Long-drive champ: 1 simple setup tip for increasing your driving distance

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.

No one has ever hit a golf ball as hard as Kyle Berkshire. In late 2023, the professional long driver touched 241 mph ball speed (yes, you read that correctly) just weeks after he recorded a drive that traveled 579 yards. There’s long, and then there’s Kyle Berkshire long.

Long drivers are a different type of golfer than your Average Joe — or even your average pro — but there’s still plenty that can be learned about the way they go after the ball. And if you can incorporate a little bit of the long-drive technique into your own game, you can add precious yards to your carry number.

In a video recently posted on social media, Berkshire shared some of his secrets for bombing the big stick. And in the video posted below, you can learn his biggest tip for amateurs looking to add yards to their drives.

Kyle Berkshire’s long-drive tip

If you want to get the most out of your driver, you’ve got to hit up on the ball. It’s an easy-to-understand principle, but in practice it can be hard to implement.

“I see this in a very surprising amount of golfers,” Berkshire says. “They don’t have any spine tilt.”

If you look at a long driver at address, you’ll see their shoulders are tilted away from the target. That look will be replicated as they approach impact, helping them swing up on the ball, increasing their attack angle.

“The best setup for speed is the spin-axis tilt that’s positive relative to the plane on which you’re swinging,” Berkshire says. “Put your hand on your chest and feel that tilt. And then go in for the swing.”

By slightly altering your setup in this way, you will instantly promote an ascending blow and positive angle of attack. With that, you’re sure to see longer drives.