Beginner Golf Tips: Driver Fundamentals

Introduction 

• The driver is the longest club in your bag and has the least amount of loft – it is designed for distance 

Set-Up and Stance 

• Feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider

• The ball should be teed up and placed just inside the left heel 

• Checkpoint: the ball should be about half a ball width above the driver head 

• Soft knees and hinge at the hips, the arms should be resting straight down from your shoulders in a relaxed position

• We want to hit UP on the ball, tilt the shoulders slightly away from the target so the trail shoulder is lower than the lead shoulder 

• Checkpoint: if I drop my trail hand down to my knee it should be able to touch my kneecap 

Swing Thoughts 

• Long and wide takeaway 

• Smooth tempo – let the club do the work for you 

• Arms stay connected as the shoulders open up and weight shifts back 

• Drop the club down and shift weight towards front foot 

• Finish with your chest facing the target and hold your pose! 

Common Mistakes and Fixes

• Topping the ball 

• Cause: Standing too tall at impact 

• Fix: Maintain posture throughout swing 

• Cause: Ball too far back in stance 

• Fix: Check that ball is teed up just inside lead heel 

• Slicing the ball (sharp left to right ball flight) 

• Cause: Open club face 

• Fix: Line up club face to target and maintain a stronger grip (you should be able to see 2-3 knuckles of lead hand on grip) 

• Cause: Cutting across the ball at impact 

• Fix: Imagine swinging slightly to the right of the target to maintain an “in to out” swing path 

• Hooking the ball (sharp right to left ball flight) 

• Cause: Closed club face at impact 

• Fix: Line up club face to target and maintain a weaker grip (you should be able to see ½ to 1 knuckle of lead hand on grip) 

• Cause: Too much hand flip

• Fix: Keep body rotating through impact, trust your body to create your turn rather than your wrists/hands to create it