Major winner shares 10 keys for splitting every fairway

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back at Hal Sutton’s 10 tips for hitting more fairways from our April 2001 issue. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

Getting off the tee without trouble is a crucial skill in golf. No matter your talent level, you’ll always have an easier time scoring when you are playing from the short grass.

The pros do this better than most. This year on the PGA Tour, players are hitting nearly 60 percent of the fairways — and that’s while many are playing with ball speeds over 175 mph. Simply put, if you want to shave some strokes off your scores, learn how to game a reliable tee shot.

For more on that, we turn to 1983 PGA Championship winner Hal Sutton. Back in 2001, he joined GOLF Magazine to share 10 tips on hitting more fairways. Put them in action and you’re sure to become a more accurate driver off the tee.

Sutton’s 10 tips for driving accuracy

Everybody wants to pull out the driver and rip a tee shot down the fairway. And on the PGA Tour, no one has hit the  driver with more consistency over the 20 years than Hal Sutton.

Sutton is at the top of his game right now with five victories in the past three seasons. He consistently ranks at or near the top of the Tour’s rankings in Fairways Hit and Total Driving (a statistic that combines driving distance and accuracy). The secret to Sutton’s swing is really not much of a secret at all: He makes a relatively simple motion and repeats it day after day. Most golfers — including many amateurs — are physically capable of making a swing similar to Hal’s. 

Here’s how he does it, along with the keys every golfer should copy to hit more fairways.

1. No manipulation

Before you can put together the parts that make a repeatable swing, it is important to understand what that motion looks like. The photo above shows how Sutton’s club moves along the target line with the face square to the target for only an instant. Great drivers know this, and don’t try to steer the clubface along the target line. Many amateurs try to manipulate the clubface so it faces the target at impact, but this actually inhibits a consistent motion. The best drivers have complete trust in their swing. They let it happen. Because the driver’s swing arc is almost a circle, the trick is to position the ball where the clubhead will be facing the target, This spot is even with the outside of the left hip socket. 

2. Addressing accuracy

At address, relax the arms and hold the club lightly but securely in the fingers. This gives the swing a smooth start, leading to a repeatable rhythm and pace.

Sutton’s stance is relatively wide, his shoulders fitting between his heels. This creates a very stable base. The more stable the foundation, the less likely you are to reverse pivot (lean toward the target at the top of the backswing). A reverse pivot kills power and accuracy.

3. Gradual acceleration

As noted earlier, Sutton understands that the clubhead swings on a nearly circular path. He also knows that for this motion to be consistent, the clubhead must gradually build up speed on the downswing. If you rush the transition from backswing to downswing, or try to hurry the downswing, the timing between the body and the arms is thrown off and disasters occur.

Golfers with poor timing try to manipulate the club through impact and steer the ball toward the fairway. But trying to control the club forces the arms and hands to tighten, so the clubface is in a different position on every swing. Tightness also means tension, which cuts into both accuracy and distance.

To learn the feeling of gradual acceleration, make six practice swings with out stopping between swings. Start slowly and gradually increase the speed until you sense the centrifugal force pulling on your hands. At full speed, this sensation should be strongest just after impact. It means you are swinging along the proper arc at the proper pace without excessive tension or manipulation. The clubface will be square at the same place in every swing. If yo can feel this in your real swing, you’ll hit more fairways.

4. Body turn supplies power

To generate maximum clubhead speed while maintaining control, the body must turn in the proper sequence. Many golfers try to start the club back by turning their hips rather than the arms and shoulders, which leads to inconsistent contact and a less powerful coil.

The body should coil from the top down during the backswing, then uncoil from the bottom up during the downswing. Sutton uses shoulder rotation to lead the move away from the ball.

To feel this proper coil, you don’t need a club, just sit on a bar stool to immobilize the hips. Practice swinging back until the club would be parallel to the ground; you should feel the shoulders — not the hips — rotating the spine. If the hips don’t push the stool back, they are stable and the coiling action is incorrect.

5. Hands stay between elbows

Nearly every poor driver starts the swing by pulling the hands and clubhead too far inside. From here, the only way to return to the proper path is to reroute it, and unless you do it the same way every time, you’re guaranteeing inconsistent results.

The hands should remain in front of the chest all the way to the top of the backswing. As you look at Sutton, imagine two thin walls jutting straight out of his shoulders: Notice how his hands stay within these two walls.

6. Shaft points inside the target line

About halfway back, when the left arm is parallel to the ground, check that the butt end of the shaft points at or inside the target line (but never outside the line). This position means that your wrists are hinging correctly and that the arms are swinging the club up, rather than around the body, to the top.

7. Pick the best angle

Create the best angle for hitting the fairway. On this hole — a dogleg left — I’ll tee the ball near the right tee marker to open up a better angle around the corner. Notice that I’m not teeing up against the marker; this is because it’s important to swing from a level area. In general, if you fade your drives, tee the ball on the far right side of the tee and aim to the left edge of the fairway, If you draw the ball, tee up on the far left side and aim to the right side of the fairway.

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8.Think before you drive

For consistent, accurate drives, build consistency and accuracy into your pre-swing strategy and routine. Here’s how.

First, stick with one shot shape for every drive. If you’re more comfortable hitting a fade, use it every time. If you prefer to draw the ball, always plan to hit a draw. Making, and sticking to, this decision will eliminate tension. 

Second, pick a target that you can hit eight out of 10 times with your average swing. Make finding the fairway your first priority; distance second.

I try to incorporate the pre-swing keys before every drive. If you do the same, you can’t help but hit more fairways.

9. Use the same tee height

I want the equator of the ball even with the top if the clubhead at address. This provides the best opportunity of making square, solid impact as the clubhead passes the bottom of its arc. A trick I use to tee the ball the same — and preferred — height is to push the tee into the ground with my ring finger extended; when my fingertip touches the ground, the ball is at the right height.

10. Choose an intermediate target

I never hit a drive without choosing an intermediate target directly on the ball’s flight line and within three feet of the tee. Once I’ve chosen my target from behind the ball, I keep my eyes on that spot as I walk up to the ball and step into address. I don’t look away until my clubface is perfectly aligned. Then it’s time to start the swing and hit the fairway.