How to Maximize Your Drive?

Following a terrific amateur career, 25-year-old Danielle Masters from the Chart Hills Club, in Kent, is one of up and coming young stars on the Ladies European Tour. We have been working together for several years now, and the foundation of her success is built on the basic idea of building a swing that flows as a chain reaction from a good set-up position in which the quality of the body angles are paramount. Off the tee, Danielle may not be the longest of hitters, averaging around 250 yards, but she is certainly one of the straightest, and over the following pages I hope to share with you some of the lessons and ideas we work on to create a solid, repeating swing. I have always believed that the majority of amateur golfers stand to learn a lot more from the top women players than they can ever learn from the men, and there are some very pertinent lessons in here that can give every player some positives to focus on out on the course.

THINK ‘RIGHT POCKET BACK’ FOR A FULL TURN

Being naturally more supply and flexible than men, you often see women golfers who are able to make a fairly full turn of the shoulders without the assistance of much in the way of hip turn. Impressive, certainly, but when it comes to making a good backswing movement I always like to see the hips turn to at least 30 degrees or so. This is something I have to continually remind Danielle about, as she is one of those players who is capable of turning her shoulders without moving the hips – but who makes a much better backswing when she does involve them.

As a youngster I always liked one of Greg Norman’s favourite swing thoughts ‘Right Pocket Back’. That idea of turning the right pocket out of the way in the backswing effortlessly paved the way for a full turning of the torso, which is what you need in order to get fully behind the ball and onto your right side with the longer clubs in the bag, and particularly the driver.

A simple checkpoint: the zip on Danielle’s jacket top provides the easiest of references when it comes to setting the clubshaft in the ideal position at the set-up with a driver. With the ball off the left instep, we look for the shaft to run in line with the zip – i.e. the upper spine tilts gently away from the target to give Danielle the perfect posture

 

 

If you are one of those players with a lazy hip turn, have a friend grab hold of your belt loops and physically rotate you into the position – and then go after that same sensation when left to your own devices.

WHY THE HIPS MUST PLAY A ROLE IN A TRUE DYNAMIC ACTION