May 20, 2022

How to Drive A Golf Ball

How to drive a golf ball. Driving is one of the most critical moves you can do in golf. Essentially, it’s what sets the stage for what you and your opponent will be doing for the rest of the game. As such, you shouldn’t take it lightly. 

With that in mind, it’s understandable that, for a beginner, knowing how to drive a golf ball isn’t something that comes naturally. Luckily, you have us here to help you!

How To Drive A Golf Ball

We have assembled the 10 most frequently given tips by the sport’s top professionals. In this article, you’ll learn how to drive a golf ball the proper way!

1. Always aim.

Golf Aim

No matter how good your swing and form is, it doesn’t mean much if you’re unable to get the ball where it needs to go. Many games have been lost due to the golfer’s inability to take proper aim. The sooner you learn how to aim, the better your performance will be in the long-term. 

Imagine that there is an invisible line going from the ball towards the target. Both your feet should stand in a line parallel to this with the ball at the center. The hips, knees, and shoulders should be the same. 

Do not make the mistake of assuming that your arms will compensate for poor alignment. No matter how much of a pro you are, even the most proficient golfers check their alignment before making a swing. Make this a habit and you’ll already be miles ahead of most newbie golfers.

2. Learn the proper grip.

Gripping Golf Clubs

Grips is something that’s often overlooked, much to the detriment of many golfers. Consider for a moment that your hands are really the only things that touch the club. If you can’t wield the club properly with a good grip, how can you expect to exert the power and control needed to drive a golf ball!

Before you even purchase golf clubs, know the size of your hands and fund clubs with grips proportionate to this. An easy way to check for the right grip size is to grip a golf club with your dominant hand wearing gloves. You should feel for yourself whether or not it’s too thin or thick.

When it comes to actually holding the club, if you’re a right-handed golfer, take your club in your opposite hand first, grip it with your left hand using reasonable force. After, advance your thumb and place it on the ground. Finally, place your right hand and take it so that the left thumb fits perfectly in the V. 

To check if your grip is just right, hold the club on your right hand and wave it up and down as if it were a hammer. If you can control the club with ease without straining, then your grip is correct.

Related: Which Golf Clubs To Use For What Shots?

3. Know how to swing.

Golf Swing

Posture is essential when perfecting your swing. You should be tilting at your hips, not your waist. Your shoulders should be parallel to the toes of your fight. Your arms should be hanging straight down, if you’re reaching for the ball then you know you’re standing too far.

Next, you begin your swing by bringing your golf club behind slowly and shifting your whole weight on your back leg. Keep your head down and do a big backswing while you’re doing this. Look at the ball sharply at the time of hitting the golf ball so that you can get the highest chance of contact. 

When practicing, do not concern yourself with always giving the most amount of force while driving the ball. Instead, take you time to get comfortable with making an accurate swing until it feels natural to you. The swing is one of the most time-consuming things to master in golf, the power part should come later.

4. Downswing starting with your hips.

Many golfers make the mistake of starting their downswing with their back instead of your hips. This leads to less than ideal shots because the back is not the center of your gravity, it’s in the hips. This is where the bulk of your swing speed should start. 

In many ways, it’s similar to throwing a baseball or skipping stones on water. There should be a shift of weight from on foot to the next with the hips beginning the turn. Once the hip turns, only then does the upper body and arms follow. 

You might find this a bit awkward to do at first but it’s essential that you practice until you get the hang of it. You should notice the difference instantly as you do.

5. Use a lot of loft.

Golf Loft

The loft refers to the angle you see in the clubheads. The higher the club number, the higher the loft.

A good way to practice is to join your high-lofted clubs in the beginning. This encourages you to practice more and is very satisfying to see the ball soar after making contact. In the beginning you should be concerned with perfecting your posture and making clean strikes. 

Many new golfers who use little lofts tend to resort to destructing types of swing to get the ball flying. You can see scooping the ball more than hitting it. 

6. Practice on a Par-3 course. 

Par 3 Golf Course

Although you might be itching for a challenge, we recommend you stay away from courses that are higher than a Par-3 and with lots of hazards. As a beginner, you need to develop a good understanding of the game and develop the skills needed to get through at least a simple course. 

Par-3 courses are great since they’re relatively easy to play and quick.

They also minimize the likelihood of you spending 30 minutes to an hour looking for a golf ball you swore you saw just a second ago.

Once you have mastered Par-3 courses, then you can graduate to longer, harder courses confident in the fact that you’ve developed enough short-game skills to compete. 

7. Know your power.

Know your power in Golf

Power is one of the more dependable aspects of the game in that it’s different for everyone. Where form and swings are more important skills to learn, power is something that comes from you naturally. 

To ensure you’re giving enough power behind your swings, the tee of your ball is high enough. This makes hitting it feel more comfortable.

The shaft of your clubs also plays a vital role in generating power. Shafts that are too flexible are harder to control while shafts that are too stiff tend to require much more force to be effective. 

Your own body weight is a key factor in generating power too. That’s why it’s important to shift your weight between your feet during a swing.

8. Exercise control.

Practice Control

Control simply means getting the ball where you want it to go.

When driving, it’s generally okay to try to get it as far as possible. But once you’re approaching the green, less distance and more accuracy is essential. Control though is something you pick up over time.

With the right stance, good aim, perfect posture, and a perfectly calibrated swing, you would have complete control over the ball.

9. Left-handed VS Right-handed

Depending on which hand is your dominant hand, then posture, stance, and swing should be tweaked to make everything more comfortable for you. Apart from that, there really isn’t that much difference in terms of how you’re going to address the game. 

The only thing we recommend though is that, never try to run the game with your opposite hand. Many left-handed players believe that they should emulate other golfers in that they run everything from their right-handed. Unless you’re trying to become ambidextrous, there’s really no point in this. Simply play the game as comfortably as possible.

10. Leave the driver in the bag. 

Golf Bag

You might be thinking how on earth are you going to drive a golf ball without using the driver golf club?! But there’s actually a good reason for this. Start with your practice sessions with your pitching wedge and move through your bag of clubs mastering each one as you go.

This not only perfects your driving skills, it also allows you to ensure you have an affinity with all the clubs in your golf bag, something many beginners learn on a case by case basis. The driver club is also very long and difficult to wield without experience.

In Conclusion…

And that was all you needed to know about how to drive a golf ball. It isn’t going to be a walk in the park but nothing worth learning ever is. Learning how to drive the ball sets the stage for the rest of the game, so making it count is very important. 

The only way to get the hang of it is by putting the work in and developing the skills you need to compete. If you practice and practice, even when you know you’re good, there’s no saying how good of a golfer you’ll be. 

About the author 

Linda Parker

My name is Linda Parker, I’ve been around golf since I was born, and I’ve been golfing since I was four years old!

I’m here to share my love of the game with you, so please do let me know if you have any questions!

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