How To Perfect Your Driver Address Position

Setting up in the right driver address position is absolutely vital if you want to give yourself the best chance of maximising your launch conditions. So, in the video and article below, PGA pro Gareth Lewis shares some simple tips that’ll help you hit your driver longer and straighter than ever before…

When working on your driver address position, there a couple of key things to focus on. The first of those relates to the ball position. Getting the perfect ball position with every club depends on the club you're hitting, and with the driver, the general rule of thumb is that you want to line the ball up with the inside of your left heel for right-handers. This will get you set up behind it, which encourages the right angle of attack.  

However, ball position also has an impact on club path. As Gareth demonstrates in the video above, moving the ball to various points on the swing's natural arc has a huge impact on start line and path. When golfers have the ball too far forward in their stance, they tend to struggle with hitting it high and left. This is also why slices and pulls are linked so closely.

If this sounds like an issue you’re struggling with, experiment with moving the ball back in your stance a little, which will encourage an in-to-out club path that should improve your start line and straighten up your ball flight. The image below illustrates how it works...

And for those of you who suffer from the opposite problem, creating too much hook spin because the ball is too far back in your stance, try moving it forward to create a path that is working more to the left. This should mean the ball is more in line with the middle of your lead foot, rather than inside the heel, encouraging an out-to-in path that will help you fix a hook in golf.

Driver setup at address: Upper body

When trying to figure out how to hit a driver, we also need to think of the upper body. When gripping the club, the right hand will be lower than the left for those who play right-handed. That should mean the right shoulder sits lower, allowing the spine to tilt away from the target. You need that tilt to feel like you’re behind the ball with the driver, which will allow you to hit it on the up and create the optimal driver launch angle. Taking your driver setup like this will also help you establish a nice, neutral grip of the club.

A good drill is to take your address position, standing pretty tall and straight, before putting your right hand down by your right thigh. Once you’ve done that, tilt your upper body away from the target until you feel your hand touching the side of your knee, and then re-grip the club. If done correctly, you’ll notice that you’re set up behind the ball, ready to avoid creating too much spin with the driver to produce optimal launch conditions.

Final checkpoint

If you follow the advice above, you should be able to get yourself into a really solid driver setup at address. The last thing to check is how far to stand from the golf ball. To check, take your right hand off the club and let your arm hang straight form the shoulder. Splay your fingers - the span of your hand should neatly fill the space between your thigh and the butt end of the grip. This is a simple way to check that you're in the right position.