One of the most important tips for hitting your drive in golf is to keep the ball in play. Learn some important tips for hitting the driver in this golf video.
Swing within yourself
80 to 90 percent
Keep ball in play
Visualize hitting nail into board
Jay Golden has been a PGA Member since 1982 and was selected for the PGA National Teaching Committee in 1988. He has taught golfers of all levels ranging from stark beginners to professionals on the PGA and LPGA Tours. He has written hundreds of instruction articles and a book with the all-time winningest golfer of official tour events, Kathy Whitworth, entitled "Kathy Whitworth's Little Book of Golf Wisdom." He has also made numerous appearances on TV, has lectured on the topic of "How To Teach Golf" to PGA Members, and is an accomplished golfer and long driver.
JAY GOLDEN: How to hit a driver. The most important thing about hitting a driver is to get the ball a decent distance and in play. Most people want to hit their longest drive of their life with the greatest flight in the perfect part of the fairway but realistically you are only going to hit that one out of every 10 or every 20 or 30 drives. You want to hit a drive that is going to be in play that will give you a second shot to the green and here are the fundamentals to do that. Number one, swing within yourself. I know you want to hit the--set of world record for a 400 yard drive but settle for one that is 80 to 90% of your longest drive. And swing within yourself because when you swing within yourself there is a better chance of you making solid contact and keeping the ball in play. There was a time when a driver was called a Playclub, that was the name of the club because they wanted you to keep the ball in play. And that is the number one fundamental. In terms of the curve that you play on a driver, the perfect drive probably has a little bit of a draw maybe straight ball, maybe a [SOUNDS LIKE] hair of a fade but those are the perfect flights. But once again, to get the ball in play, if you have a big slice on the ball work on your slice on the driving range, take a lesson. But on the course, if you know you could hit a slice, aim left and play a slice. Same thing with the hook, if you know you could hit a hook, aim to the right and hit a hook. But here is a driving thought that really has helped me and many of my students and that is to visualize your club as a hammer and to visualize the ball as a nail going straight into a wall and try to bang that nail straight into the wall. And that will do several things. Number one, you are not going to swing out of your shoes to try to hit that nail straight into the wall because you know that it is difficult to do. Try to bang that nail in straight. Another thing to consider is tee height. Some people tee it too high; some people tee it too low. It is hard for me to make a generalization but I will say this, when you go on a driving range, tee some of them really low, tee some of them high, tee some of them somewhere in between and play that tee height which gives you your best chance. At address you want to feel strong, you want to feel natural and in your swing you want to take your swing, you want to bang that nail in straight or you want to play your natural mistake. But the number one thing about driving is to keep the ball in play because if you are not in play you are looking at a bogey or a double bogey. Keep that driver in play and swing within yourself.
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