There are so many important components to golf.  To score will you want to be good putter; you also need a good pitching and chipping game.  It’s helpful if you can hit some longer fairway clubs, and of course it’s great if you can drive the ball in the fairway the majority of the time. Each of these components involves different techniques, which means we all need to practice to get better. However, just standing on the driving range hitting a bucket of balls isn’t helpful and can be downright frustrating! So we’ve got a few easy driver drills to help.

First, maybe your buddy has said to you, “You’re taking it too far outside,” or “You’re too steep”. If this is the case, there’s a simple drill you can do at home.  Set up a ball on a tee as if you’re going to hit it (but you aren’t). Then, put something, anything, as a mark about 6′ behind your teed up ball. When we say behind, we mean as you swing the club back, the object should e on that same plane. Now practice taking your club back directly towards that object. This should help you feel the difference between taking the club too far outside or inside. Practice taking it straight back to an object.

Maybe your friends have told you you lunge at the ball instead of turning your hips. You can use two things to help with this easy driver drill: your shadow and an alignment stick or old tent pole. Using your shadow is easy. Take a slo-mo backswing and then watch your shadow as you come down with the club. Try to focus on a hip turn instead of a lunge and use your shadow as a guide to see if you’re improving.

Similarly, you can put a tent pole or alignment stick in the ground right next to your left side. Take your swing and, if you hit the stick, you’ve lunged. Think about pushing your left big toe (or right if you’re a lefty golfer) into the ground. This will help you get a little more power and also help you keep from lunging.

Finally, consider that you might be swinging too hard. If you’re hitting it far, but all over the place, considerl just dialing it back a notch. Practice slowing down your backswing and taking more of a 3/4 swing with your club. It’s better to be 10 yards shorter but in the fairway, right?  Still struggling? Schedule a lesson with one of our golf pros!