ONLINE DRIVER GOLF LESSON 101

Absolute Truths Every Golfer Needs To Know
Yes, you do need to read this!

Let me start with a little history about Krank Golf. At Krank Golf, we have had the privilege of performing Long Drive demonstrations in over 800 charity and corporate golf outings. We set up on the best Par 5 on the course and smash golf balls for all the golfers in the event. They get to play our ball into the green to get their eagle. Also part of the fun is we have all the golfers leave their drivers in their bags and hit one or two balls with our drivers before we hit. We have watching over 90,000 golfers hit our drivers. We have gained invaluable swing information from this experience. It is amazing the results we get on our tee box with the golfers hitting only one or two balls. Obviously, the time we have is very limited, but after about 10 seconds of instruction we call Quiet Golf, we tee up their ball, help line them up and they hit away. The vast majority of the golfers hit the ball longer and straighter then they have ever hit before. This experience has prompted me to put in writing what we teach. We believe the more simple the better. The goal of this golf lesson is to help the novice/beginner golfer. However, I believe every golfer would benefit from what we teach. So, here is my attempt at explaining in the simplest possible way, how to swing a driver.

First of all, golf is a very difficult sport. There is a reason why even the Pros don't hit that little white ball straight every time. Your golf swing is made up of many different segments. From your grip, to your take away, to your down swing, to impact and to your follow through. If you really think about it, it is a very complicated action. I think this is where the trouble begins. As a beginner golfer, we try to over think all the different motions we need to do to have that perfect hit. The good new is that we are going to get rid of that type of thinking and simplify the entire process. I.m sure you have heard of the KISS method. (Keep it simple stupid) We are going to keep it REALLY SIMPLE so you don't feel stupid the next time you play golf.

Lets get started with the right mindset.

1. The golf swing is meant to be a very natural motion. It's not meant to be jerky, jumpy, to quick or to slow. It is meant to be fluid, smooth and effortless. You must understand, swinging at 80% generates all the power you need to play golf and hit the ball plenty far. If we get your body in the right position at impact, you will never need to swing any harder than 80% to play amazing golf. If you are the personality type that always wants to kill the freakin ball and cannot control that urge. You will always struggle playing golf. Remember, I am a Professional Long Drive Golfer and I constantly have to control the urge to want to kill the freakin ball when I play golf. So I am speaking from experience. But make no mistake about it, your golf swing must be a controlled swing to have any chance at playing great golf.
2. Eliminating unnecessary body motion, especially unnecessary lower body motion is mandatory to create a repeatable swing under pressure. This is a simple concept. There is a reason why when shooting a free throw in basketball, the Pro's don't do a jump shot and when you putt the ball on the green, you don't take a full back swing. Precision is required to perform a consistent action. Even the most incredibly coordinated athletes cannot perfectly repeat, for instance, even shooting a free throw every time. You would think after shooting hundreds of thousands of free throws during a Pro's career, at some point at least one professional basketball player would always, 100% of the time make every free throw. If the simple motion of shooting a free throw cannot be perfectly performed every time, the golf swing, a much more complicated motion, will also never be perfectly performed every time. I have gone to this length to impress upon you the fact that the best golfers in the world have figured out how to swing as simple as possible, so that they will get the most consistent result possible. We call this Quiet Golf.
3. This article is not going to make you a Professional Golfer. Becoming a Professional Golfer is a whole other issue. I think God plays a role in that one! This article is written for the sole purpose of getting you to think about your swing and understand WHY you swing the way you do. There is nothing more frustration than standing over the ball and having no clue if it's going to go straight or not. If you follow the rules put forth in this article, you will play fun and consistent golf today, yes today.

Lets get started on your swing.

