23 Golf Driving Tips: Ultimate Guide For Beginners

The old golf saying goes, “You drive for show, but you putt for dough.” While this may be true, it sure is fun to let the “big dog eat.” Who among us doesn’t love to crush a driver down the fairway? You know, go full Bryson DeChambeau on it!

With that being said, how often can you do it? Do you try to smoke one down the middle, but end up slicing it into the woods or hooking it into the lake? How many golf balls do you lose in a round? Do you love weekend golf, but would like to hit more solid tee shots?

We can help. We have developed our 23 favorite golf driving tips. These will not only help you hit the ball farther, but they’ll also ensure you hit more fairways. Our golf driving tips will turn your driver into a weapon, instead of being the club you fear. 

23 Golf Driving Tips

We recommend you try these 23 golf driving tips on the range and determine which ones work for you. Which golf driving tips help you hit it farther and/or straighter? We don’t want you trying to hit a tee shot with 23 swing thoughts in your mind, but find the best 2-3 that help your game.

Tip #1: Widen Your Stance

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Take your normal stance and check the width
2. Are your feet more narrow than your shoulders, the same as your shoulders, or wider than your shoulders?
3. With your driver, you always want your stance to be wider than your shoulders.

Source: Southampton Golf Club

Why Do This?

In order to execute more consistent drives, you need balance and stability. A wider stance provides both. Having a proper stance for golf allows you to swing harder without sacrificing balance and accuracy.

Tip #2: Ensure Proper Weight Distribution

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Take your normal stance and get ready to hit your drive
2. Before you swing, how’s your weight distributed on your feet (heels, balls of your feet, toes)?
3. Hit a drive. Following your swing, where’s your weight distribution?
4. The goal is to keep your weight on the balls of your feet throughout your setup and swing

Why Do This?

This golf driving tip is all about balance. To stay balanced, you need your weight on the balls of your feet. If your weight is on your heels, you’ll fall off the ball and hit pulls or hooks. If your weight is on your toes, you’ll fall forward, causing slices or heel shots.

Tip #3: Ensure You Have The Right Ball Position

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Take your normal stance and prepare to hit a drive
2. Before making the swing, check the ball position (front of your stance, middle of your stance, back of your stance)
3. Your driver should always be in the front of your stance

Source: U.S. Golf TV

Why Do This?

The driver is the only club in your bag that you want to hit on the way up. Placing the ball in the front of your stance helps you swing up at it. Some players even put the ball in front of their front foot.

Tip #4: Make Sure You Have The Right Grip

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Determine the best way for you to grip the club (interlock, overlap, 10-finger)
2. Is your grip strong or weak? Here’s a guide to help you determine this answer.
3. The ideal grip for most players is slightly strong - adjust your grip as needed

Why Do This?

Your handshake is how you make a first impression. In a similar way, how you grip the club is the beginning of the shot. Poor fundamentals with your grip can ruin a shot before you even start your swing.

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Tip #5: Align Your Shoulders With The Lower Body

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. For this golf driving tip, you’ll need a 2nd club or an aiming stick
2. Take your normal stance and prepare to hit a drive
3. Use the 2nd club or aiming stick to check the alignment of your hips and your shoulders
4. If you’re properly aligned, both will be pointing at the same target

Source: Golfer Logic 

Why Do This?

Your shoulders and hips aiming in different directions will cause you to lose power and spray the ball to both the left and the right. In order to hit great drives, you need your entire body working together.

Tip #6: Tilt Your Upper Body

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Set up the ball and prepare to hit a drive
2. Before you swing, tilt your front shoulder up (it should be higher than your back shoulder) - for right-handed players, your left shoulder should be higher.
3. Take your swing

Why Do This?

This is one of several golf driving tips on our list that’s designed to help you hit up on the ball when hitting your driver. 

Tip #7: Do A Proper Hip Rotation

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

This golf driving tip is focused on what happens while you’re swinging the club.

1. When you start your swing with you arms, you should rotate your hips back
2. As you transition at the top of your swing, your hips should start to open and clear out of the way
3. With your hips cleared, you have the room to aggressively swing the club

Source: Top Speed Golf

Why Do This?

As Chubbs told Happy Gilmore, “It’s all in the hips.” Hip rotation is one of the biggest differences between casual players and PGA tour professionals. Properly rotating your hips during your swing will produce power and help you hit the ball farther.

Tip #8: Ensure Arms Are Fully Extended Through The Shot

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. For this golf driving tip, we recommend you have a buddy film your swing in slow motion
2. Review the slow motion clips and focus on your arms
3. You want to see full arm extension at impact and throughout your follow through
4. This will take some practice to perfect, but is worth the time

Why Do This?

Arm extension creates space in your golf swing and space leads to more distance off the tee. Proper arm extension throughout your swing will also create a more consistent strike of the golf ball.

Tip #9: Tee The Ball High

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Take out your favorite golf tee
2. Tee your golf ball as high as possible
3. Swing hard and hit up on the ball

Source: Golf.com

Why Do This?

Tee it high and let it fly. You don’t want to hit the ground when hitting the driver, because that’ll cost you distance. Tee it up high and swing hard.

Tip #10: Create Speed When Hitting Driver

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Do a few stretches, get the back nice and loose
2. Tee your ball up and swing hard
3. Do your best to create speed at the bottom of your swing, not the top

Why Do This?

This golf driving trip is pretty basic. If you want to hit your driver farther, you need speed.

Tip #11: Hit "Up" on the Golf Ball

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Tee the ball as high as possible
2. Tilt your shoulders (front should should be higher)
3. Make sure the ball is in the front of your stance (even with your front foot)
4. Swing up at the ball - pick it off the tee without hitting the ground

Why Do This?

