This is a reference guide that will help you visualize the process of how to drive a golf ball straight.
Driving your ball straight every time is improbable. But you can increase your total driving metrics by driving straight most of the time. Such constant performance comes with practice. The tiny details of your stance, the ball placement, teeing height, etc. can make a drastic difference in how straight and how far the golf ball goes.
These are time-tested methods for guidance so that you get to the golf course well-informed.
How to hit a golf ball straight with a driver?
Teeing: Tee the ball high in this case. Drive the tee only slightly into the ground so that most of its body stands out. This allows you to get maximum distance out of the drive.
Position: Position yourself such that the golf ball is right in front of your left toe. When you bend into a swinging position, your body automatically aligns into the power stance.
Grip: Grip the club near the top end of the grip. This makes sure that the forward swing brings down maximum power. This will drive the golf ball straight and long. Do not put too much force into the grip. Your wrist and arms should be relaxed.
Stance: Stand with your hips wide. Keep the feet wider than the shoulder distance. This lends more flexibility in the movement of the swing.
Club shaft: The club shaft should be angular and leaning towards you. It should not be anywhere close to vertical. If you have low strength, go for high-flex graphite shafts. People who can usually hit high shot distances should go for stiff shafts.
Body: Manage the weight on both feet before the swing. Your head will be way behind the ball. Your legs and hip must be relaxed but ready for action.
Backswing: Move your arms back, right from the shoulders. Do this at a moderate pace. As you swing back, your head moves further away from the ball but keep your eyes on it. Most of your weight will shift to the right leg.
At the top, your left arm will be straight and your shoulder will have rotated by 90 degrees. It is important to keep your face straight and eyes on the ball at this point.
Wrist hinge: About halfway through the backswing, your left arm will be swinging straight. But your right arm will retract closer to your body. Your right wrist must hinge 90 degrees at this point otherwise the trajectory will be too wide and you will lose coordination in the downswing.
The left wrist should remain flat. If you open or close the left wrist, you will open or close the clubface. But we want the clubface to remain square to hit the sweet spot every time.
Forward swing: Bring the club down on the same trajectory, along with the target line. Make sure that your shoulders, your arms, and lower body move together. If you rotate your body faster, the club will lag and not make the correct impact.
If you only swing your arms, the desired power will not be transferred at the impact.
Speed: To drive a golf ball straight make sure that the speed of forwarding and backswing is steady.
How to drive straight in a lane?
Teeing: Tee the ball low in this case. Push in the tee up till half of its height. Teeing low will decrease the speed and teeing high will reduce your control over the ball
Position: Position yourself such that the golf ball is farther back from your left toe. It should still be closer to your left foot but away from the middle of your stance. It will be 6 cms inside the left leg instep.
Don’t pull it any farther back.
You will reduce the power transferred to the ball because the momentum of the club at a backward point will be less.
Grip:
To get better control over the swing, you have to reduce its radius. So choke down the grip. Move a couple of inches down from the club end. If you try swinging now, you will feel more in control of the weight of the club
Club shaft: The club shaft will be straight. It should align more to vertical than it did for the power drive.
Stance:
The stance must be comparatively narrow here. Stand with shoulder distance between your feet. This gives you better authority over your upper body movement. Your shoulders will be relatively straightforward as the golf ball is teed back.
In the power drive, the right shoulder would bend forward because the ball was teed forward.
Body: The weight of the body must be divided evenly on both legs. The head and torso should be straight and staring along with the ball
Backswing:
Again, keeping the left arm straight, swing your shoulders at a moderate speed. The weight shifts more gradually here. So at the apex of the backswing, only half of your weight would be on the right leg.
In the power drive, more than half of your weight is on the right leg. The head will not move back much in the control shot
Wrist hinge: As you swing back, your left wrist should remain flat. If it moves in the horizontal plane, it will produce an angle in the swing. The clubface won’t hit the golf ball square and cause the shot to hook or slice.
The right wrist should hinge 90 degrees. It should feel like you are flicking the clubhead towards the target-line over your head.
This will shorten the swing. But it will not rob the swing of its power.
Forward swing: You will feel centered over the ball. Now swing forward at a moderate but steady speed. As mentioned earlier, your shoulders and arms should move together.
Do not let your wrist make the shot. Bring down the whole arm. If you have kept your wrist flat, the club will accelerate down along the correct target line.
Speed: To drive a golf ball straight make sure that the speed of forwarding and backswing is steady.
Interesting
Conclusion
A golf ball that runs on its own accord is a golfer’s biggest pet peeve. It’s absolutely frustrating when it scurries off into the trees. Knowing how to drive a golf ball straight will drastically bring down your golf handicap.
