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5 Golf Driving Tips for Beginners
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Jul 26, 2022
7 minutes
Stepping up to drive a golf ball will generally trigger two distinct reactions from golfers. They’ll either be ecstatic to get up on that tee box and smash the ball down the alley or they’ll feel their anxiety flaring up at the idea of hitting their driver. Whatever your case is, you should always look for new ways to learn how to hit a driver consistently and fix some of the most common issues in golf.
Fortunately for all those golfers who fear the sight of a golf ball on a tee, easy fixes are available for golfers looking for driving tips for beginners. From minor adjustments with the positioning of your hands on your grip to the adjustment of the clubface’s loft with a torque tool, each one of these tips is sure to help you find more comfort off the tee.
What you’ll learn in this guide:
- Five tips to help you become a better driver of the golf ball
- How these tips will help you out on the golf course
- How to put these tips into effect
Use More Loft in the Clubface of Your Driver
Have you checked the loft of your driver recently? You may not realize it, but there’s a good chance that the angle of the clubface (most known as the loft) of your driver is too strong for your needs.
The lower your loft degree is, the stronger it gets, which means that you’ll need to generate more speed at impact to put some air under the golf ball.
Less experienced and beginner golfers will find more success with a higher lofted driver in the range of 10.5 degrees or more.
With more loft on the clubface of your driver, you’ll be able to project the ball higher in the air, something that is often a challenge for beginner golfers.
How you can put this into effect:
- Use an adjustment tool to fit the loft of your driver at an angle that will be more adapted for your skill level. The higher the loft angle, the easier it’ll be for you to launch the ball in the air off the tee.
- Trade and upgrade your driver with another one that will be more fitting to your game. A trade-in with Golf Avenue will allow you to complete the purchase and the trade of all your golf clubs in one transaction. This way you’re never stuck without a club.
Build Your Driver Stance to Fit Your Flexibility
One of golf’s beauties is the ability of people of almost all ages to play the sport. If you’re able to get to your ball and swing the club, you’re usually good to go. But let’s face it, the game does not get easier as you age.
Flexibility is key to a golfer’s swing which is why it becomes more difficult to swing the club as freely as you used to as you age.
As you learn to accept the fact that you’re not as flexible as you once were, you can also try to modify your body’s current flexibility or simply adapt your golf game off the tee.
That’s right, this newfound flexibility doesn’t need to be seen as a disadvantage. You can turn it to your advantage by adjusting your stance before you swing your driver. You should adjust your stance based on your most common driver swing error.
How you can put this into effect:
- Your first step is to figure out where your missed drives will usually end up. Depending on if your ball slice away from you (left-to-right trajectory for righties) or you’re hooking your drives to the inside (hard right-to-left trajectory for righties);
- If you slice your drives, open your stance up and aim for the left rough (right rough for lefties);
- If you hook your drives, close your stance in a manner where you aim for the right rough (vice versa for lefties);
- Finally, make your swing repeatable, there’s no shame in playing to your slice or your hook, but you should still be able to put the golf ball in play. Rely on tempo to make this happen for you. Your brain will want you to compensate for the alignment, but your need to trust your swing.
Read more | 5 Drivers to Help Counter Your Slice
Go over the fundamentals of your driver swing
Like any other sport, fundamentals are essential to your success in golf. The main difference with golf is that fundamentals mostly have to do with golf’s main action, the swing.
A golf swing is based on four key fundamentals: how you grip the club, your driver stance, the position of your body based on your stance, and your body’s position at impact.
Each one of these four aspects is critical to you having success swinging your driver. With the driver being your longest club, these fundamentals need to all be in sync for you to find success and have a better understanding of how to swing a driver.
How you can put this into effect:
How you grip the club?
- Try out different grips with the way you place your hands on the golf club. Finding the right one will help you find more comfort in your swing and is the start to hit a good golf drive.
Your stance with your driver
- Widen or shorten the width of your stance based on balance through your swing. You need to have a strong enough stance that you could catch a medicine ball without moving your legs. This will contribute to adding more power to your swing speed.
Positioning your body to hit a driver
- Set your body up in an athletic manner to add your strong leg base by placing your head over the golf ball and by making sure that the line of your shoulders points at your target. This way you’ll give yourself the best chance to complete a proper driver swing.
Body position at the impact of your drive
- Break down your full swing motion to better understand how your body is set up at impact is one of the better golf swing driving tips. You can set up four reference points in your swing to observe your progression.
- First stop – mid-way through the backswing
- Second stop – top of the backswing
- Third stop – mid-way through the downswing
- Final stop – clubhead at impact
Tee Up Your Ball at the Right Height for You
Most guides that try to show you how to drive a golf ball will argue that when it comes to drivers, you need to tee up your ball high. The science behind this concept certainly works out if the golfer can handle the mechanics of a drive.
For most beginner golfers, however, hitting up on the golf ball with a driver at the right angle is not always easy, and many beginners have a steep golf swing that is most likely to swing under the ball.
Because of how steep some of these swings are, beginners or less experienced golfers should focus on putting the tee at a height that works better for them instead of trying to hit up and messing up your swing.
How you can put this into effect:
- Tee your ball up closer to the ground so that you stop hitting it on your driver’s hairline and you avoid damage. Your ball flight will have a higher spin rate, so you’ll need to account for it.
Pick a Precise Target to Land Your Golf Ball
Picking a precise target for your golf ball to land into will greatly reduce the chances of your drive going completely out of line off the tee.
Your target should be intended as a general landing area for your ball where you’ll be able to put your ball in play while avoiding hazards as much as possible.
Don’t worry so much about getting as close to the middle of your target as much as just trying to land your ball in the general targeted area.
Picking a target before hitting your ball will not only give you a better chance to put your ball in play, but it will also give you more confidence at address on top of making sure you’re committed to your shot.
How you can put this into effect:
- Create a visual target for yourself, you can make it as wide as the fairway, or as wide as the greenery stretches if you’re a beginner and don’t have as much control;
- Maintain a composed swing through your motion. This doesn’t mean slowing down your swing, but it does mean that you need to go through the proper motions of a swing. Though it may feel slower in your mind and your body, the result will be worth the “wait”.
With the advice highlighted in this guide, you should be able to add these five tips to your arsenal ahead of the next time your head to the course to play a round. Keep in mind that some of these changes are minor and won’t need that much adaptation, but other ones will require more experimentation.
If you’ve got most of these basic tips handled already but you still can’t find more fairways off the tee, we strongly suggest you read our latest driver tips article which should help you find more fairways off the tee.
Until next time,
The Golf Avenue team
Further reading
Looking to upgrade your golf driver? Find the best information on shaft material, flex, loft, length, and top brands, to help you choose your next golf driver.
A good day with the driver will make a huge difference on the scorecard. Our team came up with easy five drills to help you find more fairways than ever!
