your hands is essential for the right swing. If your hands are improperly positioned, then you’re putting in more effort and getting less power than you really should. To be honest, the hand position is going to be awkward at first, so many beginners try to avoid it. However, this is one of the best golf driving tips for beginners and once you get used to it you’ll see just how much stronger your swings are.
First of all, the club should be around 45 degrees, give or take. The angle should be around here if you follow all of the other instructions. So, the handle of the club should be from 1o to 12 inches away from your body and pointed towards your belt buckle. Your back should be angled down, but straight, until the driver just touches the ground. You don’t want your hands too close together, but they should be lined up right next to each other on the handle.
All of this accommodates for the stance and overall length of the club. Again, this will feel weird at first, but you will quickly adjust. Give it a few tries and see how much further your drives go after using this new position.
04.Proper Tee Position
When you’re teeing off, the natural thing to do is put the ball on the tee and push it deep into the ground to keep it secure. You don’t want the ball to move, right? Plus, it just feels right to push the tee deep into the ground, because why else would the tee be made so long if you weren’t supposed to push it in that deep? While all of this is quite logical thinking, it actually works against you.
As we have said time and again, the most power comes from when your swing goes slightly upwards, so the best way to accommodate that is to ensure that the ball is slightly higher so that it follows along that arc.
To do this, you have to know how to get the tee in the ground. If you look, you’ll notice that most professionals barely put their tee in the ground. It’s just in deep enough to hold the ball there and nothing else. This is what you should strive for. You might mess up the first few times, but play with the ground and work it until the tee is in just enough.
05.Club Setup
You have the ball on the tee and you’re setting up your position. Most beginners make one small mistake that can really cost them yards. They setup so that the driver club face is right against the ball. Once again, this feels natural. You want to ensure that your swing actually hits the ball, so you want it as close as possible.
However, one small change can improve your stroke. When you’re setting up, make sure that the club face is just a few inches away from the ball. Not too far, just a few inches. This improves your upswing and ensures that you don’t hit the ball too soon.
06.Low and Slow
Here’s another good one of the golf driving tips for beginners that seems to go against nature but really does improve your swing. Since the drive is supposed to send your ball down the field as much as possible, you would think that you have to swing the driver as hard and fast as possible. It’s this mentality that leads so many beginners to miss the ball or have inaccurate shots. If you really want the ball to go where you want it to and fly the furthest distance, then you have to do the opposite of what your brain is telling you.
Moving low and slow is really the best. This allows you to ensure that your driver follows the proper arc, plus the club is going to pick up speed anyway even if you move slowly. As you get more confident in the swing and build muscle memory you’ll be able to go faster, but even then it’s not a swing about force. This is more about technique and ensuring that you get as much power as possible from the club to the ball.
07.Proper Loft
Now that we have all the information about proper stance and setup, let’s talk about equipment. If you received some used clubs or just had some lying around for some time and simply haven’t used them, then your driver may not be right for the job. Years ago, drivers were built with seven to eight degrees of loft, as it was thought that this would be the ideal angle for golf.
However, science and research has found that while this is close, there’s an even better loft. Most pro players use between nine to ten degrees of loft, and beginners tend to use between ten to twelve degrees. This gives you better control and distance than one of the older clubs.
08.Different Clubs
Lastly, remember that you won’t always need your driver to drive the ball. If you’re on a par three course, then you’ll likely need a smaller club like five-iron or seven-iron. Don’t be afraid to switch out depending on the course itself. If you’re unsure, feel free to ask those around you for advice, golf pros always love showing how much they know about the game.
Conclusion
These golf driving tips are sure to help improve your swing. Just stay calm, get your stance and footing right, go low and slow and practice until you have the form down. While power is a necessity, the drive is all about form and technique. If you get your swing down and position yourself right, you’ll see your tee offs go much further than before, so try these tips out and see how much better your score gets.