3 Tips to Drive a Golf Ball Further and Straighter

1. Select the Right Driver

Huge advances in driver technology have been made in the past few years.

One of the important factors is loft. Sir Isaac Newton invented the branch of mathematics known as the differential calculus in the late 17th century to calculate accurate trajectories for cannon balls and it still applies to golf balls today.

Loft is the angle that the driver's club face makes to the vertical lie of the golf ball as it strikes it.

If you have an older golf driver, it will probably have a loft of 7 or 8 degrees.

A modern driver, as well as being made of higher technology materials, will have a loft of somewhere between 9 and 11.5 degrees, including half-degree graduations.

10.5 degrees seems to be the sweet spot for most average players. It will get the ball into a nice trajectory that gives maximum distance coupled with increased accuracy.

If you have an older driver, consider upgrading to one of our recommendations HERE (opens in new window).

It was a sunny Saturday morning, a little before 8 a.m., I was on the first hole at The Oaks of St. George Golf Club and beginning my pre-shot routine, when a piercing voice came over the clubhouse loudspeaker:

"Would the gentleman on the woman's tee back up to the men's tee please!"

I could feel every eye on the course looking at me. I was still deep in my routine, seemingly impervious to the interruption.

Again the announcement: "Would the man on the woman's tee kindly back up to the men's tee."

I simply ignored the guy and kept concentrating, when once more, the voice yelled, "Would the man on the woman's tee back up to the men's tee. please?!?!"