Golf: How To Hit Long And Straight Drives

Step 1: The set-up

Take your normal set-up and make sure that your aim is good, with your shoulders parallel to the target.
Lean your upper body slightly to the right, behind the ball, so it will be easier to turn your body and shift your weight to your right foot in the back swing for a more powerful position.
You can measure the angle of your upper body by holding a club against you, one hand on your chest and one on your belt. Lean forwards until the club passes between your legs. Then lean to the right until the club touches the inside of your left leg.

Step 2: The swing

It is very important to keep your muscles relaxed as you swing, as a relaxed muscle is faster than a tense one.
Start your back swing with a simultaneous rotation of your hips and upper body, turning them fully as you complete it.
To ensure sufficient upper body rotation, maintain the triangle shape between your arms until halfway through your backswing.
This ensures you swing in a wide arc, so the ball travels further. Think about throwing a ball: an outstretched arm would send it a lot further than if it was close in to your body.
At the moment the club strikes the ball, your shoulders should be back parallel to the target like at set-up, so that the club approaches the ball in a straight line and meets it square on.
This way, the motion of your arms and hands accelerates the club head through impact, with all the power of the swing focused through the ball in a direct line with the target, dispatching it as fast and as straight as possible.
A common mistake when attempting a long drive is to start the down swing before completing the back swing.
When this happens, the shoulders are open at impact and the club hits across the ball from the outside, resulting in a short drive sliced to the right.
To find out more, see our videos "why we slice the ball" and "avoid slicing".
There is hardly any better feeling than when your drive flies long and straight down the middle of the fairway.
So bask in the afterglow of your success as you walk tall and proud to your second shot.