When hitting your driver, you want to launch your ball up into the air with as much speed as possible. Hitting “up” on the golf ball will help you gain distance off the tee.

Tip #12: Follow Workout Routines Developed To Help You Increase Your Driving Distance

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Research speed workouts for golf or see a trainer
2. Develop a routine to perform your exercises for golf
3. Measure your swing speed (if possible) and track your progress

Source: Joey D Golf Fitness

Why Do This?

If you want longer drives, you need to hit the sweet spot of the club with more clubhead speed. A training regimen focused on this activity will teach your body to swing faster.

Tip #13: Maintain Your Arm Speed To The Finish

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Start your swing with slower tempo
2. Once you start your downswing, turn on the speed

Why Do This?

Speed doesn’t mean fast. We recommend a slower/smooth tempo to your backswing. Allow your body to build up the energy and release the speed from the ball to your finish. The timing of your swing speed is critical.

Tip #14: Take A Brief Pause At The Top (1 and 2 Swing)

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Take your normal stance and prepare to hit a drive
2. During your swing, slowly count (1 and 2)
3. If done correctly, the “1” is your backswing, the “and” is your pause at the top, and the “2” is your downswing.

Why Do This?

This golf driving tip can help most casual players. Far too often, we skip the “and,” which leads to a quick transition. It is called “getting quick at the top.” Perfect the “1 and 2” swing and your drives will drastically improve.

Tip #15: Hold Your Finish

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

This is a great drill to try on the driving range - it’s harder than it sounds.

1. Tee up your ball and hit your driver
2. Hold your finish until the ball lands
3. Repeat until holding your finish becomes second nature

Why Do This?

Hitting great drives is a combination of speed and balance. If you only focus on speed, you might hit it longer, but you’ll also hit it farther offline. To be successful, you need to combine speed and balance. 

Tip #16: Use A Launch Monitor

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Create a baseline of critical driving metrics (clubhead speed, ball speed, smash factor, spin rate)
2. For every practice shot, document these numbers
3. Analyze to determine where you’re improving versus where you’re staying the same or getting worse
4. Adjust your practice sessions to improve the metrics that are struggling

Source: MyGolfSpy

Why Do This?

Launch monitors are no longer only for PGA tour professionals. Using data to measure your progress is a critical piece of your improvement plan.

Tip #17: Where Is Your Speed?

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

Where in your swing do you have the most speed?

1. Grab an aiming stick or wedge
2. Make some aggressive swings without hitting a ball or the ground
3. Listen to the “whoosh” sound the aiming stick or wedge makes
4. Do you hear this sound in the backswing, at transition, or past where the ball would be?
5. You want to hear the “whoosh” past where the ball would be in your swing

Why Do This?

Speed in your backswing or at the top of your swing doesn’t help. You’re wasting energy. You need the speed at the ball and past the ball.

Tip #18: Maintain Precision & Power (Focus On The Sweet Spot)

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Wash the face of your driver (you can use a sticker for this if you have one)
2. Hit some drives and check the face
3. Are you hitting the sweet spot or do you often hit shots off the toe or on the heel?

Why Do This?

Many of our golf driving tips are focused on speed. Some talk about balance, but neither one matters if you can’t hit the sweet spot of the club.

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Tip #19: Don't Rush Through Your Driver Swing

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Pay attention to the tempo of your swing
2. Are you on balance throughout the swing?
3. Try different tempos in your backswing and transition

Why Do This?

It sounds like an oxymoron, but you don’t need to swing fast to have speed. The key is to properly time your speed. You want speed at the bottom of your swing.

Tip #20: Choose The Right Shaft

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Find a certified club fitter in your area (or you can research yourself)
2. Use your launch monitor metrics to determine the best shaft for your swing
3. You’ll find that the shaft of your driver is more important than the head

Why Do This?

The shaft in your driver is critical to your success. It can impact your accuracy and your distance. This is less of a golf driving tip and more of an equipment tip. If you’re passionate about golf, spending the money to get fit for your driver shaft is worth it.

Tip #21: Choose A Specific Target From The Tee (Instead Of Just Aiming At The General Direction)

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Tee up your ball and stand behind it
2. Find a micro target - don’t simply aim at the fairway, but find something smaller
3. A tree, the corner of a bunker, a yardage marker, or chimney in the distance

Why Do This?

This golf driving tip is based on a simple theory. If you aim at something small, your miss will be small. If you aim at something large, your miss will be large. Picking a micro-target causes you to focus more on the direction you are trying to hit the shot.

Tip #22: Do The Driver Headcover Drill

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Tee up a ball on the driving range
2. Place your driver headcover to the right of your ball - give yourself just enough room to miss it during a shot
3. Hit the ball - if your club hits the headover, you came “over the top”
4. Repeat until you can consistently hit the ball without hitting your headcover

Source: Golf Channel

Why Do This?

The “over the top” swing is common amongst casual golfers and it leads to shorter and inaccurate drives. This is a great drill to help you fix this common mistake.

Tip #23: Make The Biggest Arc When Driving

How To (Step-by-Step Guide)

1. Think of the “arc of your swing” as the circle the clubhead travels during your swing
2. Hit drives trying to create the largest circle as possible
3. It may help you do this in slow motion at first and slowly add speed

Why Do This?

The final golf driving tip on our list helps you create space in your swing. More space means more distance and a more consistent strike of the golf ball.

Let The Big Dog Eat!

Grip it and rip it. Use these 23 golf driving tips to turn your driver into a weapon on the course. Before you know it, you’ll be outdriving all of your golfing buddies and hitting more fairways. Golf is more fun when you can hit the long ball!