Multiple Major champion Dustin Johnson has many strengths, but one of his greatest assets is being able to hit a very long ball - accurately. The American manages to create effortless power, which is something a lot of amateur golfers would love to be able to do. The good news is that you can copy several of his key moves to hit longer drives and find more fairways.
In this article, Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Andrew Jones explains how Johnson is able to hit the ball such a long way, and how you can make some simple adjustments to your technique in order to add distance and improve your accuracy...
Dustin Johnson Driving Tips
Quick Tips For Long Drives
1. A wide stance creates a powerful base, helping you to generate resistance against the upper body.
2. The takeaway is crucial as it's here where you can create width in the backswing.
3. A complete shoulder turn helps with power.
4. The hips should have cleared by the time you reach the ball.
5. Do the basics well and a good, balanced follow through should follow.
1. Athletic Address
It might be the only static position in the golf swing, but you can clearly see just how athletic Dustin Johnson is from his address position. His stance is wide and his legs are strong – this creates a powerful base from which he can generate resistance against his upper body as he rotates into the backswing.
His ball position is in the classic left heel spot for a driver. This helps generate the correct launch angle and spin rate to optimise his club speed. Johnson also looks perfectly balanced, with only a slight drop of the right shoulder – his arms hang straight down in a fairly central position. Notice how he has a little tilt of the head to the right, something that assists him with his upper-body turn in the backswing.
2. 'Triangle' takeaway
As Johnson starts the takeaway, his arms and shoulders form a perfect triangle that he moves away from the ball. This creates incredible width in the backswing and ensures his weight shifts onto his right side without swaying away from the target; he keeps his left heel firmly planted and restricts the amount of knee and hip movement. This is the start of the resistance that is so crucial to generating impressive power.
3. Completing rotation
Here we see Johnson complete his upper-body rotation with a shoulder turn that is more than 90˚. This requires immense flexibility, especially when you consider his hips and legs are in a similar position to address. His hands are very high at the top and his left wrist is bowed so the clubface is facing up to the sky.
With the clubface ‘closed’, he is able to rotate aggressively with his body through the ball and hit it both long and straight without releasing the club. By eliminating the need for any clubface rotation, he has become one of the most consistent drivers in the game.
4. Clearing the hips
The speed Johnson rotates through the downswing not only delivers power but is also essential to his accuracy. Without the strong, speedy rotation of his torso back to the ball, his clubface would struggle to stay square, most likely closing down and resulting in pulls and hooks.
The picture above illustrates the point perfectly. His hips have cleared by the time the club reaches the ball, with his body rotation leading the arms towards impact, delivering the club square to the ball. His preferred fade off the tee is easily repeatable with this kind of action.
5. Balance
There is no doubt that Johnson’s work ethic in the gym helps him maintain the fitness levels and core strength required to sustain this incredible swing. The excellent balance and stability you see in the follow-through position is testament to this. He has completely unwound and delivered every last bit of energy efficiently and accurately through the swing.
Unless you are prepared to spend two hours a day in the gym with a personal trainer, his move is possibly not the one to copy. However, if you try and replicate some of his excellent set-up fundamentals and his great balance through the swing, you could add distance to your game.
