The long shot you hit from the tee box on a Par 4 or Par 5 is most commonly called a drive. But knowing the name is one thing, hitting a good one is another challenge entirely. This article goes beyond simple vocabulary, explaining the clubs, the specific setup, and the powerful swing sequence you need to hit confident, accurate drives and get your hole started on the right foot.
While "drive" is the most popular term, you'll hear a few different phrases on the course to describe long shots, and it's helpful to know what they mean. In golf, clarity is a huge part of being confident over the ball.
Technically, any shot you hit from the teeing area is a "tee shot." This means the 150-yard iron shot you hit on a Par 3 is a tee shot. However, the term drive almost always refers to the tee shot hit with the longest club in your bag - the driver - in an effort to hit the ball as far as possible.
You’ll also hear plenty of casual slang. A fantastically long and straight drive might be called a "bomb," a "nuke," or a "rocket." Don’t worry too much about these terms, they're all just fun ways to celebrate a great shot. For now, we'll focus on the shot itself: the drive.
Hitting a great drive starts with choosing the right club. While the driver is built for distance, it's not always the smartest play.
The driver is called the "1-wood" and it’s a highly specialized club. It has the longest shaft, the biggest head (the maximum allowed is 460cc), and the lowest loft (typically between 8-12 degrees) of any club in your bag. Everything about it is engineered for one purpose: to create the most clubhead speed and send the golf ball flying. Striking your driver well is one of the most satisfying feelings in sports.
Sometimes, maximum distance isn't the priority. If a fairway is extremely narrow or has hazards (like water or bunkers) pinching in at your typical landing distance, putting the driver away can be the intelligent move. In these cases, you might choose:
Understanding course management and knowing when to use the driver versus a "safer" club is a huge step in learning to play smarter golf and avoid big, card-wrecking numbers.
You can’t make a good swing with a bad setup. The driver is a unique club that requires a unique address position. It’s different from your iron setup because with a driver, you want to sweep the ball off the tee on an upward path, not hit down on it.
This is probably the most important part of the driver setup. You want to place the ball far forward in your stance. The simplest way to get this right is to align the ball with the heel of your lead foot (your left foot for a right-handed golfer). Playing the ball forward allows the club to reach the bottom of its arc and begin swinging upward right as it makes contact with the ball, creating a high launch with low spin - the ideal combination for distance.
To create power, you need to be balanced. With a driver, your stance should be wider than it is for any other club. A good guideline is to set your feet so they are just outside your shoulders. This wide, stable base gives you the stability to rotate your body fully and powerfully during the backswing without losing your balance an absolute must for generating speed.
Once your feet are set and your ball position is correct, you need to introduce some spinal tilt. To do this, simply drop your trail shoulder (right shoulder for a righty) so it sits slightly lower than your lead shoulder. Your spine should feel like it's tilting slightly away from the target. This simple move puts your body in the perfect position to launch the ball on an upward angle. You should feel like you are positioned slightly "behind" the golf ball, ready to sweep it up and away.
How high you tee the ball matters. A common, effective guideline is to tee it up so that about half a golf ball sits above the top line of your driver's clubface when you rest it on the ground behind the ball.
With a solid setup established, the swing itself becomes much simpler. The driver swing is all about rotation around a stable center, generating speed by unwinding your body.
The goal of the backswing is to create a wide arc and a full shoulder turn. Think about making the biggest, smoothest circle you can with the clubhead. As you take the club back, focus on turning your hips and shoulders away from the target. A great swing thought is to feel like you are showing your back to the target at the top of your swing. This full rotation is where your power is stored.
As you turn, try to stay centered. Imagine you’re swinging inside a cylinder - you want to rotate within it, not sway out of it to the side. A big, powerful turn around your spine is the engine of a great drive.
To release all the power you just stored, the downswing needs to happen in the correct sequence. The biggest mistake amateur golfers make is starting the downswing with their arms and shoulders ("coming over the top").
Instead, the downswing should start from the ground up.
This sequence allows the club to drop to the "inside" and approach the ball from a powerful angle, letting you sweep it cleanly off the tee.
As your body unwinds, let your arms extend fully through the impact zone, swinging the clubhead out towards the target. Don’t stop the swing at the ball, accelerate *through* it.
