Tag: Driving

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Drive Like a Pro PGA Tour player Joe Durant offers his first tee insights.

In this illustration, you can see that I’m standing in the middle of railroad tracks. Well, I’m not really standing on the tracks; I’m using the image to help aim and align myself to my target.

Video Sweetspot: Rory Sabbatini

Video Sweetspot: Rory Sabbatini Brady Riggs analyzes one of the most unusal swings on the PGA Tour

Lag For Power

Casting the club from the top of the swing (arms straightening prematurely) is one of the most common power leaks for the amateur player. This move results from a downswing that’s initiated by the muscles in the arms and upper body, and makes it almost impossible to store energy during the downswing.

Tips From The Tour

The best players in the world are as proficient as they are for very good reasons. Not only do they possess an incredibly high level of talent and athletic ability, but they also have sound fundamentals and outstanding overall technique. If you’re going to learn from anyone, these are the guys you want to study.

Oomph Shots

By now, you’ve probably seen footage of Tiger Woods snapping his 4-iron against a tree in the 2007 Masters. If you haven’t, it happened on the 11th hole when he found his ball at the base of a tree. Tiger had three choices: hit it backward or backhanded (two choices that would have probably led to a bogey) or advance it down the fairway. Of course, Tiger chose the latter, but to pull it off, he had to sacrifice his 4-iron.

Drive Through the Wind

Drive Through The Wind How Tour players negotiate tee shots in the wind.

Grip for Power

Grip For Power How adjusting your grip can help cure your slice and add distance to your shots.

Stay Stacked 6/23/08

This Article Features Photo Zoom

If you’re not familiar with the term “stacked,” as it applies to the golf swing, you should be. Basically, in a sound swing, the upper body should stay relatively balanced over the lower body without any significant leaning in any direction. At the far left, notice how my chest, shoulders and head are directly over my right thigh. I haven’t swayed in the backswing, but have simply coiled my chest over a flexed right leg. This is critical for loading up and creating power. At the upper right, you’ll see that my backside is sticking out rather than collapsing closer to the ball. This shows I’ve maintained my spine angle, which is also critical to a powerful swing.

"Allowing the majority of your body weight to move to your front foot at the top of the backswing is a huge mistake."

Total Driving

In early March, one of my students, Sean O’Hair, put on a master class in Total Driving at the PODS Championship. (The Tour computes Total Driving by “totaling a player’s rank in both driving distance and driving accuracy.”) For the week, Sean finished T15 in driving accuracy and 8th in driving distance, averaging 282.6 yards. Sean won that week—his second Tour victory—and earned a trip to the Masters. I couldn’t have been more proud.