To hit better drives you must trace the correct clubhead path: 1) oriented from slightly inside the target line before contact, 2) square at impact and 3) back up inside the target line on the follow-through. Careful not to overdo it; some players unwittingly end up swinging too much from the inside, forcing them to rely excessively on their hands to twist the clubface so it’s square at impact and back up to the left through the strike — hardly the path to consistency.
Here’s an image to put it all together. As you swing past your front thigh, picture your right hand in position to catch some raindrops (i.e., palm facing the sky). This is one of those “feel versus real” moments — your right hand won’t actually lay perfectly flat with palm up during the swing (nor will you catch raindrops!), but the notion will limit the hand-twisting and force you to rely on your body turn to route the club on the desired inside-to-inside path.
Note: You may experience a few blocks to the right with this drill at first. That’s good. It means you’ve eliminated any excess hand twist. To knock ’em straight, continue to work on that body turn through the ball.
Jason Baile is the director of instruction at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla.
