Right Hand Drive

When I work on driving the ball, my thoughts for the swing are simple and easy to remember.

First, I like to keep my grip pressure nice and light, to stay relaxed, and let my arms flow as I turn my body back and through the shot. Another key thought is to create good width on the way back- width I can then maintain through impact to sweep the ball off the tee.

Finally, I always make a follow-through I would be happy to see in pictures - full and in perfect balance. I hope these same swing thoughts help you, too.

Waggle the clubhead and feel the power in your right hand

I am sure you know all about the fundamentals of the set-up. But you have to keep checking them. When you set up to hit a driver, your weight should favour your right side and the ball should be forward in the stance. (I use a fairly lofted driver, and position the ball just a few inches forward of centre, which suits me.)

Make sure that you grip the club in the fingers of the left hand (that gives you both feel and power) and grip lightly to keep the muscles in your arms and shoulders relaxed. I believe a strong left-hand grip (which you achieve by turning your left hand to the right until you can see at least three knuckles on the back of the hand) is beneficial for women, as it , strengthens your wrist action and thus maximises power.

Finally, I waggle the clubhead a couple of times, hingeing the wrists back and forth as I look at the target. That keeps me supple.

Free your right hand for power

One of my favourite swing thoughts - or, I should say, feelings - is this: encourage the right hand to roll over the left as you release the club through impact.

This helps me to: (1) swing the club back to the inside after the ball has gone, (2) shape my tee-shots with a draw, and (3) complete my through-swing with a good wrap-around shape.

When I make a practice swing, I often focus on this fully released position, just to give myself the feeling of the hands working correctly, which they need to do to maximise clubhead speed.

Then, in the swing itself, I simply focus on repeating that sensation. I try to swing smoothly, building up speed gradually. After a momentary pause at the top, I shift my weight back towards the target and let rip with my right side through the shot. As my body clears out of the way, I have the room that I need to plant the clubface on the back of the ball. When your body rotates and clears correctly, you can enjoy hitting the ball as hard as you like without any fear of it going left.