Supercharge Your Driver

I have finally come to grips with the fact that we should be swinging our driver harder for more distance. I have always tried to swing at 80% in order to control direction, but 220-yard drives are not going to cut it if you want to hit more greens in regulation. You need to get close to give yourself a better chance to hit the green with shorter irons which should be swung at no more than 80% for better direction and distance control.

Recent blogs helped me understand the importance of “Supercharging” my driver shots. One of the staff at the SI GOLF blog, Ryan Barath, said you don’t need to try to direct your drive, just pick your spot and trust your shot shape. Swing as hard and fast as you can to a balanced finish.

Danny Maude released a driver lesson that he had with James Tait (a World Long Driver Champion). He suggested: When you are chasing a faster swing, hit “hard”, expect longer shots with less direction control. With practice you will develop freedom in your swing and control to power the ball up your target line.

1/ Setup with your tee higher and your club shaft in line with your straight leading arm (not leaning forward).

2/ Loosen up by shifting your weight and waggling with your arms and wrist. Shift your weight to your trailing foot during your backswing (but don’t sway back). You need momentum in your backswing as you would when winding up to push off with your trailing leg to throw a medicine ball.

3/ Practice your faster swing so that you feel uncomfortable. Work on distance first at the range and later work on accuracy.

Golf Digest used these images to illustrate the driving power by Nick Dunlap, the 21 year old amateur who won the 2024 American Express GT.

4/ James likes to warmup with a long towel and a knot at the end so that it forces his hands to rotate back and high so that the knot falls over his trailing shoulder. To allow for more rotation he lifts his heel. His high hands allow him to load up on his leading foot (with a slight pause) for more power when he unloads his trailing foot in his downswing.

Danny Maude was driving 270 yards when he started his training session and ended up hitting one 325 yards. Use Dynamic Stretch Exercises before you start every round of golf to improve your rotation.

I know that my flexibility and rotation improve during every round of golf as my driving distance increases during the second nine. Make sure you loosen up before you practice with GOLFSTR+ to get more driver distance. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com