5 Tried & True Driver Tips to Improve Your Game

Driver Tip #1: Always Pick a Shot

It sounds pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised how many golfers stand over a tee shot and don’t have a specific shot picked out. Heck, I’m guilty of this all the time. For some of us, this strategy can provide some freedom to not overthink it, or to “just play what you’ve got,” but the reality is that it is impossible to perform consistently well if you don’t give yourself specific instructions for each tee shot.

If you want to consistently drive the ball well, you have to consistently give your body clear marching orders. Start by practicing this way on the range. Don’t just step in and “see what you’ve got” for the day. Pull out your driver, pick a fade or a draw, and then hit five shots with clear instructions for one or the other. Once you’ve hit those five, if you picked fade but four out of five ended up as a draw, consider hitting a draw for the day, adjust your alignment on each hole to accommodate that, and tell yourself “draw” before each tee shot.

This might seem like a small modification, but it is the small things that compound to help you perform at your best.

Driver Tip #2: Check Your Setup

Once you’ve picked a shot, it’s important to ensure your setup is doing what you think it is. The truth is that your eyes play tricks on you all the time, and constantly checking your alignment and using tools to re-calibrate your eyes is critical for consistency in all shotmaking, and driving is no different.

When you are hitting the five shots mentioned above, grab your alignment sticks and build your setup before you hit the first one. One stick parallel to your feet (target line) and one perpendicular to your feet (ball position). Bonus points if you have a buddy triple check it for you.

Remember, not everyone sets up to the ball the same way, and that is okay. Our bodies are all a little bit different and we have to play with what we’ve got. However, since I have forced you to pick a shot, that gives guidance on how to evaluate your setup based on what is usually needed to execute that shot shape.

• Feet line (target). The line down your feet should always be “parallel left” to your target. This means that if you put a stick parallel to your foot line, but in front of the golf ball, that stick will point to where you want the ball to take off (start line).

Ball position line. The perpendicular line is generally intended to point to the inside of your front foot (left foot for a right-handed golfer). You may move that around a little depending on the height of the shot you are planning, but this is a solid starting place.

Do this EVERY time you step on the range, whether you are just there to practice or if you are warming up for a round — pick your shot and double-check your setup. If you did nothing else after reading this article, I’m confident you’d see some gains.

Driver Tip #3: Pick a Good Target

Let’s take it onto the course for tip number three. After all, being a Ranger Rick is fun, but shooting lower scores is always better! So, my next foundational tip to becoming a better driver of the ball is to pick a good target, but what does that mean?

A good target usually takes into consideration a few key things:

• What side of the hole is more forgiving off of the tee?
• What is your most common miss for the shot that you’ve chosen?
• Where is the pin location?

Twenty years ago in Tiger’s prime, it wasn’t uncommon to hear golf commentators like our own David Feherty saying that Tiger missed it on the “correct” side of the fairway. What this means is that Tiger took into consideration the three things above to give himself the best chance to hit a good approach shot by not making a bigger mistake off of the tee.

So, to get some immediate traction on improving your total driving, consider this:

Pick a target that brings the least amount of trouble into play — Pro-tip: this could mean using something less than a driver. Playing “smart” can still be playing for birdies. Don’t underestimate the momentum and confidence that comes from executing consecutive “smart” or “safe” shots and what that can lead to.

Pay attention to your miss — If you are hitting a fade, but more often than not it is staying straight, pick a target that plans for that and leaves you margin for a straight ball not to kill you.

Plan ahead and know your angles — If the pin is back right, consider aiming more left off of the tee. It might even make sense to aim in the left rough (assuming there isn’t major trouble there) and to allow your fade to come into the left side of the fairway. Angles matter and avoiding the big numbers is key.