How to Hit Big Drives With Higher Lofted Drivers

Times have changed. The drivers are bigger (up to 460 cc’s)and often have more loft and the modern balls often spin less. The key to driving farther with the modern drivers and golf balls is a high launch combined with a low spin rate. One of the big things is making sure you have a driver with enough loft. We’re seeing guys with 100 mph club head speed using driver lofts as high as 11 and 13 degrees. If your swing speed is slower consider a driver loft in the range of 13 to 16 degrees.

Big drivers work really well with Simple Swing. We definitely recommend higher lofted drivers for most folks. The pro’s are now using drivers with 9 and 10 degrees of loft. We recommend a 10 degree or higher driver for everyone unless your have a really high swing speed. If you get a new driver Just make sure you don’t get one with and offset hosel or closed club face. Some manufacturers are making drivers with club faces 1 to 4 degrees closed faces to help slicers. With Simple Swing you should be coming into the ball dead square so these closed faces or offset hosels will actually turn a square swing into a draw or a hook.

Here is how you should hit the ball with these big high lofted drivers:

1. Big Tees are needed for big drivers.
The old “rule” was that the top of the driver should be about half-way up the ball when it is teed up. However, with a 460cc driver, the ball should be teed higher. The top of the driver should only be about 1/3 of the way up the ball. This means you’ll need longer tees. You will need a tee at least 3” in length, but preferably in the 3 to 4 inc range.
Play the ball forward in your stance (more towards the target).
The idea of playing the ball off of your left heel is no longer valid. Now in order to get more launch height with less spin we want to hit the ball on the upswing. We must move the ball forward in our stance. For some golfers, it will be enough to play the ball off of your left heel, while for others it may be necessary to move the ball all the way up so that it is positioned off of your left big toe. Experiment with different ball positions and you’ll find where you need to have the ball to catch it on the upswing.

2. Hit the ball above the center of the face.
The sweet spot of drivers has moved. It used to be in the middle of the drivers face. Now the sweetspot has moved up. On most big headed drivers the actually sweetspot (where you’ll get the most distance) is about ½ way between the center of the face and the top of the face. So you definitely want to contact the ball above the center of the face of your driver. Take a piece of masking tape and put it on your driver running from the top middle and down. Take some practice shots. You should see immediately where the ball is hitting on the face. This is a good way to test how high a tee you need. As long as you take the tape off before too many hits it should come off easily.

3. Hit the ball on the upswing.
You set up with the driver The driver is now a specialty club – much like a putter. Our set-up, ball position – everything is different from any other club in the bag. You shouldn’t be hitting the ball at the bottom – or apex – of the golf swing like a fairway wood. The ball should be struck past this point – on the upswing. This will lead to a higher launch angle and lower spin rate – which is how we are going to hit the ball farther than we ever have before.