Bobby Eldridge, Head Professional at Pure Point Golf, says that the 3 most important elements of your golf game are, in order:
- Driving the golf ball in play
- Putting the golf ball with consistent speed control (distance)
- Pitching the golf ball with loft
Why does Bobby believe this, and what can you do to improve the most important area of your golf game - your driving?
Bobby has had a lot of exprerience with improving this aspect of golfers play. He has conducted over 3,500 golf clinics, given over 70,000 individual lessons, been a 2 times finalist in the National Long Drive Championship, and his teaching abilities are internationally known.
To improve you driving, you will need to impliment the following 4 fundamentals:
- The Picture - Approach every tee shot with a clear picture in your mind of what you want the golf ball to look like in flight
- Proper Driver - Choose the proper driver for your swing
- Correct Tee Height - Establish the correct tee height for your golf swing
- Correct Swing Plane - Swing the driver on the correct swing plane for your swing
First, let’s take a look at each of these fundamental requirements:
1. The Picture
Bobby says, “If you can see it, you can have it”. What he means is, that if you can picture in your mind that you can perform the perfect drive, then there is no reason why it can not happen. When you are about to approach the shot, before you do anything, you must picture that perfect shot in your mind. Don’t even take a club out of your bag until you do.
2. Proper Equipment
It is important to understand that you have the proper equipment. If you own a driver with a metal head with a graphite shaft and a new grip, then you have the proper equipment. You don’t need anything else to send that ball flying down the fairway. That’s not to say that all drivers are created equal - differences in loft and flexibility all affect a drivers performance. However, what you need to concentrate on is getting the ball a certain distance down the fairway and then focus on distance later. Remember that it is the swing that is important.
3. Correct Tee Height
The simple factor of the height of your tee appears at first to be insignificant when perfecting your golf driving. However, it is amazing how something so simple can affect your game is such a big way. The two major mistakes here are teeing too high and teeing too low. Teeing too low is a sign that you are swinging your driver to vertical into the ground - try teeing it a little higher and sit back a little more on your heals. Teeing to high can lead to topping your tee shots due to you trying to hit the ball on the up-swing - try teeing the ball a little lower and check that you are transferring your weight to your left foot after the ball has landed.
4. Correct Swing Plane
When considering your swing plane it is important to understand how your different clubs should be swung. Your sand wedge should be swung the most vertical (up and down) and your driver should be swung the most horizontal (around - a bit like a baseball bat). The most common mistake that Bobby sees is golfers addressing the ball with a driver in the same way that they address it with a sand wedge.
Here are 4 tips from Bobby on how to address the ball with your driver:
- Keep your chin up
- Turn your right shoulder in the back swing level
- Swing the golf club around you/not up and down
- Leave the tee in the ground after you hit the ball
Then when you are about to start your backswing, keep your thoughts to a minimum - think about swinging in a more horizontal plane.
For more useful advice from Bobby Eldridge and a DVD on how to achieve a great swing visit the Pure Point Golf website.