1. Your Grip
   • The three different options are: Interlock, overlap and 10 finger. I do prefer beginners to start with an overlap or interlock grip. The whole concept is to keep your hands together as one piece rather than two pieces. You don't want your hands separating and fighting against each other during the swing.
   • Lets not get too complicated on how you grip the driver. I.m sure you have heard of a strong grip and a weak grip? All you need to do is have a natural grip. Remember, your golf swing needs to be a very natural swing, which means a very natural body position. That includes your grip. When holding the club in your hand, let your hands fall where they feel comfortable and natural. Don't turn them over to the right or push them over to the left. This is a no brainer. For those who need it, a simple rule is to have the V which is created between your right pointer finger and right thumb when griping the club, (right handers) pointed up to your right shoulder.
2. Your Stance
   1. Your Feet
      1. Put the outside of your feet at the outside of your shoulders. We like a solid strong stance. Feel like you are balanced so that if someone pushed you, you wouldn't fall backward or forward. It will help you stay balanced during your swing. Your left foot can be toed out just a little. Your right foot needs to be as straight forward as possible. Make sure your feet are aligned at your target.
   2. Your Knees
      1. You want to bend your knees just a little.
   3. Your Back
      1. Your back should not be hunched over. When it comes to my back, I like to think about sitting in a chair properly.
   4. Your Shoulders
      1. Your shoulders should be aligned to the target. In Quiet Golf, I talk about shrugging your left shoulder a little forward to keep your shoulders on line to the target. That confuses some golfers. Let me try to clarify it. 95% of all golfers have very open shoulders at address. That is a major problem. If your shoulders are aligned 20 degrees left of where you want to hit, the likelihood of you hitting straight is not very good. Have you ever heard of Military golf? (Right - Left . Right . Left) The ball never seems to go down the middle. A big part of that is because your shoulders are not aligned down the middle. Trust me, you need to make sure your shoulders are aligned down the middle of your target. You need to practice this on the range with someone you golf with. Ask them to hold a golf shaft across your shoulders at address. Get the golf shaft to point at the target. Eventually, you will become aware of that alignment position and be able to set up that way every time you get into your stance.
   5. Your Hands
      1. Make sure your hands are not pushed forward or to the left. I know you have seen golfers with their hands pushed way to the left in a very unnatural position. We do advocate playing the ball forward in your stance with your driver. Just because the ball is forward in your stance doesn't mean your hands need to be forward as well. Your hands need to be in a very comfortable and relaxed position.
   6. Your Ball Position
      1. It seems every Teaching Pro has their opinion on where you should play the ball when hitting a driver. Certainly, ball position is somewhat determined by your swing and personal preference. The simple answer is between your left heal and left big toe. We don't advocate playing the ball in the middle of your stance for two simple reasons. #1. By playing the ball a little more forward it allows the club head to gain speed before impact. #2. It allows the club head a little more time to square to the target. No matter how much we try not to slide to the left during our down swing, we all do it a little too much. This gives us a little room to compensate for the unwanted slide.
   7. Your Swing
      1. Your Take Away
         1. This is a very important moment in your swing. You can mess up the entire process if you do it wrong. The great thing about it is there really isn't much to it. Simply push the club head low and away from you. I like to think of pushing the driver head back into a catcher's mitt. Quite often beginner golfers will turn their hands over and yank the club head inside and get all twisted up. If you do that, good luck recovering from it. Remember, the golf swing must be controlled and simple. Make sure your feet stay flat on the ground during your take away.
      2. Your Left Arm
         1. During your take away, try to keep your left arm as straight as possible. Flexibility is important in golf. The key concept here is if you collapse your left arm, you are creating an additional motion or angle. If you bend your left arm at some point you need to unbend it or straighten it. That is adding an additional action. Remember we do not want to add additional actions. We want to eliminate unnecessary actions or motions. Golfers bend their left arm for basically two reasons. #1. Because they are not very flexible. #2. Because they think it will give them a bigger reach in their back swing which will generate more club head speed in their down swing. Regardless of why you do it, it is not a good thing. It complicates your swing and as a beginner that's the last thing you need. Remember, an 80% golf swing will generate all the power you need to play great golf. If that means you take an 80% back swing so you can keep you left arm straight, so be it.
      3. Your Down Swing
         1. I call this 'The moment of truth.' In Quiet Golf, I describe the initial move to the ball as the single most important moment of your swing. You must stay flat footed during your downswing to the ball. The single biggest mistake made by golfers is to push up on their right toe as they start their downswing to the ball. For you to become a good golfer, you must understand this section. It is the most important part of this lesson. I will do my best to explain it in the simplest possible way. The greatest golf swing ever recorded is the super slow motion swing of Tiger Woods on nikegolf.com. I recommend every golfer watch it. I guarantee Tiger Woods cannot duplicate that swing all the time. If he could, he would never loose a single tournament. It is the greatest example of a Quiet Golf swing ever recorded. We most likely will never be able to duplicate Tiger's swing, but we most certainly can duplicate his right foot during his swing. You see, the key to you consistently hitting the ball long and straight is leaving your right foot flat on the ground like he does, from the time you start your take away, to the time your club hits the ball. Tiger starts to roll his foot as the driver head approaches the ball. For you as a beginner golfer, the mental process I want you to stick with is that you will only lift your right heel and turn your right foot after your club head hits the ball. Feel like you are hitting then turning, not turning then hitting. It is very easy to do. By doing so you will be in the best possible impact position for accuracy and distance. It may feel a little strange at first, only because you are not used to it. Some of the benefits of hitting heel down are:
            1. It forces you to stay inside during your down swing.
            2. It stops you from coming over the top during your down swing.
            3. It forces you to be in a very powerful and proper hitting position at impact.
            When 95% of all golfers slice the ball. You have to ask why? Think about it, if your first move to the ball as you start to swing down at the ball is to push up on your right toe, which of course means your heal is now off the ground and you start pushing to the left early. Your hips are now turning early and by the time the club head gets to the ball, your hips and hands are in front of the ball and the face of the club is wide open. The likelihood of you hitting straight with a club head wide open is not very good. Most golfers slide to the left 12 inches during their downswing. That is sooo much unnecessary motion! I call it the jump, slide, dive, turn early swing. In other words, I call it the wrong swing. After all is said and done. If all you get out of this lesson is the very basic concept that unnecessary motion during your swing is the enemy, you will have gotten all you need to be a much better golfer.
      4. Your Impact Position
         1. If you follow the rules described in the previous section, you will automatically be in the right Impact Position.
      5. Your Follow Through
         1. Simply make a conscious effort to extend your arms through impact and continue to extend them away from your body to finish your swing.

Closing Statement

After writing this lesson, I.m not so sure how simple it really is. I do know one thing for sure. If you eliminate unnecessary lower body motion during your down swing to the ball and feel like you are hitting then turning, not turning then hitting, you will be a much better golfer. I talked about Tiger Woods' swing in this article. Please check out his swing on nikegolf.com and pay attention to his right foot through impact. Also as an added bonus, I have asked Kevin Bullard, if I can show his amazing Quiet Golf swing in this article. I believe Kevin has the most powerful Long Drive Golf Swing in the world. He is the #1 ranked Long Driver in the World over the past year. Notably winning 3 of the last 7 Professional Long Drive Tournaments. After looking at his swing pictures, you should understand what a proper Quiet Golf impact position really is. To book Kevin Bullard for a Long Drive Demonstration at your golf event, please call (770) 324-5368.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I sincerely believe if you understand and apply the basic swing principles in this article, you will become a very good golfer today.

Lance Reader
President - Krank Golf
480.699.5041
www.krankgolf.com

Kevin Bullard

Professional Long Driver