Golf Tips: Hitting Your New 460cc Driver

Modern drivers cause balls to spin less off their giant flat face than drivers of the past. Because of this low spin rate, it has become much more important to get the ball higher into the air to maximize distance without having as much problem with wind resistance on the ball or high spin rates causing the ball to slice or hook.

Here are three keys to maximizing the technology built into today's 460cc drivers.

Tee it High, Let it Fly
With today's 460cc drivers people are able to tee the ball much higher and focus on hitting the ball as the swing begins its upward path. Longer tees are now becoming very popular on the market as golfers are beginning to see how much this helps create the ideal launch angle. Buy these longer tees to help tee the ball higher than every before.

Play it Forward
Because you want to hit the ball after the driver's head reaches the apex of your swing (or bottom) as it begins to go upwards, simply teeing the ball higher may cause you to hit under the ball.

Move the ball forward in your stance to maximize the full length of your forward swing allowing you to hit the ball squarely while on an upward launch angle. If you played the ball off the inside of your front foot with your older driver, try moving an inch to an inch and a half forward still. Experiment with different positions while at the driving range to finely tune your setup.

Hit the Bulls-eye
Today's 460cc drivers have huge faces allowing a much larger area for off-center shots to feel and react as if you hit the ball perfectly centered. This added level of forgiveness has dramatically improved modern day golfers.

However, today's larger club heads can produce a slight optical illusion when a golfer addresses the ball. Because most golfers ground their driver when setting up their stance, it may appear that they are lining up the ball with the exact center of the clubface. Unfortunately, they do not realize that this changes during actual impact with the ball since the clubhead during the forward swing is slightly higher off the ground. This results in most shots actually being hit more on the heel-side of the face, especially when teed up high. A ball launched from the heel-side of the face will put left to right spin on the ball and result into weak slices.

A good swing tip is to waggle (move back and forth) the club at address, which enables you to see better where the ball will make impact with the clubface when actually swung.

With these three tips you should be able to have a smooth upgrade into the world of today's modern 460cc drivers. Remember, just because these gargantuan clubs make you feel as if you can swing as hard as you can and still make contact with the ball, you'll discover that it is far better (and much more consistent) to let the new technology do the work. Swing smooth and learn to live with the added distance.