SPLIT EVERY FAIRWAY - SIX THINGS YOU SHOULD DO TO IMPROVE
"For me the driver is a specialist club now. When I pull out the driver I'm trying
to get it down the fairway as far and straight as possible."
1. Technique
My coach and I very rarely work on the swing with the driver; I do all my swing work with smaller clubs, but the only thing I do maybe slightly different is I really focus on soft, light hands. A soft grip equals faster muscles - it’s impossible to be explosive and powerful with tense muscles. With the driver I focus simply on creating a really good ball flight. It’s all very technical now, so we pay a lot of attention to launch conditions and spin rate in order to get me hitting it out there as far as I can. There’s no set yardagre for the driver and I think this can cause problems for amateurs.
2. Posture
I like to approach the driver like you would an athletic discipline. Your weight should always be slightly on the balls of your feet, but with a driver especially, you should get braced and ready to make a powerful athletic move. Your body should be engaged, balanced and set up with power in mind.
3. Turn around a braced knee
One of the faults I used to have was straightening the right knee on the way back, because my hips used to get very tight. My hips were so tight that when I turned back, the pressure
on my hips would force my leg to straighten. Once the leg straightens, a lot of things can go wrong in the swing. For me, a key swing thought is to brace the right knee, and make a
nice big turn around it. I focus on a nice wide takeaway and a big shoulder turn going back.
Concentrate on moving the club away from the ball in a nice, solid one-piece move. It’s crucial to maintain your spine angle throughout the shot. Good rhythm with a driver is also
tremendously important. Coil up against your right side and then uncoil into the ball keeping everything in sequence.
4. Don’t limit the freedom in your footwork
If you want to see phenomenal footwork, just look at Tom Watson. His left heel comes up on his backswing, as does mine. I allow my left heel to come off the ground on the backswing because it enables me to make a bigger hip turn. It’s not something I’ve always done but it’s very much part of my swing now. There’s still a bit of weight there. I don’t focus too much on weight shift but it is important. You don’t want to slide into the ball.
With the left heel coming off the ground on the way back, I almost start my downswing by planting it back on the ground; it’s practically a rhythm device.
There’s a perception that you have to keep both feet grounded on your backswing - I honestly don’t know where that came from. People tend to confuse this move with bad footwork
- but if you look at Tom Watson swing a driver he has some of the best footwork you will ever see.
5. Get more out of technology
A lot of amateurs simply have the wrong driver. They’re not making the most of the technology that’s available now by using drivers with the wrong shafts, lofts and clubhead characteristics.
One thing that frustrates me is that when you go to a demo day and find a driver you really like, even if they order the exact same driver it’s never the same! We have the luxury of having two or three drivers made for us and then choosing the one which we orefer. But my advice would be, if you do go to a demo day and you find a driver you like, see if you can buy that exact club there and then!
What’s really cool about Nike’s STR8-Fit system - and other adjustability systems by other manufacturers - is you can now literally just dial it in. The benefits that we’ve had in terms of adjustability are now available to everybody. For me, I like a driver that sits open. If the driver sits open I feel like I can really release the clubhead hard. Up until a few years ago I would have to go through a lot of drivers to find one that sits a little bit open, but I don’t have to worry about that now. If I want a drive to miss, I want it to go right. Whereas a higher handicapper might want yo have a driver that sets up closed, especially if they slice. I look at the shaft as the engine in any golf club - and it’s hugely important you have one which matches your swing. The beauty about modern adjustability is that you can find a head which you like and simply then experiment with different shafts by
screwing it on. The process has been sped up. You could try 20 different driver head and shaft combinations in half an hour now, whereas before that might take all day.
6. Rhythm is Key
It’s true that if everyone approached hitting their driver like they did the shorter clubs in their bag they would probably hit it a lot better. If I’m not driving the ball very well I’ll often pick up a wedge on the tee, make a few simple swings and then go back to the driver and try to replicate it. To me, powerful driving is all about being efficient. Remember that a well struck shot where you’ve swung consciously within yourself will always go further than a shot where you’ve tried to swing out of your shoes.
Quick Tips
Feet Together Drill
I love this drill because it helps train two key areas of the technique - your balance and your posture. With your feet together an overly fast swing will cause you to take a step to steady yourself after you've struck the ball. This will highlight your lack of poise through the swing and help you find a more controlled rhythm. Then there is your spine angle. If you are prone to lifting or dipping your head (thus crucially changing your spine angle) before you have hit the ball, again you will lose your balance and a fat or thin stroke will be the inevitable result. If you are struggling with your ball striking, devote half an hour to this drill on the range and the quality of your timing is quaranteed to improve.
Ball Postion
Another thing that I regularly do is to make a note on the back of a shaft to act as a reference for how far I should be standing from the ball. Let me explain - when you feel happy and confident that you are standing the right distance from the ball lay the shaft of your club on the ground between your feet pointing at the ball. Now mark exactly where the ball sits in relation to the shaft. If ever you need to check that you are in the right position, simply lay the shaft on the ground as you address the ball and check that it lines up, as shown. This is another great way to check your set-up.
Checking The Basics
Every good golfer relies on sound fundamentals. This is something that I check regularly on Tour as most problems in the swing can be traced back to faults here. If you don't already do it, lay a club down parallel to your ball-to-target line to act as a guide for where you feet, hips and shoulders should be aiming. Your alignment is essential as it has a huge impact on the path of your swing so thoughout any practice routine it always makes sense to lay a club down to help.
Check Your Spikes
It is impossible to make a powerful swing and find consistently clean strikes without having good grip on your shoes. Always clean your spikes before you plan and regularly check that they haven't worn down.
Power Comes From The Ground
You will often hear coaches say that power comes from the ground upwards. Essentially, this means that the way your lower half interacts with the ground has a huge bearing on the speed of the clubhead. Remember that golf is an athletic sport and you should be trying to strike the ball with power. Picture a goalkeeper about to make a save - his weight is on the balls of his feet as he is ready to dive. As you set up to the golf ball let your weight move towards the balls of your feet so that you are ready to transfer your weight first right, then left, through the swing. In practice, hit a few shots with both heels off the ground. If your poise is good, you should still be able to keep your balance throughout an athletic swing.