Golf Swing Tip#1 – Avoiding Trouble With Your Driver

This is the first of 10 golf swing lessons from golf instructor and author David Nevogt about how to lower your score. This series was designed in response to a ton of questions about the best way for the average golfer to go about lowering a handicap or shooting lower golf scores.

Lower Golf Score Tip #1 – Stay Out Of Trouble With Your Driver

Starting with your next round of golf keep a record of the number of fairways that you hit in the round. Count only the par 4s and the par 5s. It’s OK to cut yourself a little slack and count a ball that rolls off the short grass and into the first cut of rough as a fairway hit if you end up with a normal swing at the ball. You can get more strict with yourself later on.

Nobody is saying right now that by incorporating a couple simple tips that you are going to eliminate the slice that you have been hitting into the rough for the past 25 years. The same applies if you’re hitting a bad hook or if you are just plain inconsistent of the tee. The good news is that by incorporating these two tips that you will reduce your slice or hook putting your drive into in the fairway more often.

1. Swing Easy. Nothing could be better for your driving game than learning how to swing the big club more fluidly, if you go to the range and concentrate only on swinging easy it will revolutionize your ability to position yourself for a good approach shot when you get back on the course. You’ll make more consistent impact with the sweet spot on the ball and it will reduce the amount of side spin that turns a little off-direction on your drive into a recovery shot instead of a greenie attempt. I know you have heard this before but I am willing to bet that you have never actually practiced it for a week. If you can’t get out on the range then take a club and swing in the yard with the same thought of being more fluid. I am purposely mixing the words easy and fluid because that is what a good golf swing feels like. Start off your practice sessions by consciously relaxing your hands while gripping the club. Just doing this will reduce the muscular tension in your forearms and shoulders and make you feel like you are swinging easier.

2. Switch to a low spin ball. Golf ball technology is for real. Manufactures really can control the amount of spin of the ball off the driver head and the 8 iron. If you play with a low spin ball regardless of whether your ball goes left or right naturally it will travel less far left or right and allow you to hit more fairways. Low spin golf balls include the Titleist DT Solo, the Maxfli Noodle, and the Precept Laddie. These are mid priced balls and you can usually find them online and in the big sporting goods stores priced anywhere from $13-$20 per dozen. All major golf ball manufacturers make low spin balls. If the box does not say low spin then look for distance balls. Lower spin off the driver means less left and right movement and usually longer drives because the ball is not trying to lift like an airplane wing.

I know this sounds oversimplified and maybe you have even heard it all before, but it’s not. Switch to a low spin ball and swing easier or more fluidly by practicing with a more relaxed grip. When you get to the range this week think only of swinging easier or more fluidly, whichever registers the best in your brain. Incorporate these tips into your next round. In the next golf swing lesson we will cover how to get more distance with your driver.

• Golf Swing Tip#3 – Mastering The Approach Shot
• Golf Swing Tip#2 – Maximize your Distance by Hitting Triples instead of Home Runs
• Swing Your Sand Wedge to Warm Up When Pressed for Time
• Golf Stretches for a More Fluid Swing
• Golf Hitting Net