Hit Driver Farther WITHOUT Changing Your Swing

Think You’ll Never Be Able to Hit Your Driver Farther? Think Again. This Trick Gets You More Yards Without Increasing Swing Speed.

The second most common question we get here at USGolfTV is “How can I hit my driver farther?” (The first, of course, is “How do I stop slicing?”)

It doesn’t come as a surprise to us that so many golfers are dying to ramp up their power and maximize their carry. Probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you, either. It’s those long drives that draw us into the game to begin with.

I personally fell in love with golf as a kid watching Jack Nicklaus dominate the 1986 Masters. His shots off the tee were beautiful—long, towering drives I still think about. 

No one has ever unseated Nicklaus as my golf hero, and it’s actually his technique I’m sharing with you in this article.

It’s a shockingly simple technique—one that doesn’t require you to change your swing or even increase your clubhead speed. That’s what makes it one of my favorite driver tips for senior golfers… though anyone can benefit from it.

And mastering this strategy (which takes all of three seconds) could add twenty yards to your drive.

I’m not kidding. 

Let’s jump in.

The Distance Strategy You Can Stop Worrying About

My first suggestion may be a surprising one.

Stop worrying about clubhead speed. At least for now.

Don’t get me wrong; clubhead speed is a very good thing. In fact, we’ve done a ton of videos and written several articles on strategies for maximizing swing speed.

There’s even an entire section in my book, The Bad Lie, dedicated to identifying the golfer’s three power sources and how to harness the one body-friendly speed technique that will serve you well all your life.

There’s no denying it. All things being equal, a faster swing is going to help you pick up more yards.

So why am I telling you to ignore it for now?

Because there’s an even easier way to hit your driver farther. And it’s a technique that requires no additional strength or flexibility from you.

You don’t have to swing harder. You just have to set up smarter.

The Easiest Way to Hit Your Driver Farther

The fastest, simplest way to hit your driver farther is to hit the ball in the center of the clubface.

I know, I know. I can hear you already.

“Ohhhh, I’m supposed to hit it in the center! And this whole time I’ve been shanking it on purpose.”

Listen, I get it. But hear me out.

That clean, solid, center-of-the-face contact doesn’t just get you better accuracy. It gives your yardage a serious boost, too. 

And no matter how much you may have struggled with this in the past, you’re about to learn that improving your contact is easier than swinging out of your shoes and hoping for the best.

It’s also a lot easier on your body.

If you, like me, are an “experienced” golfer who’s having a hard time maintaining your old swing speed as the years add up, this is a great place to start.

One Simple Move to Get Center-of-the-Face Contact

What I love about this tip is that you do it in your setup. There’s nothing to think about mid-swing. You just set yourself up for success and immediately reap the rewards.

If you’ve already seen our article on senior driver setup, you know that to ensure solid, center-of-the-face contact, you’ve got to square the ball with the center of the clubface from the very beginning.

Now, not everyone agrees on where the center of the face is. Some say it’s near the top of the clubface, some say the hot spot is dead center… it can get confusing.

This is why I love our new VLS Maxvert 1 Driver. I won’t get too into this right now because I’m teaching you how to hit the ball farther with any driver. 

But it bears mentioning because the Maxvert has a ton of features designed to help the average golfer maximize distance. (In fact, this is the only driver on the market created specifically for older golfers. It’s also the only one designed by a major golf champion coach—me.)

One of my favorite features on the Maxvert is the Tru-Hex Flex Face—a hexagonal target to help you find the sweet spot every time.

(Learn about the driver’s other distance-boosting features here.)

Regardless of which driver you’re swinging, you want to get the center squared up at setup. Assuming the ball is teed up, this means you’re gonna have to do the one trick that made great golfers like Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman some of the best drivers in the game:

Hover the club behind the golf ball.

Seems like nothing, I know. A tiny detail. But it makes a world of difference.

Not only does hovering the driver help you square the ball with the sweet spot; it also keeps the weight of the club in your hands.

When you rest the driver on the ground at setup, you let the ground bear that weight for you. This means you’re spending your takeaway finding control over the burden of the club. 

Start with the clubhead elevated, however, and you’re in control of the driver from the very beginning. You’re gonna have a much smoother takeaway and transition, and you’re in a much better spot to find the sweet spot again as you swing through.

Seems too easy? I get it. But try it anyway. 

When you take your setup, tee the ball at a height where the half the ball is above the clubhead when the clubhead is resting on the ground. Then lift the driver so the sweet spot of the clubface hovers directly behind the golf ball.

Make your shot, and I guarantee you’ll be amazed at how much this helps.

Bonus Tip for Killing Your Slice

Okay, here’s a quick bonus tip for my chronic slicers, because a slice will kill your distance, too. You might still hit it long, but it’s not gonna do you a lot of good to hit it long in the wrong direction.

If you slice the golf ball off the tee, there’s a good chance you’re rotating the clubface open on the takeaway.

This happens a lot with traditional drivers because the shaft is super long and the average driver has a shallow shaft angle. In fact, that’s why we shortened the shaft and created a more vertical shaft lie for the Maxvert. It’s just a more amateur-friendly, draw-biased construction.

Whichever driver you use, the trick to avoid opening the clubface is to be aware of how the clubface is positioned on the takeaway.

If you happen to have a VLS Maxvert 1, you want to think about keeping the Tru-Hex Flex hexagon looking at the ball. If you’re using a traditional driver, just visualize that sweet spot and make sure it stays pointed at the ball as you swing back.

It’s as simple as that.

Recap: How to Hit Your Driver Farther

A lot of information for such simple advice, right? But as a golf coach, I believe you improve faster when you understand why these tactics work.

That said, here’s the quick-and-easy answer to how to hit your driver farther.

To set yourself up for more distance with your driver:

1. Tee the ball up so half of the ball is above the clubhead when you rest the clubhead on the turf.
2. Lift the clubhead to hover it behind the ball so the sweet spot is square to the golf ball.
3. Make your swing, remembering to keep the sweet spot looking at the ball on the takeaway. That will help you avoid a slice.

Did It Do the Trick?

When you’ve had a chance to try these tips out for yourself, drop us a line in the comments and let us know if it worked for you!

Also let us know where you’re from, how old you are, and if there’s anything we can do to help you improve your golf game. We’re here for you, so the more we know about your needs as a golfer, the better we’ll be at helping you play a better game.Finally, don’t forget to visit vlsgolf.com for more tips and products designed specifically for the everyday golfer!