How to Get More Consistency with your Driver

Read this sentence then stop for 10 seconds and ask
yourself what you think the three most important elements
to the game of golf are. Four, three, two, one...

Ok, now I will list mine in the order of importance.

Driving the golf ball in play. Putting the golf ball with
consistent speed control (distance). Pitching the golf ball
with loft. Today we are going to concentrate on what I
consider the MOST important aspect to the game of golf,
DRIVING THE GOLF BALL IN PLAY. This aspect of the game is
the number one confidence builder in our sport. As you
probably know and have experienced, your score adds up
quickly if hit your tee shots out of play.

Buckle up - Because if you read this special report every
time before you play a round of golf this summer, your
friends will think they are playing with Fred Funk come
September. Fred Funk has led the P.G.A. Tour in driving
accuracies for the past four years. He averages hitting 76%
of the fairways every time he plays 18 holes of golf. If
you are going to change the way you drive the golf ball you
will need to implement the following four fundamentals.

THE PICTURE: Approach every tee shot with a clear picture
in your mind of what you want the golf ball to look like in
flight PROPER DRIVER: Choose the proper driver for your
swing. CORRECT TEE HEIGHT: For your golf swing. CORRECT
SWING PLANE: Swing the driver on the correct swing plane
for your swing. THE PICTURE: If you can see it, you can
have it. Before you take your driver, or any club for that
matter, out of your golf bag, you better start seeing what
you want the golf ball to look like during its journey down
the fairway. Of the millions of words my mother (the first
woman to teach at a golf school in the United States)
passed on to me, the one phrase that has stayed with me all
of these years is THE PICTURE. You must have a mental
picture of how you want the ball to fly through the air and
where you want it to wind up. When you have a driver in
your hands, you have to pick out an exact area you want the
ball to land on. IF YOU DON'T SEE THE PICTURE, YOU ARE
HEADED FOR TROUBLE.

Important Tip: During the course of a round of golf, you
can find yourself driving the ball well, but all of the
sudden you are faced with a difficult driving hole. Shortly
after I turned professional, I played a practice round with
Tommy Bolt the 1958 U.S. Open Champion. We came to great
par four, 435 yards long, water down the right side of the
fairway from the tee to the green, out of bounds markers
down the entire left side of the fairway from the tee to
the green. After I teed my golf ball up I turned to Tommy
and said, "What do you do here with O.B. left and water
right?" Tommy looked me straight in the eye and said "Son,
if you see the water and the O.B. markers, you better go
find another line of work."

That stick with me to this day, and I wanted to pass it on
to you. Don't worry about the challenges, just think about
what you want the ball to do. I have benefited immensely
during my career, and I want you to benefit from this as
well.

PROPER EQUIPMENT: Now that you can see the picture, let's
see if you brought the correct brush to paint with. If you
are still trying to buy 20 more yards every time you walk
into a golf shop. It is time to stop-NOW! If you own a
driver that is metal, has a graphite shaft, and the grip is
new then you own what it takes to send the golf ball
straight down the fairway.

Let's back up a foot or two. The loft on the golf club will
play a major role in how accurate you are. If you are
struggling with your driver you might consider buying a
driver with at least 10-12 degrees of loft. The less loft a
driver has the more you are apt to slice and hook the ball.
If you are driving the ball well you can buy a driver with
less loft.

An important side note: If you are driving the golf ball
short, low and to the right the shaft might be too stiff.
If you are driving the golf ball too high and to the left
the shaft might be too weak.

Another item to consider if you have small hands, have the
club repair shop regrip all of your grips with either a
junior grip or a small grip. If your hands are large, have
the shop regrip you clubs with oversize grips.

Bottom Line - worry about getting the ball in the fairway
first, and then focus on distance generation. Chances are,
you own the equipment right now, that will give you the
fairway shots you're looking for. Remember - It's the
swing, not the equipment. The equipment helps once you have
a good swing, but you'll never FIX your swing with an
equipment upgrade.

CORRECT TEE HEIGHT: The tee height does not seem like such
a big deal, but it plays a huge roll in whether or not you
drive the golf ball consistently down the fairway.
Something so simple can often be the biggest challenge.

The two major mistakes are teeing the golf ball too low or
teeing the golf ball too high. You may have heard that golf
is a game of opposites. This is a perfect example. Let me
explain why. If you are constantly swinging your driver too
vertical into the ground in the downswing, you probably tee
the golf ball to low. Most golfers with a vertical driver
swing fear swinging underneath the golf ball so they tee
the ball low in hopes of catching it square. For those of
you with this challenge, the next time you are on the golf
course, tee the golf ball up a little higher and sit back a
little bit more on your heels and keep your weight there in
the downswing. After your shot has landed, look down to see
if your tee is still in the ground. If you are always
conscience of leaving the tee in the ground, you will not
pop your tee shots up anymore.

If you are topping your tee shots to the right you might
have the ball teed too high because you are trying to hit
the ball on the upswing. The next time you go out to play,
tee the ball down a little. After the golf ball has landed,
make sure your weight is on your left foot and meaning you
have transferred your weight correctly.

CORRECT SWING PLANE: With this final tip I feel confident
you will be on your way to driving the golf ball straighter
and with more consistency. The golf club in your bag that
swings the most vertical, (up and down) is your sand wedge.
The golf club that swings the most horizontal (around
you-baseball swing) is your driver. The mistake I have seen
most amateur golfers make is that they swing their driver
like their sand wedge and they swing their sand wedge like
their driver.

A couple of things to remember when you are addressing the
driver:

Chin up Turn your right shoulder in the back swing level
Swing the golf club around you/not up and down Leave the
tee in the ground after you hit the ball When you are ready
to begin your backswing, keep your swing thoughts to a
minimum. Just think about swinging more horizontal.

At the beginning of this special report I promised you
would drive the ball more with more confidence, accuracy
and more consistent if you read this article every time
before you tee it up this summer. This stuff seems simple,
but give it a try and send me an email letting me know the
results. You'll get some really good results.

This is only a starting point that will provide a great
basis for more consistent driving. At the end of this
month, we're going to get back to you with some in depth
information on how to get more accuracy and consistency
with your driver. Stay tuned.you'll love the results you
get this season.