1 Getting the Proper Equipment

Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

wikiHow to Drive a Golf2 Ball
Whether youre new to golf, havent played in a while, or just looking to straighten your game out a
bit, there are several steps to take in order to drive a golf ball well. Putting your tee shot in play is
a combination of knowing your equipment, how to stand, mastering your swing, and keeping a
clear head. These tactics will help you learn how to drive a golf ball properly and improve your
game. And with some practice on the course and the range, you can turn those bogies into holes
in one.
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Part One of Three:

Getting the Proper Equipment

1 Have a driver with the proper loft. Today's equipment and golf balls are not necessarily
tailored for older 7-8 degree drivers. Those are a thing of the past. Getting the ball up in
the air on a good trajectory is the rst step to driving the ball longer. Many touring pros
 regularly use 9 and 10 degree drivers and drive the ball 300 plus yards. However, today's
average driver loft for amateurs is 11.5 degrees.[1]A higher lofted driver will give you more
Getting
1 carry thecan
which Proper
help Equipment Getting into
you stay more 2consistent Position
in your shots. 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

The loft of your driver affects carry and roll. A higher lofted driver will carry your ball
further, which is where you get the most distance off your drive, and is better in wet
conditions. However, if you are looking for lower drives that get a lot of roll, say if you play
on courses with long, straight fairways, you may want a lower loft for more distance off
the bounce.

2 Pick the right club. While you mostly use a driver off the tee, you have options of another
other wood, or iron. You wont always use a driver when driving a golf ball. Some holes
will be set up so that you have to use a 3, 5, or even 7 wood, or one of your irons, say if you are
on a par 3.

You can use your swing speed to help determine which club you need off a tee shot. Say
you hit your 7 iron 150 yards, your swing speed is most likely around 95-104 mph. An 8 or
9 iron will be around 105-115 mph.[2]
Irons have a higher loft than woods and in the case of a par 3 hole, youll be aiming
directly for the green, which means you want more carry and less roll. If the green is less
than 200 yards (183 m) away, youre going to want to use an iron.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

3 Know what kind of ball youre using. Picking the right golf ball for your game can be a bit
of a headache. You have to factor spin, hardness, distance, and most importantly, feel.
Unfortunately, theres no golden ball that has all the answers for you.

The best way to determine the right ball for you is to go to your local golf shop and talk to
a professional about what you want in your shot. Hit a few balls and rely on how they feel.
Golf is one the most mental games out there and feeling comfortable in what youre
hitting can greatly affect your shot.
Additionally, you can have a few different types of balls in your bag for different shots.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

4 Pick the right tee. Nowadays everything in golf has multiple options to choose from,
including the tee you use. With a lot of modern drivers having large heads, the need to
make taller tees arose, resulting in tees of varying lengths.

If youre on a long par 4 or par 5 and need to crush the ball to hit the green within par, a
taller tee for your driver is usually the way to go. However, a taller tee isnt always the best
option when using an iron as you could tee the ball too high and cut under the ball.

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Part Two of Three:

Getting into Position
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

1 Pick a spot on the fairway that lines up with your target and, from your address, try
stretching your wood towards it. If done correctly, your arms should form a "V" shape
with both arms fully extended.

If you have a tendency to bend your left arm early, that will hinder distance; keep your "V"
as long as possible before it bends at the nish of your swing and you will nd yourself
getting much more distance.
For a lot of golfers, its easy to pick some sort of marker thats inline with where you want
the place the ball on the fairway. Youll know roughly how far you're going to hit the ball,
so pick a spot and then look for a tree or something past your target to aim for, as an
object is easier to aim for than a spot on the ground.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

2 Tee the ball up properly. Getting a straight drive starts with teeing the ball properly.

On average, you want a tee that will give you the best chance at hitting the ball squarely in
the sweet spot of your club. If you are using a driver a with a large head, a tall tee is
usually a good option. A high tee will allow you to hit the ball on your upswing, which can
give you more carry and distance, but this can also backre on you as if you place it too
high you could end up hitting low on the ball and popping it up.
When you tee up a ball youre preventing grass from coming between your clubface and
the ball, thus giving you more control. For an iron shot you dont need a tall tee. When
teeing up for an iron shot, you want to give your ball the best lie. Tee the ball up just off
the ground.[3]
For a hybrid club shot, tee the ball up about half an inch off the ground.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

3 Set your feet in the proper position. A lot of golfers think that the ball should be inline
with your front toes, but this can cause you to have an out-to-in swing resulting in a slice.
While positioning the ball in front of your stance will give you more loft, you want to put the
ball inline with the heel of your front foot, or where the pocket or logo is on your shirt (if youre
a righty).[4]

set your back foot about hip-width, or slightly wider apart from your front foot.
 4 Adjust your arms. You want your arms to be straight and form a V shape when you set
up your stance. For a drive, think of your body as making a reverse K.[5]
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu
Your front arm should form a straight line with the shaft of your club. Think of your arm
and the shaft as the shaft on an arrow with the club head being the arrow head.

5 Find the right distance between you and the ball. This doesnt just entail measuring your
distance from the ball, though. With your arms in place for your swing you should stand
about eight-inches from the butt of your grip at address.

