4 ways to hit your tee shots longer
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By Kim Jeong-kyoo
To increase your distance, you need to set up properly. To this end, you must aim your club first. That allows you to swing your club on plane and hit your intended target accurately. To aim your club properly, draw an imaginary line from your ball to your target. That is your target line. Pick an intermediate spot on your target line about five feet in front of you. Square your club to the intermediate target and then take your stance.
Once you’ve addressed your ball properly, you don’t need to worry much about your direction. Just focus on increasing the separation between your shoulders and hips. Put differently, you need to turn your shoulders more, restricting your hip turn.
Several other ways here will help you increase your clubhead speed, allowing you to hit farther. They will also help you swing your club on plane and hit your ball solidly. Without solid hit, there is no way you can hit your ball far to the best of your abilities.
1. Lead solely with your left hand and your left arm
When you want to get some extra distance, it’s natural to think you must use your right hand. However, you cannot hit your ball far to your satisfaction if you think of whacking your ball with your right hand. You will pull your club down hard from the top, which causes your arms to separate too much from your body. Also, your right shoulder will jut out, pushing you to throw your club outside the target line. This forces you to cut across your ball, causing pulls and pull-slices.
You will also lose the angle created between your forearms and shaft. That deprives you of your power and speed. Your speed will reduce rather than increase.
Trying to hit your ball hard with your right hand, you will rarely hit it long and straight.
To hit your ball as far as you want, you need to preserve the 90-degree angle between your arms and club shaft. You need to keep the angle intact until just before you hit your ball. You cannot achieve this if you release or straighten your right hand as you begin your downswing.
Put differently, you need to lead your downswing with the left side of your body. To this end, feel your left arm pull your right arm for as long as possible.
Indeed, you’d better swing your club solely with your left hand and arm only during your entire swing. Your right hand and arm do nothing but helping your left hand and arm swing your club properly. Swinging with your left hand, you will swing your club on plane and on the correct path, enjoying more power and control. Start your swing with your left hand only and swing your club down with your left only. Granted, you need to hit your ball with your left hand only.
2. Tilt toward your ball
You need to get your shoulders staying tilted as you take your club back and through. If you come up and turn your shoulders mistakenly during the swing, you cannot swing your club on the proper plane. Swinging your club off plane, you’ll rarely hit your ball successfully.
To turn your shoulders on plane, take your normal address posture, holding a club in front of your chest. Then, turn your shoulders as you take your club back and through. Make sure your clubhead points toward your ball during the backswing, letting your grip end face your ball after impact. That way you will turn your shoulders on plane, getting your club working on the correct plane and path.
Naturally, you’ll finish with your upper body tilted a bit to the right and your right shoulder slightly lower than your left.
3. Get a little reckless
To hit your tee shots long and straight, you need to prepare mentally so you can unleash your power fully. Fear or anxiety about your shot result prevents you from swinging your club freely and fully.
If you hold on to your club through impact, you’ll rarely hit your ball far and straight. You need to release your club toward the target line. Also, you need to avoid trying to steer your ball. You must allow your club to work freely toward the target. Importantly, you must narrow your focus to your intended landing spot. Don’t concentrate your mind, for instance, on the water hazard on the left.
To stop fear or anxiety from dictating your shot, you’d better stay a little reckless when you hit your driver. Also, don’t leave you resting analytical about your swing. You have to trust you and your ability, and let your instincts take over.
4. Swing through the ball
You cannot produce power and distance as much as you want if you swing at your ball. You must swing your club through your ball to create power and distance to the maximum. Focusing on square contact, you are apt to leave you too much fixated on the moment when you hit your ball. You’ll rarely create enough clubhead speed if you regard the contact with your ball as the end of your swing.
Impact is an intermediate step to a golf swing. The completion point of your swing is a balanced follow-through. To increase your distance, you must swing through your ball, not at it. Let your ball get in the way.
Think of a whipping motion. As you start the whip in motion, you create energy. The energy moves out from your handle toward the tip, making your whip break the sound barrier. You need to let the same happen in your golf swing. You begin your downswing with your hips shifting left. Then, you transfer energy to your shoulders, to your hands and finally to your clubhead. In a good golf swing, the hands move fastest just before contact and the clubhead shortly after that. Put differently, you need to swing through your ball as if you’re carrying out a slap shot in ice hockey.