How To Hit Longer Drives!

Everyone wants to hit longer drives but many people do the process the opposite of how it should be done. Most amateurs try and hit longer drives by engaging the upper half more and hitting it with their arms and hands. This is common because what grips the club is ofcourse the hands and therefore most of us without training will over emphasise the requirement of the hands in the swing.

When using the upper half too much, the most common shot that tends to happen is the weak slice. This is because the more the upper half is engaged, the more the path tends to move to left as the club starts to get pushed away from the body causing an outside-in swing path. There also starts to get lack of distance as the more the upper half is engaged, the less the legs start to get involved.

The correct sequence is to ensure the lower half goes first on the downswing followed by the upper half. More specifically ensuring the left hip bumps a little lateral first around 2 inches followed by a rotation of the body whilst moving forward onto the front foot. When trying to generate this feel, we need to train isolating the lower half with the upper half. We don't want them to move at the same time on the downswing.

A really great drill for this is holding a club out in front of you with the clubhead positioned on the floor. Keep your hands on the clubhead and practice bumping your left hip and rotating whilst the arms and shoulders stay in the same position. This will give the ideal feel of isolating the lower half with the upper half.

The next step is then positioning the club on the backswing with your hands on top. You would then do the same move and simulate the lower half going first whilst the upper half stays in the same spot.

After practicing this drill grab your driver and commit to the same feel. Swing to the top of the backswing, feel the left hip move first followed by a rotation of the body. Just remember to hit it further it's about increasing the speed of your sequence not just swinging faster with your hands.

If you need and further help with your sequence, come and book in for a lesson.