Driver Compression: Raise your swing arc
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Bad contact with a driver is usually due to a descent that is too steep. Obviously, the club should move downward, but ideally a driver will reach its lowest point and then be ascending when it reaches the ball. If you hit a lot of dropkicks or pop-ups or even divot from time to time with your driver, let’s fix your swing path.
My favorite drill is to place an alignment stick on the ground on my target line under a ball placed on the tee. When you swing, the goal is to hit the ball without touching the alignment club (photos, above). If you’re struggling to avoid the club, it means you’re probably swinging too sharply toward the ball. Try to position the driver in the direction and stay upright (bottom left). Your hands should also be slightly behind the ball position, not pushed forward (bottom right).
JAMES FARRELL
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JAMES FARRELL
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Coming back, make a complete turn behind the ball, letting your hips and shoulders rotate freely (bottom left). As you swing down, feel as if your lower body is moving forward but your torso is hanging back a little (half). This will redirect your club down a shallower path than the one you created on the backswing and allow you to slice the ball off the tee with an upward swing (good).
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If you catch the ball this way, you will produce really good launching conditions. You’ll gain lots of yards by increasing your carry while reducing backspin that robs you of distance. In other words, you don’t need to swing harder to get farther off the tee. Ryan Hager, one of Golf Digest’s Top Young Teachers in America, is director of instruction at Plainfield County Club in Edison, New Jersey.