The exhilarating sound of a driver striking a golf ball perfectly, watching it soar high and long, is a feeling every golfer craves. But if you’re looking to go beyond just being the long hitter in your group and truly unleash maximum speed, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started in the specialized sport of long drive golf, from the equipment and technique to the training mindset required to bomb it like the pros.
First, let's be clear: long drive isn't regular golf. While they share the same basic tool - a driver - the objective is entirely different. In a round of golf, you're trying to post the lowest score. Every shot matters, from strategic tee shots to delicate chips and nervy five-foot putts. Control and precision are just as important as distance.
Long drive, on the other hand, is a pure power sport. The goal is singular: hit the golf ball as far as humanly possible. Competitors get a set number of attempts (usually six shots in a set time) to smash a drive into a designated area called a "grid." The grid is typically 40 to 60 yards wide. A shot only counts if it comes to rest inside the grid. The longest valid ball wins. That's it.
This single-minded focus changes everything. It’s an aggressive, athletic pursuit that pushes the boundaries of swing speed and biomechanics. Forget "playing it safe" or finding the fairway. Long drive is about finding the absolute limit of your power on every single swing.
Before you ever change your swing or buy a new driver, you need to adjust your mindset. Your brain is trained to hit controlled golf shots. For long drive, you have to retrain it a bit. It’s less like a chess match on the course and more like a sprint or a powerlifting event.
The single most important mental shift is from control to commitment. On the course, you might swing at 80-90% to find a fairway. In long drive, you swing at 100-110%. You must be willing to miss–and miss big–in the pursuit of more speed. Some of your longest drives will come with a loss of balance and ugly finishes. That’s okay. This is not about looking pretty, it is about producing raw speed and power.
Patience is also a big part of it. Building real, sustainable speed takes time. You’re rewiring your central nervous system and building new muscle patterns. There will be days when you feel slow and out of sync. Stick with the process. Celebrate small wins, like a 1 mph gain in clubhead speed, and understand that it's a marathon, not a sprint.
Your regular driver is a fine place to start, but as you get more serious, you'll find that long drive equipment is highly specialized. It's built for one thing: speed.
Long drive competitors use drivers with much lower lofts than those found in a typical retail shop. While most amateur golfers use 9-12 degrees of loft, long drivers use heads that are often between 4 and 7 degrees. Why? Less loft generally means less backspin. Too much backspin can cause the ball to balloon up into the air and lose distance upon landing. The goal is a high-launch, low-spin missile that carries far and then rolls out even farther.
The shaft is the engine of the long drive club. It's dramatically different from a standard driver shaft.
Starting out, you don’t need the longest, stiffest shaft on the market. But as your speed increases, upgrading your shaft will become one of the most effective ways to optimize your ball flight and add distance.
You can’t just swing your normal swing harder and expect good results. The long drive swing has some fundamental differences designed to maximize leverage and create an upward angle of attack.
It all starts at address. Make these adjustments to build a stable and powerful base:
Think long, wide, and high. The purpose of the long drive backswing is to create as much potential energy as possible. Don't be shy about letting your lead heel come off the ground and letting your hips turn fully. You want a massive shoulder turn - well past 90 degrees if your body allows it. The feeling should be one of coiling a spring to its absolute limit.
This is where speed is generated. Elite long drivers have a phenomenal "ground-up" kinetic sequence.
Start your downswing by driving your lead hip open and putting pressure into the ground with your lead foot. This creates a chain reaction: the hips pull the torso, the torso pulls the arms, and the arms whip the club through. This sequence creates tremendous lag and unleashes the club like a catapult.
Crucially, as a result of your setup, your swing path should be approaching the ball from the inside and moving upward at impact. This positive Angle of Attack (AoA) is the "secret sauce" to long drive. It propels the ball high into the air with low spin - the perfect recipe for pure distance.
There's no holding back here. The momentum of the swing should pull your body all the way around toward the target. It's common to see long drivers finish with their bodies completely facing the target, with their back foot having come completely off the ground and their lead foot having spun open. This is a sign you’ve committed everything and released all your power through the ball.
Swinging hard on the range is only one piece of the puzzle. To really improve, you need to train like an athlete.
The most effective way to gain raw speed is through overspeed training. This involves swinging clubs that are lighter and heavier than your actual driver. By swinging lighter clubs, you teach your body and your neuromuscular system to move faster than they’re used to. It's a proven method for breaking through speed plateaus. Programs like SuperSpeed Golf or The Stack System are extremely popular and effective for this purpose.
Speed comes from the body. A dedicated fitness program focused on explosive power is a game-changer. Key areas to focus on include:
Owning or having regular access to a personal launch monitor is almost non-negotiable. Devices from brands like FlightScope, Rapsodo, or Garmin can give you instant feedback on vital metrics like:
Tracking this data is the only way to know if your technique and training changes are actually working.
Diving into long drive is an exciting way to explore a completely different side of golf. It requires a mental shift to embrace athleticism and power, paired with specific adjustments to your equipment and swing technique. Remember to build a powerful foundation with your setup, create a massive coil in your backswing, and train for explosive speed like any other athlete.
Of course, as you start making these changes, questions are bound to arise - about launch conditions, what to work on next, or how to hit a specific shot under pressure. That’s precisely why we built our app. You can ask Caddie AI your most pressing golf swing or strategy questions, 24/7, and get instant,-quality coaching advice tailored to your needs. Instead of guessing, you get a clear path forward, right in your pocket.
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