Putting Two Driver Swings into Your Game
Article by Nicolas Miller and Herb Rubenstein
Introduction
When you hit 12 great drives and also hit two drives out of bounds to the left, something has got to change. Just ask Rory McElroy at the 2011 Masters about the time he hit his drive so far left on number ten that he lost his huge lead on Sunday. We need distance off the tee, and sometimes, an iron or even a three wood off the tee is the result of playing scared rather than just playing conservatively.
We know Justin Rose hits three wood a lot off the tee. Many of us do. But, on very long par fours, pretty open driving areas for par fives, if we really want to test ourselves as golfers, and improve, we need to pull out the driver and hit it a long way. We also know that some days, we need to stay as far away from the driver as possible. But, the key problem with driver for most golfers is hitting the ball way off line. Just ask Jordan Speith about his tee shot right at Royal Birkdale in the 2017 British Open.
Confidence with the driver must be the goal of every golfer with less than a 10 handicap. So, how do we stop hitting driver OB, even on otherwise good days with the driver. More Norman, maybe the greatest ball striker of all times says he only hit one shot out of bounds in seven years on the tour. Let’s focus on what we need to do in order to get good distance off the tee with the driver and greatly reduce or even eliminate the super big pull hook or push right that can send a driver out of bounds and ruin not only a round, but also a two, three, or four round tournament.
The Fix
You can’t just get up there and try to hit your driver easy. Swinging too easy with a driver is a recipe for disaster. Hitting a driver is a lot like riding a bike. Up to a point, speed is your friend. So, we are not going to recommend that you baby the driver (or a three wood from a tee or a fairway for that matter).
What you need to do has three steps. The first two are easy. The third one you have to work on at the driving range over and over and over. Step 1, identify the shot to be avoided which is the pull hook if OB is left and the push right or big slice if OB is on the right (and this applies to water hazards or other “no hit” zones on either side of the fairway).
We agree that if the fairway is exceedingly narrow with real trouble on both sides, take out an iron or hybrid and hit the shot you can hit straight 90% of the time. Even if you push, pull, hook or slice the ball with this club, you might be OK, but Tiger Woods was not OK on either 11 or 12 at the 2018 British Open where he missed the fairway hard right on 11 and hard left on 12 with an iron off the tee.
Now that you have the shot to avoid, while you are on the tee box, practice the swing you have developed just for this occasion that eliminates that side of the course. If OB is to the left, shorten your swing and swing from outside in aiming down the center of the fairway, or if you are courageous, just left of center and swing the club through on that line and hit a fade by NOT LETTING THE TOE OF YOUR CLUB PASS THE HEEL until well after contact. If this swing sounds like Lee Trevino’s swing, it is.
If OB or water is on the right, aim down the left side and tee off from the right side of the tee. This should be fine with your normal golf swing unless you have a chronic slice. Here you should consider hitting a three wood or even a driving iron unless you can control your slice. All sliced shots bounce to the right making this an even more dangerous shot for the right-hander who slices the ball.
Conclusion
The Driver is one of the most potent weapons in your golf bag. You need to be able to hit at least two different drives with at least two different swings. Over time, develop a third or even fourth golf swing to give you more control over trajectory and distance than you may now have.