Hit longer drives (without swinging too much) by doing this
Welcome to Play Smart, GOLF.com’s regular game improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Hitting long drives off the tee does not always they require you to swing a lot. Sure, it helps to power the ball, but there’s another way to lace it past your teammates without getting out of your shoes – and it all starts with improving your launch conditions.
One of the best ways to hit the ball longer is to increase your angle of attack. If you can hit more “high” on the ball, you can launch it higher and with less spin, which is important for hitting long drives.
So, how can you increase your angle of attack? Another easy way is to adjust the way you set up the ball.
Things as important as putting are often overlooked by recreational golfers, but they can have a huge impact on how you hit the ball. The wrong setup can lead to all kinds of problems in the swing, leading to compensations that can have long-term negative consequences. But if you position the ball correctly, you’ll put yourself in a much better position to hit it every time.
If you want to increase your angle of attack (and set yourself a solid strike on every drive), it’s important to learn how to set up the ball correctly with a driver. I recently learned how to do this from GOLF Top 100 teacher Jason Baile, and it has helped me hit driver longer than ever.
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Increase the angle of attack with a setup tweak
One problem I have when setting up for a driver is that my shoulders and hips are too level in the setup. This is not a bad thing when hitting irons and wedges, but for clubs that want a good angle of attack (like a driver), it causes some problems. That is, it creates conditions for the wrong angle of attack.
A negative attack angle isn’t fatal when you hit a driver, but if you’re a slower speed player, it can cut your distance. The more you hit the ball, the more spin it gets. This is great for control, but it robs you of range. So if you want to hit the ball longer, you better drive higher.
If you watch the LPGA pros, you’ll notice that they don’t swing the ball much, but they still get a lot of distance on their drives. This is a direct result of improving their attack angles and hitting the ball higher, allowing them to increase their distance without swinging too much.
In my lesson with Jason Baile, we made it a goal to increase my angle of attack to not only help me get more distance, but also put me in a better position for consistent strikes. This all started with adjusting my setup.
The first thing he asked me to do was to slightly “snap” my lead hip in the direction it pointed at address. This movement raised my lead hip and lowered my lead hip.
“I’d rather see you get the right angle at address with your lower body than your upper body,” Jason said.
The next thing he corrected was the direction of my arms at address. In the past, I had a habit of making my trail arm too high, which blocked my lead arm when I looked at my swing from down the line. To fix it, he made me think about pointing my elbow more towards my hip when I grip the club.
By correcting these two simple setup mistakes, I quickly increased my angle of attack and was in a better position to make changes that didn’t have many built-in compensations.
If you’re someone who needs more distance with a driver, check your driver’s angle of attack numbers on the launch monitor. Chances are, you need a precise angle of attack to lift the ball up. For that, all you need to do is to make some minor setup tweaks.
