To master your long game, you’ll need to work on your driving to improve your range and accuracy. In this blog, you’ll find 10 handy golf driving tips and guidance on how to practice each one at home.

How to practice driving for golf

1. Perfect your grip

You can’t drive successfully without holding your club properly. Using the wrong grip is usually the culprit for slices and hooked shots. 

How to do it

Hold the club with your lead hand (left for right-handers) so that the grip sits diagonally across your fingers. Both of your thumbs should point down the shaft. Place your trailing hand so that your palm covers the lead thumb with your fingers wrapping around the grip. Use a neutral grip.

Practice at home

Use a spare club to rehearse your grip if you have a spare few moments. Focus on doing so correctly and building muscle memory so the correct grips grow to feel natural.

2. Use the right stance and ball position

Using the proper stance provides stability and allows you to put power into your golf swing. Correct ball placement also helps ensure solid contact. 

How to do it

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent, and your weight evenly distributed between both feet. Your back should be straight with a slight tilt from your hips. Your arms should hang loosely from your shoulders. Position the ball in line with the instep of your lead foot. Of course, the club you’re holding will also affect your drive, and using a more forgiving driver will come in handy here. 

Practice at home

You can practice your stance and ball positioning with a club and a ball to ensure it becomes second nature. Alignment sticks can be a big help with this. 

3. Tee the ball high

A higher tee encourages an upward angle of attack, which helps with clean hitting and maximising the distance you generate from the force you use.

How to do it

Position the tee so that half the ball sits above the top edge of your driver. Roughly three-quarters of the ball should be above the club’s head as it strikes, allowing you to sweep into the ball with an upwards motion without the driver making contact with the floor.

Practice at home

Whilst this is most effectively practised at a driving range, you could use foam or plastic practice balls to rehearse your tee height and swing at home.

4. Master your backswing

A smooth backswing is essential for generating power and maintaining control throughout your drive.

How to do it

If you’re a right-hander, keep your left arm straight, and your wrists relaxed as you move through your backswing. Rotate your shoulders fully, creating a 90-degree angle between your upper body and your hips. Try to avoid over-swinging, though—you can stop when your club is parallel to the ground.

Practice at home

Practice slow-motion backswings in front of a mirror (in a room with plenty of room) to check your form. You could also record yourself going through the motion to work on perfecting it.

5. Focus on a controlled downswing

A powerful drive comes from a well-timed downswing that maximises energy transfer from the club to the ball.

How to do it

Your downswing comes from your core. Start by rotating your hips toward the target, following with your knees, then your arms. Keep your underarms relatively close to your body and tuck your trailing elbow in. Keep your lead shoulder down and make sure your hands and arms stay relaxed so you don’t skew your release.

Practice at home

As well as watching your swing by recording yourself at home, you can also use resistance bands to strengthen your hip rotation.

6. Improve your follow-through

You don’t want to ruin all that work on your backswing and downswing by not following through properly. A good follow-through ensures you complete your swing with full power and balance and strike the ball cleanly.

How to do it

After impact, allow your arms to extend naturally toward the target. Finish with your weight on your lead foot and your chest facing the target. Your back foot should be on its toe, with your hips fully rotated.

Practice at home

Use a slow-motion drill to exaggerate your follow-through position and improve your balance. Speed up the motion once you’re sure you’ve got it right to make sure it becomes a natural motion for you.

7. Focus on a consistent tempo

A smooth, consistent tempo throughout a swing leads to better contact, and the Holy Grail of driving—better reliability. 

How to do it

Count in your head during your backswing and downswing to establish a rhythm. Most professionals recommend a 3:1 count for a drive, counting three on your backswing and one through your downswing.

Practice at home

Try using a metronome app or a swing tempo trainer to develop a steady rhythm.

8. Use your legs effectively

Your legs might stay reasonably still during a drive, especially compared to your upper body, but they provide balance and generate a portion of the power of your swing. Using your legs effectively can help you get more distance out of your drives and will aid in controlling your swing.

How to do it

Start with a slight bend in your knees. Push off your trailing foot during the downswing to transfer energy to your lead side. Shift over to your front foot during the downswing to add momentum. Maintain your balance throughout the swing and aim to move smoothly.

Practice at home

Use step-through drills where you step forward after impact to emphasise weight transfer and leg engagement.

9. Work on your core strength

Your core muscles play a significant role in generating power and stability during your swing. The stronger your core, the more strength you’ll be able to generate throughout a round on the links. The more you can engage your core muscles during driving, the more stable your drive will be and the more power you’ll be able to put into it.

How to do it

Focus on engaging your abdominal muscles as you rotate your torso. Avoid overusing your shoulder and arm muscles, and let your body’s rotation drive the swing.

Practice at home

Improve your core strength by exercising at home, including doing planks, Russian twists, and medicine ball rotations. When you practice your swing, focus on feeling and engaging your core muscles.

10. Incorporate visualisation into your game

Visualisation is a powerful mental technique where you mentally rehearse an action and its consequences, such as visualising your swing and the flight of your ball along the fairway.

Whilst it might sound like wishful thinking, visualisation really works and is practised by professional golfers and athletes from other sports, too.

How to do it

Try visualising your ideal drive before stepping up to the ball. Focus and try to make your visualisation as real as possible. See your ball landing on a specific target. This can feel odd at first, but the more you do it, the more natural it’ll become.

Practice at home

Spend 5-10 minutes each day visualising perfect drives and imagining yourself performing confidently on the course.

Whether you’re new to golf or you’ve been playing for a little while, you’ve probably heard the term ‘draw’ thrown around when it comes to shot shaping.

