The Easy Way To Ensure A Centered Strike With Your Driver (And Achieve Maximum Distance)

Strike location driver tip demonstrated by Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Alex Elliott.

Not all poor strikes and a lack of distance will be down to something really technical in your golf swing. Sometimes a quick fix can improve the quality of your ball striking and give you huge distances gains.

In this article, which includes an excellent video (below), Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Alex Elliott demonstrates how a small tweak at set-up can boost your driving.

You might think you know how to hit a driver, but it's quite possible you haven't considered this crucial aspect.

CENTERED STRIKE SECRETS

Where you strike the golf ball on the clubface has a huge impact on the power and accuracy you are able to achieve in the shot, so it’s vitally important that you set up to give yourself the best chance of a centered strike.

Many club golfers address the ball out of the middle of the face (see below) thinking this will be the contact location at impact, but this is one of those golf swing misconceptions. The ball is teed up, and most address it with the clubhead on the ground, but as you then attempt to hit up on the ball, the strike location changes.

This is how a heel strike can occur with the driver (Image credit: Tom Miles)

If you address the ball in the middle of the face while the club is resting on the ground and then raise the club up, you will notice that this changes the location of the strike to now being mainly out of the heel. This is one of the slowest parts of the club in terms of speed and distance.

Instead, I want you to address the ball slightly more out of the toe as, when the club is raised to make contact with the ball, it naturally centers it with the middle of the clubface (see below). Just by making this small adjustment to your driver set-up, you will maximise your ball speed, and therefore your distance.

Address the ball more out of the toe slightly to encourage a centered strike (Image credit: Tom Miles)

FAQS

How high should you tee the ball up with driver?

To achieve maximum distance and really send your drives, ensure that only a quarter of the ball sits below the top edge of the club. This helps you to get a little shoulder tilt, keeps your left ear behind the ball and allows you to really hit up on it through impact.

Can you tee the ball down for a driver?

Yes. The fairway finder is a great shot to have in your arsenal. For this shot, make sure only a quarter of the ball sits above the top edge. Then, for a low stinger, ensure the top of the golf ball is level with the top edge of the club.