3 ways you’re losing driver distance (and how to fix them!)

As a beginner and mid-handicapper golfer, I often wonder what I should do to generate more distance for my drivers. Sure, swinging faster can help, but it’s never that easy – increasing club speed needs to come after establishing the fundamentals and proper sequence.

I’m sure somewhere in my 40 year old body is a 300 yard bomb. But what will it take to do that consistently and not just get lucky once in a blue moon?

To help answer that question, I reached out to GOLF Top 100 instructor Mark Durland, who brought up three common mistakes he made with his driver range. Durland not only shared some of the features that stuck with me (and many newbies), but he provided solutions that should keep me going for a long time. Check out his advice below!

Improve your driving range by fixing these common problems

Find a center

If you don’t make contact with the center face, you’re less likely to get the distance of a driver you trust – and Durland says this is one of the most common problems he sees with students, as many bump the driver off the road. the toe or heel of the clubface.

In his eyes, hitting the heel of the clubface is the worst place to go when looking for long distance.

“I see students lose 30, 40, or even 50 yards by hitting the heel of the club,” said Durland. “Most golfers do not know that they have lost their face because they have no way of knowing. But by using foot spray on the clubface, you can get an immediate response. “

If the student establishes a basis on which communication occurs, they can make educated decisions about finding the medium.

“If a student keeps missing the heel of the clubface, they should stand further away from the ball at address,” he adds. “Getting the other side of the clubface (the toe in this case) is a healthy exercise to help find the center.

Instead, if they keep missing the toe of the clubface, they should start by standing closer until they talk to the ball with the heel of the clubface. If a golfer can hit both toe and heel, he should be able to find the middle ground by trying and finding it himself.”

In addition to the impressive response, Durland says using foot spray on the clubface can help determine where your tee length should be.

“One big advantage of using a foot spray is that it can help with the height of the tee,” he adds. “Many students wonder how high the tee should be when using a driver, and using foot spray can help determine if it is hitting too low or too high on the clubface.”

Build a coil

What is another reason you might be lacking a driver’s license? Durland says he often sees students only swing their arms and shoulders, which doesn’t allow them to generate power properly.

“They don’t engage other parts of their body like the spine, torso, or legs — that’s where the power comes from,” Durland said.

So how do you help correct this common swing mistake? By helping students understand how to create the proper coil in their backswing, which requires rotating to the point where the back and buttocks are exposed, aim for the top of the backswing.

“By doing this, it engages the torso and legs, which helps generate more power,” he adds. “If a student is gearing correctly, I often see them skip 3-5 miles per hour with clubhead speed.

“The increase in miles per hour per driver is about 2.6 yards. So if you can increase 5 miles per hour with the driver, that’s about 15 yards of extra distance for the driver.”

Stop wrapping

OK, so let’s say you hit the center of the clubface and create the best possible coil, but still You don’t see the power or distance of the driver you want. What other reason might you be losing some energy?

Durland says it could be a back collapse, meaning the elbows are bent and the hands are too close to the head.

“When you do this, it makes you throw or throw up as you open your elbows and take your hands off your head as you go down,” Durland said. “But what’s interesting about this swing error is that there’s a lot of speed in the game of golf, it’s in the wrong place – which it is.” way before the result.”

Durland reminds the players that the pace should be the past impact, and offers three arm checkpoints to ensure that happens.

“First, make sure the elbow of the trail is away from the side of the trail and not connected. The second and third check points need to move the bicep of the trail away from the front of the trail,” he said. “By doing these three checkpoints, you’ll put the right spot at the top of your back. If done correctly, you will hear the ‘swoosh’ of the clubhead passing the golf ball, not before it.”

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor