Tips for driver practice

[me05501]

I probably average 2-3 practice sessions for every round I get to play so I’m always trying to maximize my progress during practice. 
 

Sometimes I’ll get in a rut of hitting 20 drivers in a row and it seems kind of counter productive. I’d rather simulate on-course situations.

 

Lately I’ve been alternating hitting 2-3 shots with a short iron and then 2 and only 2 drivers. This seems to be helpful for translating a comfortable tempo to the driver swing. I like it. 

Do you do anything specific at the range to dial in your driver? I’m always looking for ideas. 

 

[Haroputt]

I just visualized the first 80-100 yards of my ball flight.   This helps me not to overswing and keeps in my own tempo 

I see too many golfers kill the ball or hit it to gently 

[xkilgorextroutx]

I never hit more than 5 drives in a row unless there is something very specific to the driver that I want to focus on. I also like to simulate rounds so I'm constantly going through my bag and hitting clubs based on how the previous shot worked out. This way my driver practice is a lot more focused. I've found over the years that if I stand there mashing balls over and over, everything tends to get out of whack before long. 

Edited June 4, 2023 by xkilgorextroutx

[DCCarpenter]

I've been trying the simulated round thing myself for over a year and I don't feel it has helped very much with overall improvement.

 

It seems like I get the most results from block or semi-block practice. I am considering dropping the full simulated round completely and modifying it to Driver - Wedge Shot, Driver - Wedge shot for a long sequence. Getting that confidence builder of 20 or so good tee shots out of the bucket seems to set me straight if I have a bad round from the tee box.

[ezra76]

I use foot spray and hit driver into my net. I have one of those PRGR monitors. I just try to hit it with a good swing speed off the center of the face. 

[MonteScheinblum]

IMO, you don’t really practice with driver.  You can test what you’re working on with a couple of drivers, but practicing driver usually doesn’t end well.

 

As an example, during lessons with aspiring long drivers, they hit 7 iron for 55 of the 60 minutes.  Hard to actively change motor pattern with the driver.

[getitdaily]

In a typical session I'll hit 60-70 full shots. About 10 will be drivers. I mostly evaluate setup and where my weight and pressure are at setup, at the top, and in the downswing. If things feel right and path and face to path all look good then the majority of my driver practice is just hitting it as hard as I can, faster each swing, while hitting my fade.

[MelloYello]

If the driver is going where I'm looking I don't spend much time on it TBH. 

 

If the driver isn't behaving, I'll spend time determining what's out of whack, but that's about it. The driver is such an extreme club, so dependent on how it's being delivered, it's easy to get into a weird habit and hit some disconcerting shots. 

 

I mostly work from the ball-flight. If there's a launch monitor that's even more helpful but the ball-flight tells you a lot. For instance, recently I inquired with the local Titleist Fitter who was visiting my Club. I asked about going down in loft on my driver because I was hitting it really high, even with my 9^o. I tried an 8^o and had no issue hitting it basically the same height.

 

Long story short, my attack angle on Trackman had drifted all the way up to as high as +8^o. So we looked at my ball position and determined it was too far forward. Problem solved. Now I at least know what to tweak if I want to bring the ball down a bit (not that I really want to, LOL). 

 

But that's a great example of how you can real easily use ball-flight, a LM (if it's available) and a little common sense to fix whatever's going wrong. Virtually every instance I have of trying to "fix" my driver in some way goes according to those same lines. Maybe I end up slightly tweaking my take-away or something, but it's the same story. Often, it's helpful to have a good pair of eyes, be that an accomplished College Player turn Club Fitter or just your local pro. It's quite necessary to have someone available throughout the year to help you push things is the right direction when they begin to get a bit too extreme (such as with my Attack Angle). 

 

But in terms of maintaining things, I generally don't spend a ton of time with driver unless it's misbehaving as I said earlier. I only swing it a few times during any range / practice session to make sure it's fading / drawing as I tell it to. 

 

 

 

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Edited June 5, 2023 by MelloYello

[slytown]

Any driver issues are probably set up related or related to getting quick with the body. The driver is long, so it needs time to come around on an arc. What I focus on with driver is staying more on my right side and having a long, wide release pattern.

[Robert L.]

