Hitting the ball a long way with driver is a fun and challenging aspect of the game. People are always looking for length off the tee for a variety of reason such as making the hole shorter with a good tee shot, the excitement of hitting the ball a long way, or just simply outdriving your playing partner.
Many people are searching for the answer to help hit the ball further. Some are going to the gym more to get stronger, some are stretching more, others are buying new equipment, and then there are the ones that are getting lessons.
To hit the ball further with the driver, I believe there are a couple of simple fundamental points that will help improve distance. It all comes down to having a good body angle when hitting the driver. Being strong, flexible, and what seems fast with your swing, may seem like it will help you gain distance, but if the position of your body at impact and the sequence of movement is not correct, you will simple leak distance.
Using Trackman or a video camera to see data and swing movements can be very beneficial. These can all be useful and at the same time inefficient if the player is not looking at the right things. Getting a lesson to understand your movement patterns and what data to look at when using a Trackman, can be very beneficial for improving your distance.
The first thing I notice when players are losing distance is their head positon during the swing. A quick point about gaining distance, the head position should not be left of the ball at impact and nor should it be moving left on the backswing and then right on the downswing. This would mean that your sequence of movements in not efficient for creating speed.
Grip pressure is another problem for those losing distance. The pressure in your hands needs to be relaxed to allow the club to swing freely during your movement. It is very hard to have tight hands on the club yet swing the body freely.
Weight shift during the swing is key for distance. If you watch some of the long drive competitors, you will notice they are over emphasising their weight shift movements before they hit the ball. It is very hard to create speed if your weight shift is incorrect.
Which now leads me to one of my favourite “tiles” on Trackman. The tile that helps players with their understanding of movement, in my opinion, is “low point”. This number tells us the lowest point is the swing arc before it comes up. When hitting an iron, this point will be after the ball where in most cases with driver, it is said to be before the ball.
For example, it would be difficult to have a low point that is in front of the ball when trying to have a suitable launch angle with low spin.
Usually those who have a low point that is in front of the ball with driver will be comfortable hitting the ball left to right or low. When trying to hit a high draw, it will be more common to see the low point behind the ball.
The low point will tell give your coach and yourself a picture to what might be happening in your swing.
A good low point will help create a better launch to the shot, which will ultimately help you increase your distance.
Work on this to help increase your driver distance.
Charles Kares is a Teaching Professional at The Lakes Golf
Club, and the 2013 and 2020 NSW/ACT PGA Coach of the
Year. www.charleskares.pro. M: 0402 480 222.
E-mail: teachingprofessional@thelakesgolfclub.com.au 