Your momentum should carry you into a full, balanced finish. At the end of your swing, your chest and hips should be facing the target, and almost all of your weight (around 90%) should be on your lead foot. You should be able to hold your finish position comfortably, ready to admire your long, straight drive sailing down the middle of the fairway.
Even with the right knowledge, things can go wrong. Here are two of the most common issues with the driver and a simple thought to help fix them.
A slice is a shot that curves dramatically to the right (for a right-handed player). It's typically caused by a combination of an open clubface at impact and an "out-to-in" swing path. This means the club is moving from outside the target line to inside it as it hits the ball, imparting left-to-right sidespin.
A Quick Fix: Make sure your alignment is correct at setup (shoulders, hips, and feet parallel to your target line). Then, on your downswing, try to feel like you are swinging the clubhead "out to right field." This thought helps correct the out-to-in path and promotes a more powerful, inside-out swing.
The dreaded hook is a shot that curves dramatically to the left. It's the opposite problem of a slice, often caused by a clubface that is too closed at impact combined with a swing path that is excessively "in-to-out."
A Quick Fix: First, check your grip to make sure your hands haven't rolled too far over to the right (a grip that's "too strong"). Second, focus on rotating through the shot to that balanced finish. A common cause for a hook is "stalling" your body rotation, which forces your hands and arms to flip over too quickly, shutting the clubface.
The long shot in golf, best known as the "drive," is a foundational part of the game that brings a lot of excitement and satisfaction when done well. Understanding that it requires a unique setup - with the ball forward, a wide stance, and a tilted spine - and a powerful, sweeping swing unlocked by a a full body rotation will help you gain consistency and distance off the tee.
Building that consistency takes practice, and sometimes what you really need is an expert opinion at the exact moment you feel uncertain. Standing over a tricky shot - whether it’s a tight tee shot where you’re debating driver vs. 3-wood, or a tough lie in the rough - can erode your confidence right before you swing. I can provide the type of on-demand advice you need in those spots, for example, Caddie AI lets you analyze your hole strategy or even snap a photo of your ball's lie to get an instant, clear recommendation on how to play the shot. This takes the guesswork out of difficult decisions, letting you commit to every swing and play a smarter, more confident game.
Thinking about hosting a golf tournament fundraiser is the first swing, executing it successfully is what gets the ball in the hole. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step-by-step, from laying the initial groundwork months in advance to watching your happy golfers tee off. We’ll cover everything from securing sponsors and setting your budget to planning the on-course fun that makes an event unforgettable.
A golf handicap does more than just give you bragging rights (or a reason to demand strokes from your friends) - it’s the game’s great equalizer and the single best way to track your improvement. This guide breaks down what a handicap is, how the supportive math behind a handicap index a is, and exactly how you can get one for yourself. We’ll look at everything from Course Rating to Adjusted Gross Score, helping you feel confident both on the course and in the clubhouse.
The compression of a Pinnacle Rush golf ball is one of its most defining features, engineered specifically to help a huge swath of golfers get more distance and enjoyment from their game. We'll break down exactly what its low compression means, who it's for, and how you can use that knowledge to shoot lower scores.
Figuring out which spikes go into your new (or old) pair of Puma golf shoes can feel like a puzzle, but it’s much simpler than you think. The key isn't the brand of the shoe, but the type of receptacle system they use. This guide will walk you through exactly how to identify your Puma's spike system, choose the perfect replacements for your game, and change them out like a pro.
The Golf Genius app is one of the best tools for managing and participating in competitive golf events, but figuring it out for the first time can feel like reading a new set of greens. This guide cuts through the confusion and shows you exactly how to use the app as a player. We’ll cover everything from logging into your tournament and entering scores to checking the live leaderboard so you can enjoy the competition without any tech headaches.
Walking onto the first tee with sweaty palms, worried you’ll be a good partner to paly wtih...or even asked back again ...We’ve all been there - trust me! The real trick of feeling confortable... is about how you handle you’re ready to plsy. THIS guide explains the simple rules of the rode to show you hnow t play golf while staying calm relaxed and focused... an having much morse fun while you,',re aat it? You'll also play with confidence a dn make fiendsa while you're at i
Just ask a question or share a photo and Caddie gives personalized guidance for every shot - anytime, anywhere.
