60 Tips for the One Sentence Guide – Alamo City Golf Trail

Need help off the tee? Here are 60 one-sentence driver tips from GOLF’s top 100 teachers

BY: LUKE KERR-DINEEN

We asked our Top 100 Teacher for a quick one-liner to help us improve our units. They did not disappoint.

There’s no substitute for hard work, but as golfers will attest, there’s also nothing that compares to a good thought. Something clean and simple that you can take on the course and help you hit better shots.

As part of our guide issue in the March edition of GOLF Magazine, we wanted to lean into it, so we called our renowned panel of GOLF’s Top 100 Instructors with one simple question: In one sentence, what is one thought, piece of advice or feeling you would tell a golfer who wants to to hit better drives?

The answers came flooding in and they were gems. But before you go any further, a quick tip: It’s probably best to stay away from the effort all of them simultaneously. We don’t want you to get confused. Instead, scroll through, find one that speaks to you, and use it to send the ball down the road like never before.

One sentence tips for better records

1. “Learn to hit the ball.” — Michael Jacobs
2. “Straighten your legs and move the handle up.” — Nick Clearwater
3. “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” — Jerry King
4. “Make a strong swoosh with the shaft to get the ball off the tee with the face pointing in the direction you want to launch the ball.” — Dom DiJulia
5. “Feel your club, arms and body reaching your finish at the same time.” — Tony Ruggiero
6. “Do a full speed practice swing and hold your balance for 3 seconds.” — John Eliot
7. “Place an alignment stick on your lead heel so it points toward the ball, then hit balls.” — Ed Ibarguen
8. “Pass the driver for a smoother, lower putt like Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.” — Michael Hunt
9. “Create 40-yard wide fairways on the range so your practice represents game conditions.” — Tim Cook
10. “Learn to stand on the ball with great posture and develop a bulletproof routine to maintain consistent alignment and distance from the ball.” – Justin Parsons
11. “Feel like you hit a tennis forehand, top style.” — John Dunnigan
12. “Start with your right shoulder back at the steer, bring it back further into the backbend, keep it back at impact.” — Brian Manzella
13. “Release it and let it go!” — Josh Zander
14. “Drive the club face through the ball like a hammer drives into timber.” — Jeff Smith
15. “Keep your trophy finish.” — Kate Storm
16. “Work on hitting the center of the club. It is invincible!’ — Shaun Webb
17. “Hold the driver at the same pace and time as your 7-iron.” — VJ Troll
18. “Grab a dry erase marker, mark the center of the face and hit balls until the mark is gone.” — Bernie Nazar
19. “Hitting up and out on every tee shot while pushing from your left side will create a very nice draw bias.” — Dana Dahlquist
20. “Give up the fantasy of hitting it straight, embrace your curve and learn how to manage it.” — Brady Riggs
21. “Learn to do ordinary basics exceptionally well!” — Jason Bale
22. “Choose a shorter driver with more loft than you think” — Kevin Kirk
23. “Focus on solid contact. “Off-center hits will change the ball’s spin axis and that causes the ball to curve.” — Matt the Guy
24. “Know the scatter pattern for your guide and if the landing area matches, send it!” — Jim Murphy
25. “Make sure half the ball is over the top of the driver and try to keep the tee on the ground as you swing.” — Tim Mahoney
26. “Pause at the top before starting your downswing.” — Don Sargent Jr.
27. “Tilt your spine away from the target, which will shallow the swing path and create an upswing.” — Carol Pressinger
28. “Hit the ball, but leave the tee on the ground.” — Wayne Flint
29. “Smooth out your hands and arms, take a full turn into the backbend, then relax.” — Christa Dundon
30. “Stand high on the ball, yes!” — Joe Hallett
31. “Stand on the tee box and visualize the fairway as an ocean and watch your ball splash.” — Rick Grayson
32. “Do lots of slow motion shifts.” — Bryan Gathright
33. “Get your driver customized by a trusted technician.” — Todd Shawnes
34. “Feel that the back remains fully turned at the beginning of the descent. This creates room for the hands and arms to move down for impact.” — Michael Hebron
35. “Strive for center contact and work to increase your arm speed through impact.” — Susie Whaley
36. “When making a driver placement, make sure the contact location is factored into loft and shaft selection.” — Allen Terrell
37. “Swing without fear (this doesn’t mean as hard as you can, it means swing without tension).” — Steve Bostos
38. “It’s all about impact, you have to get your body in position to land a powerful hit.” — Ted Safetick
39. “Curve your ball mostly in one direction.” — Mike Bender
40. Stop trying to hit it hard and start trying to ‘set’ the cover off the ball.” — Martin Chuck
41. “Come out with your shoulder and rotate your body.” — George Gankas
42. Practice hitting your driver at different distances with full swing. — Scott Munroe
43. “Try to set up the same way every time.” — Brian Lebedevitch
44. “It’s all about setup and speed. bend from your hips and drop your shoulder to address.” — Kelly Stenzel
45. “Spray your driver’s face to see your point of impact.” — James Leitch
46. “Keep your head behind the ball as you deliver your inside driver.” — Cheryl Anderson
47. “Keep your swing low and deep at the top and it will come down shallow and inside out.” — Dr. Jim Sooty
48. “On your back, turn your front shoulder behind the ball and swing without fear of where the ball might go.” — Kevin Weeks
49. “Go lower to ensure more hits, like Nick Price and Tiger Woods did in their prime.” — Andrew Park
50. “Swing full length at low speed focusing on center contact and slowly add speed from there.” — EJ Pfister
51. “Think of the golf ball as a nail, and like hammering a nail, hammer the square nail into the head!” — Carpenter EA
52. “Aim for the tightest hole you can find for accuracy and work on making the fastest practice swings you can for speed.” — Brian Mogg
53. “Know what your body can and can’t do so you’re able to adjust your settings for those malfunctions first.” — Debbie Doniger
54. “I’ve never seen good ball drivers with bad setup, so make sure your setup is perfect.” — Representative Kevin
55. “Our bodies change every day. When you warm up in the area, find the shape of the shot for that day, embrace it and play it.” — Lou Guzzi
56. “Find an intermediate target to line up and then hit the ball without looking back at the target, as is usually done.” — Eric Alpenfels
57. “Think of the club moving along the ground for a long time. This creates a flat spot at the bottom of the arc to help transfer energy to the ball.” — Chris O’Connell
58. “Learn the difference between hitting the ball up and down.” — Jeff Leishman
59. “Go to the gym regularly and perform several sets of medicine ball throws against the wall, on both sides.” — James Sickman
60. “There is no substitute for practice. Players understand the importance of driving the ball effectively, but rarely spend enough time on this aspect of the game.” — Jeffrey Smith

Originally published on Golf.com