A draw is a shot that many golfers hope to perfect, but for some, it can seem hard to master. So, let’s break it down and take a closer look at how to hit a draw shot in golf.

In this guide, we’ll go over the basics of what a draw shot is, why you might want to hit one, and how to practice so you can start pulling off that sweet, controlled curve. 

What is a draw shot in golf?

A draw golf shot is a type of shot that starts off straight or slightly to the right of your target and then curves gently from right to left (for right-handed golfers). It’s often the chosen shot shape for many golfers because it allows for more distance and better control, especially with a driver. If you’re a right-handed golfer, hitting a draw can add extra length to your shots, thanks to the ball’s spin.

For left-handed golfers, the ball would start to the left and curve back to the right. The draw shot is often confused with a hook, but there’s a key difference. While both shots curve from right to left (for right-handers), a hook is much more extreme and uncontrolled, whereas a draw is a smooth, intentional curve.

Why should golfers hit a draw?

There are several reasons why learning how to hit a draw shot in golf can be helpful to your game:

• Increased distance: A draw has more roll upon landing because of the right-to-left spin. This means you can get longer distances compared to a straight shot.
• Better control: For most golfers, a draw is a more controllable shot than others, particularly in windier conditions.
• Helps with accuracy: A draw can be a great weapon for shaping your shots around doglegs or avoiding obstacles such as trees on the course. If you know how to hit a draw, you can more easily navigate trickier fairways.
• Preferred by pros: Many professional golfers prefer hitting a draw because it helps them increase their distance and gives them more consistency. 

How do you hit a draw shot?

Hitting a draw uses a mix of technique, control, and an understanding of ball flight laws. Let’s look at the essential steps to help you hit a draw shot that will make your golfing buddies take notice.

1. Check your grip

Your grip is one of the most important factors in hitting a draw. A grip that’s too weak (where your hands are rotated too far to the left on the club) will make it difficult to get the right spin to create a draw. To hit a draw, you need a grip that’s a bit stronger.

How to adjust your grip

• Right-handed golfers: Turn your hands slightly to the right so you can see 2–3 knuckles of your left hand when holding the club. This will naturally encourage a closed clubface (the club face is angled slightly to the left of the target line at impact), which is key to generating that right-to-left spin.
• Left-handed golfers: You’ll need to do the opposite; rotate your hands slightly to the left to get that same closed clubface effect.

2. Set up with an open stance

Your stance plays a crucial role in hitting a draw. For right-handed golfers, you’ll want to position yourself so that your body is aligned slightly left of the target (but the clubface will still aim at the target).

How to set up your stance

• Position your feet, hips, and shoulders slightly to the left of your target.
• The clubface should remain aimed directly at the target (or slightly right of it). 

This is important because you want the clubface to be slightly closed relative to your swing path when you strike the ball, which helps to produce the draw.

3. Swing path – inside to outside

The swing path is the key to hitting a draw shot. To create the right spin, you need to follow a specific path. Essentially, your swing should travel on an inside-to-outside path through the ball.

How to achieve an inside-to-out swing path:

• As you start your downswing, focus on bringing the club down inside the target line, then swinging it out toward the right of your target (for right-handed golfers).
• This helps the clubface make contact with the ball at an angle that produces a draw-spin.
• Avoid coming over the top, which will lead to a slice.

4. Clubface – slightly closed at impact

A draw shot is all about how you manage your clubface and swing path when you hit the ball. To get the proper right-to-left curve, the clubface needs to be slightly closed at impact in relation to your swing path.

How to manage the clubface

• Keep the clubface angled slightly to the right of the target during the downswing.
• When you hit the ball, make sure that the clubface is square to the swing path, but slightly closed to the target line.
• Be careful not to overdo it, as too much closure can turn your draw into a hook.

5. Follow through

Your follow-through should be a natural extension of your swing path. After impact, continue your swing on the inside-to-outside path and finish with your body rotating towards the target.

How to finish your swing:

• Focus on finishing high and to the left (for right-handed golfers), which will support the right-to-left spin on the ball.
• A high follow-through can also help you maximise distance and control.

Practising the draw shot

Now that you know the key steps to hitting a draw, let’s talk about how you can practice and get better at it. Here are some tips and drills to help you develop consistency and confidence with your draw shots.

1. The Half-Swing Drill

One of the best ways to develop a proper inside-to-out swing path is to practice with a half-swing. This will help you focus on your path and clubface position without getting too caught up in power.

How to do it:

• Set up with a standard stance, but only make a half-swing.
• Focus on swinging inside-to-out and ensuring the clubface is slightly closed at impact.
• Gradually increase the swing length as you get more comfortable with the draw shape.

2. The Alignment Stick Drill

To make sure you’re properly aligning your body for a draw, use alignment sticks to set up visual guides. 

How to do it:

• Place an alignment stick on the ground along your target line.
• Set another stick a few feet to the left of the first stick (for right-handed golfers) to represent the inside-to-out swing path.
• Practice swinging along this path while keeping your clubface slightly closed at impact.

3. Track your ball flight

When out on the course, use markers or targets to track the flight of your ball. Watch the curve. If the ball isn’t curving to the left, it might mean your clubface is too open, or your swing path isn’t quite right. The more you practice, the more you’ll start to perfect that draw.

Ready to give it a go?

Learning how to hit a draw shot in golf takes practice, but once you master it, you’ll be able to shape your shots with greater precision and power. Whether you’re aiming to avoid obstacles or gain extra yards, the draw shot can be one of your most useful weapons on the course.

Remember, the key is to focus on grip, stance, swing path, and clubface control. Start with smaller, controlled shots and gradually build up to full swings. With time and dedication, you’ll be hitting those beautiful, controlled draws like a pro.