This is a pretty standard stance but wont work for everyone. Go to the range and use this
stance as a starting point. Practice hitting the ball and make adjustments until you are
satised, changing the width of your stance, ball position, and distance from the ball.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

6 Use the proper grip pressure. Even though you may think that gripping harder and
swinging harder produces better results, that is isnt the case. A grip thats too hard can
hinder your ability to achieve consistent distance. Instructing legend, Phil Galvano rst
introduced the idea that you will nd that the great players indicated that the grip pressure
should resemble holding a bird without crushing it, but also not letting it go. The tighter you
hold the club, the less it will release throughout the ball. Your hands should be free of tension.
[6]

Try different grip strengths at the range and watch for the results. Notice when your club
doesnt connect well because you grip too loose, or you skull the ball because youre
gripping too tightly.
If youre a righty, you want to grip the club with your left hand where your ngers meet the
palm of your hand. If youre a lefty, do the same with your right hand.
Curl your ngers around the club and then without moving the grip, roll your hand over so
your thumb is on the on the top of the grip.
Do the same with your other hand (right hand if youre a righty, and left if youre a lefty).
Position the club between your ngers and palm, and place your pinky on the knuckle
between your index and middle ngers. You can also interlock them if you prefer.
Roll your thumb over the thumb on your other hand.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

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Part Three of Three:

Executing a Proper Swing

1 Know what kind of swing youre using. You should have two swings, one for power and
one for control.[7]Not every hole is going to allow you to crush the ball as far as you can.
Some holes may have a water hazard cutting through it or dogleg to the right or left, so you
have to be able to control the distance of your shot as well.
 For a power swing, you want to position your head and the shaft slightly back behind your
ball with a slightly wider stance.
1 Getting
For athe Proper
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narrow your stance intoposition
slightly, Positionthe ball
3 Executing a Proper
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your stance, and choke down on the club a bit.

2 Start your backswing.[8]Your driver swing can be the difference between birdie and
bogey.

When you go for your backswing, you should shift your weight backward. This will give
your swing more power.
A lot of times your instinct might be to have a fast backswing thinking that it will give you
more power to crush the ball. This is a trap as swinging too fast will take you out of
alignment.
Stay at. Your driving wood should stay along the ground, or just kissing the grass-you
dont want to drive it into the ground-for at least the rst 20 to 25 percent of your swing. If
your club is lifting up, you will pop the ball up and not get that long, smooth drive that you
see the pros hit regularly.
Take a steady backswing and pause at the top to reset before begin your downswing.
This doesnt mean stopping as that will throw off your momentum. Think of it as hovering
slightly before going down.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

3 Keep the start of your downswing calm and unhurried. This enables you to build up
speed so that the golf club is still accelerating when it reaches the ball.

Your downswing should be one single movement that utilizes your entire body at the
same time. But dont rush here as youll go off plane if you do.
One very important factor on your downswing is to keep your head down and in place.
This all happens very quickly and you may be excited to see how far youve hit the ball.
But moving your head will move your whole body and ruin your shot.
You may be tempted to try and help the ball up by raising your arms. But keep your swing
consistent and trust that your club will do the work.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

4 Keep the angle on your leading hand. Many amateurs tend to ip the hands forward in an
effort to get the ball in the air, which defeats the purpose of having good equipment and a
proper setup. The leading hand (left hand for most players, right hand for lefties) should be
angled down towards the ball on the downswing.

Think of it like hitting the ball with the back of leading hand. If your hand is ipping down
on the downswing, your contact will not be solid and you will see consistent misses with
your wood. Keeping the angle starts the ball low and lets it climb on its own through your
generated power.
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

5 Finish the golf swing over your left shoulder (for right-handed golfers) or right shoulder
(for left-handed golfers). Again, don't be in a rush to look up and see where the ball went.
If you did this correctly, the ball will travel where you want it to.

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Community Q&A

How can I prevent the ball from drifting toward the left?

Answered by wikiHow Contribut or

Line the ball up further from the shafts on the club head. Hitting near the shaft causes the ball ot go
left.

13 8
 Getting
1 Could the Proper
I break my wristEquipment Getting
while driving 2a golf ball?into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

Answered by wikiHow Contribut or

You shouldn't under normal circumstances, but if you somehow spike the ground, it is possible.

4 6

How can I get better distance off of the tee?

Answer

How can I prevent the ball from drifting to the right?!

Answer

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HOW HIGH TO TEE A GOLF BALL ON PAR 3'S - ARE YOU DOING IT WRONG?
1 Getting the Proper Equipment 2 Getting into Position 3 Executing a Proper Swing Commu

Tips

.*Manual labor isn't important unless you don't have a golf cart.

Utilizing the weather and your mind can make the perfect day for golf.
11 Helpful? 9

Arizona is the best place to practice your golf.

4 Helpful? 37

Swinging has two meanings.

29 Helpful? 11

Arizona is the best place to practice your golf.

4 Helpful? 37

Earning respect, a fun day with whomever you went to play golf with is worth the practice.
6 Helpful? 17

Learning how to golf is the most important anyone can learn to do before they die.
7 Helpful? 26

"Zoom" is the sound of the ball once you perfect your swing.
10 Helpful? 4

If you practice too much you have a chance of a "stroke".

14 Helpful? 10

Keep your hands outstretched.

1 Helpful? 4

Know a good tip? Add it. Add

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78 votes - 88% Updated: 16 weeks ago
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Categories: Featured Articles | Golf

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