How can I perfect my drive in golf?

Question

I am a righty and I keep shanking the ball off to the right. Does anyone have any pointers to eliminate this and to remain consistent in driving the ball high, straight and far?

Answer 1

Read up good books and see videos from sites like golflink.com  and practice. Best thing would to have someone watch you and tell you your mistakes based on your learning from books and professional videos. And keep practicing. There's no substitute for it.

Also avoid amateur videos and their tips. They are usually not very helpful and may actually harm your learning by teaching not so good things like stance etc

Answer 2

SURE............TRY turning the club face over at impact or even off setting the club towards your target when setting up ~!

Answer 3

just practic.

Answer 4

Quit golf learn to surf.

Answer 5

I was having problems similar to this a while back when I was struggling with the game.  I am currently about a 10 Handicap. One of those guys said it well "avoid amateur advice", I believe that as well however I have a few basic things that will help you if you practice them....

1st thing is analyze your grip: (since you're a righty) when you grip the club with your left hand if you're thumb is pointed straight down the shaft you're grip is far too weak.

==>TRY THIS:  Strengthen your left hand grip by rotating your hand clockwise over the club.  Your left thumb should be at about the "3 o'clock" position and your index and middle finger knuckles should be clearly visible on top when you look down.  The web of your thumb and index finger make "V" that should be aiming just outside your right shoulder.  Grip your right hand as you would normally, with you're thumb on your right hand pointing down the shaft or slightly to the left (maybe 11 o'clock or so).  This may feel a little uncomfortable and awkward at first but trust me you'll get very used to it rather quickly.  You can also try 'interlocking' your pinkies underneath as opposed to the 'standard' style if it feels more comfortable.  Check your grip each time before you swing and after a few balls you'll notice a dramatic difference in your ball flight.  This is your 'new grip' so start hitting buckets.

2nd thing: Make sure you're club head face is 'square' at address or slightly 'closed'.  Many amateurs line up with a open club face and think it looks square to them.  There's nothing wrong with having a slightly closed club face at address, especially if you tend to fade/slice the ball.  Here's how to check your feet and club face alignment (you can do this alone or with a buddy)  Take a 5-iron and line up to a target on the range and get set to swing.  Now keep everything still, take a long tee and butt it up to the club face evenly with the sharp end toward the target.  Now remove the club and lay it down against the tips of your toes with the grip toward the target.  Step back and analyze your aim setup.  Both tee and club should be aiming at the target.

3rd Thing:  Check your ball placement in your stance.  Chances are it's probably a little too far forward.  Try moving it back a bit and hit a few balls.  Your ball should generally be centered with your irons and forward off your front instep with your driver, however when you hit your driver try placing the ball back toward the middle. Hit more than 10 balls like that since changes take a while sometimes.  Don't get discouraged if your first few balls go array.  Forward ball placement provokes a fade/slice, far back ball placement provokes a draw/hook.  

Lastly, have a buddy or use a tri-pod and video tape your swing.  Tape it from straight behind with the target dead center in front of you that way you can get an accurate view of your swing and alignment.  Then tape your swing from the from the side (the direction your chest faces).  Many people are really surprised at what their swing looks like on tape.  A lot of times you notice things on film that you don't feel like your doing or realize your doing when you swing.  Good luck and practice all these things regularly.  Whenever you make a change it could take a few buckets of balls to really start feeling comfortable so don't give up if your first few balls don't go as planned.  Fore!

Answer 6

First you need to decide how good you want to get at golf. If this is something you want to do for a long period of time here is what I recommend:

First off like others have said the number one best thing you can do is go and get some lessons from a golf instructor who is actually a pro at a course. This means they have gone through a program or through an apprenticeship and have been taught how to teach the game of golf, not just play it themselves. You will never get to the point where a pro golf instructor won't be the best thing for you game, even Tiger Woods has a pro golf instructor that goes with him almost everywhere. I was about an 18 handicap golfer and I got just 3 one hour lessons and because of that within a year I was down to a 9 handicap. Trust me even if you spend $200 for those three lessons that will benefit you a million times more than going and getting $200 worth of balls at the driving range and hitting them.

Second, I know in other sports one of the best solutions is to practice, and then practice some more. In golf however, I totally disagree. Sometime when I go to the driving range I just cringe at the site of all these people instilling bad habits into their swing over and over and over again. Making it even harder to fix their swing if by chance they ever do have someone teach them how to swing correctly. At least try to take someone with you that is pretty good at golf that can help watch your swing and make sure your not doing something totally wrong. Once you get some lessons though if you start doing something wrong you should see it in the way you hit the ball and you should be able to go back to what you have learned and hopefully correct it yourself. Make checklists and do things like making sure you are lined up correctly by simply putting a club on the ground pointing at your target and making sure your feet are parallel with it.

Third, whenever I start to slice or fade the ball off the tee unintentionally I go back to what I've learned. One of the main reasons people slice is because they lean on their back swing, not turn their body. Try putting a little more weight on your back leg and think of it as a pivot point that you are rotating your body around. Also golf is a game of opposites, if your ball is going to the right a lot of times it is because your swing is going outside in(it is going from the right of the ball to the left of the ball) this is how you hit a fade. To make the ball go to the left do the opposite, go from inside the ball to outside the ball. The best way to practice this is to put a tee one inch farther away from you than the ball is and then 6 inches in front of the ball. Try to hit the ball and the tee on the same swing.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

my girlfriends dad used to be a pro golfer and he told me that if you are young you may correct that by taking classes and practicing; however, if you are in you late 20's or above you can buy the "draw" drivers which have the face of the club a little closed up for people with the "slice" what you have. either take some lessons or buy the draw diver.

Answer 8

a lesson then practice practice practice

Answer 9

Simple answer to a complex question......Lessons and lots of practice..........pay your dues and get your game......its that simple