Watching the 2022 PGA Championship was great entertainment. Of course congratulations are in order for Justin Thomas for his win in a playoff, but that was not my takeaway from the second Major of 2022. What I notice the most was the amazing drives that all the professionals seemed to perform over and over again. Yes, I know that some of the players were wayward, but their consistency was something to emulate. So, I decided to see if I could find a simple video that would improve my driving distance off the tee. And guess what, I found one!
The video I found was by Rory McIlroy. I think he is one of the best off-the-tee players on tour and his simple message makes complete sense to me.
I have actually started using this technique last year with some good results. However, this year I am be slicing my ball with poor trajectory. I know it has everything to do with my set up and trying to hit the ball too hard. I know that I need to slow my swing down for better control and allow my body to remember how to hit the ball as indicated my McIlroy.
Today I am golfing with my friend Serge. We are playing nine holes before he heads back to Ottawa and I will get him help with my set up and swing plane. He has a very good eye for swing details, so I am hoping that I can speed up my learning of a new swing position with my driver.
I started working on this technique last year, as I mentioned earlier, with good success. I think this is the right direction for my game at this time and I look forward to telling you about my success.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Watched the whole Tourny, agree they know how to consistently drive it far and accurately. Cheers
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They sure do. It gives us something to shoot for.
Cheers Jim
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I’m controlling my shots by controlling my swing. I can say that I’m not over swinging. But I’m swinging as fast as I can. I control the path by controlling the take away. I control the strike by controlling the length of my swing. And I control speed by controlling both the length of the swing and the amount of turn. And I control the face to get it pointed to target with my wrists. A fade swing will have me taking the club back and inside/behind my body as that will have me transition to an over the top line. And by taking the club back and keeping it out in front of me I’ll transition into a more in to out path. That part is easy in theory and tougher to get the hang of but it works for me. I hit one purposeful fade, one that wasn’t, I hit a couple of draws and one that didn’t quite, and a couple straight shots with the driver Saturday. I’m not trying for a lot of turn from the ball so when I don’t get it I’m still mostly safe.
But I have a key to control my swing better now. As for distance, I got a step up on that too I think. That 20 progressively faster swings thing I was taught to use in place of a proper warm up years ago also helped train me to deliver a faster swing speed even with my normal more controlled swing. You try it and and you will find a place where power can’t help you anymore. But keep at it and you’ll find more speed anyway. You’ll get that speed happening later in the swing where it’s better utilized. I’ve heard it from the world long drive champion himself. If you want to learn to swing faster and hit the ball farther. Practice swinging faster. We don’t need a ball for that. With no ball, your ears will tell you all you need to know. You’ll hear the pitch of the club swooshing by and as the pitch rises, you’ll know you’re moving it faster. Your body will get the feel of it and even when you aren’t trying for that fastest swing will make use of what it learned.
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Kevin,
Thanks for your description of your driver swing. This is one area I know I need some work because if I want to continue to excel, I need to add just a bit of distance off the tee. It is something I have definitely talked about over the years.
Cheers Jim
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Good breakdown Jim, agree, speed is important, practice greases the joints and streamlines accuracy. Not there but working on it. Cheers
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