Want to hit the ball farther? Try this simple swing thought
Striking the bottle after impact means your attack angle is too flat. You need more “rise” through the ball to max out your distance.
Scott Cook Photography
To drive it farther, you need to hit slightly up on the ball, what TrackMan calls a “positive attack angle.” For most players, this helps create optimal launch conditions, which improves launch angle and reduces spin for shots that carry farther and roll out for days. Who wouldn’t want that?
Here’s how to do it. (You can use an iron here, but this drill is best performed with a driver.) Place an empty water bottle about a grip length ahead of the ball on your target line. If it’s windy, secure the bottle using a few tees.
Watch Ben Hogan explain how to swing a golf club, in 41 seconds
The goal is simple: Catch the ball without hitting the water bottle. The feeling you’re after is that the club is “rising” as it moves through the ball and over the bottle. Another way to think about it is that your driver is swinging “low to high” through the impact zone. It helps if you allow your lead leg to straighten at impact with your front shoulder working both up and behind you.
I’ve actually used this drill with one of my Tour players. By improving his attack angle, his driving distance soared from 267 yards to nearly 310! Trust me: It’ll work for you, too.
Yarwood is the director of golf at the International Junior Golf Academy in Bluffton, S.C.
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