Week 20 Newsletter
Get Longer & Straighter Off The Tee!
On Sunday at the age of 51, Davis Love III became the third oldest player to ever win a PGA Tour event at the Wyndham Championship. One of the biggest reasons he was able to pull that off is because he is still long and accurate off of the tee. Two major aspects of hitting the ball long and straight is achieving the correct angle of attack into the ball, with the clubface in a good position relative to one’s swing path.
Rip your drives longer and straighter with these tips:
Problem: It has been said that up to 90 percent of all golfers struggle with a slice off of the tee. When a golfer slices the ball, the clubface is open relative to their swing path. Most slices are aggravated by a poor swing path that doesn’t give them time to square the clubface. Off the tee, the result is a high and weak drive that either leaves them in trouble or with a very long second shot onto the green.
Notice: As Davis Love III enters the halfway down position in the downswing, the butt end of his club is pointing towards the ball. From here, he is in perfect position to rip this drive, and has given himself time to square the clubface up at impact. Many golfers who slice the ball tend to have the butt-end of the club pointing somewhere in between the ball and their toes at this part of the swing.
Try: Without a ball first, see if you can take your club to the top of your backswing and then drop it down into Davis’s position on the left. Point the butt-end of the club towards the ball at this position. For a right handed player, you will feel more of the club’s weight in your right hand here. Once you can do that, see if you can blend it with the post impact position on the right where the toe of his club is pointing up to the sky. This will help to ensure that the clubface won’t be open at impact. Do this over and over until it feels natural. Once you have a feel for it, tee one up and start to boom your drives down the middle just like Davis did this past weekend.