As far as practicing my driver goes I first start by getting a small range ball bucket with about 50 balls in it. For me that's more than enough balls, any more and I get tired and bored. I bring a Sunday bag with five or six clubs. I'll begin with a few wedge shots, then work my way up to a short iron, then a hybrid, then finish with my driver. First thing with every drive is to practice my pre-shot routine. Two or three deep cleansing breaths, pick out a target, then I practice my stance and setup. Make sure I address the ball with the toe of the clubhead, then work on swing tempo - not too fast or too slow. I practice this with the last ten or so balls that I have left, then I go home. Takes about an hour or so to hit 50 balls.

[BigEx44]

On 6/23/2023 at 3:03 PM, slytown said:

Any driver issues are probably set up related or related to getting quick with the body. The driver is long, so it needs time to come around on an arc. What I focus on with driver is staying more on my right side and having a long, wide release pattern.

This.

[Santiago Golf]

The best driver practice I ever had was hitting a max of 30 yards for like 3 hours straight ... insane how straight and pure the ball came off the club after ... I haven't done something like that ever again though haha

 

Best Driver Drill I have is the following 

 

Setup a target a 25 yards (about 5 yards by 5 yards) and then have a 30 yard fairway on your range

How the drill works is you must hit two sw in a row in the 'box' and then you get to hit a driver 

If the Drive finishes in the fairway then you grab your sw and try to hit two in a row in the box 

If the Drive finishes outside the fairway, then you grab your sw and try to hit 3 in a row in the box 

 

For every time you miss the box with a wedge it's -1 point

For every time you hit the box with a wedge it's 0 points

For every time you hit the fairway it is 1 point 

For every time you miss the fairway it is -1 point

 

You are trying to get to 5 points in the fewest balls possible

If you ever have -10 points ... you lose 

 

 

[aggiegolfer21]

What are your tendencies with the driver as far as ball flight/contact?

[jamieholo]

Strike. And start direction. 

Gear effect is huge with driver. If you aren't fighting massive misses or swing problems (fix your swing with an iron not driver) the best thing I have ever done is practicing strike. Intentionally hit the heel, toe, center. Intentionally hit high, low, center of head. Alternatively, set the ball up way heel or way toe and try find center. Try with a super low tee a super high tee and find center. 

Secondly, start direction. Practice starting the ball left, right, on target. Alternatively, set up with an open face or closed face and start it on line.  

Turn these drills into games. IE must get 5 in a row or 70% or whatever floats your boat. As you get better and are successful tighten up your margin of error (instead of generally finding the toe aim for a quarter on toe side etc)

This way of practicing also has a side effect of helping you fix on course misses. (hitting a huge toe hook? try hit it slightly heel)

[Shankapotimous]

Driver has been my focus in the past 3 months. I feel like when my driver is working, my rounds are good. I do have to say that I am working with GolfTec, and last 3 sessions were on my driver, which was very streaky. My bad shots were huge slices. 

 

With that said, I had 3 sessions where few things were highlighted for me to work on, so I have been working on those at the range. All I do is take just my driver and a wedge to warm up with. Once I feel good, I hit a medium bucket with my driver, focusing on ball flight and going at the target. I work on my tempo, hand path, and other things that I know I need to work on. 

 

Contrary to popular believe, I feel the driver is very important. When the driver is dialed in, the rounds are easier. At least from my experience, if I can put one on the fairway, 260-280 yards, then I am looking at easy 120-140 shot that is manageable. 

 

But, when I do practice, every shot has a purpose. I visualize the shot and say it to myself, something like "Ok, we are going to fly this to that flag over there, nice 5 yard baby draw..."

[596]

I hit about 5 drivers each time I practice.  5 woods, 5 hybrids.  That leaves about 60 to 70 1/2 swings with short irons and wedges.  I nearly never hit a full iron during range sessions.  1/2 swings with an 8 iron to gap wedge to the 80 to 100 flag has helped my entire game, including full driver! 

 

Driver is my best club in the bag. 

[chollier986]

On 6/4/2023 at 9:08 PM, MonteScheinblum said:

IMO, you don’t really practice with driver.  You can test what you’re working on with a couple of drivers, but practicing driver usually doesn’t end well.

 

As an example, during lessons with aspiring long drivers, they hit 7 iron for 55 of the 60 minutes.  Hard to actively change motor pattern with the driver.

I find this very interesting as my “feel” for a driver swing is vastly different than my iron swing.  You share the same philosophy for average hacks as you do for the long drive guys?