Golf Digest Schools
A simple drill for better contact off the tee
You bomb your first tee shot down the middle, only to barely reach the fairway on your next two drives. If this sounds familiar—you can’t put together two good drives in a row—then look no further than the quality of your impact. Chances are you’re missing the center of the clubface, or sweet spot, which is robbing you of that consistency you want off the tee.
Here’s a drill from Chris Mayson, one of Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in California, to help optimize your attack angle and hit the ball in the center of the face. Grab your driver and tee up a ball, then place two hand towels on the ground, one in front of and one behind the ball. Set up normally and hover the clubhead behind the ball. Make a full backswing, pushing your hands away from your body, and as you swing down, try to sweep the ball off the tee without touching either towel. The flatter and wider the bottom of your swing, the better your contact.
“You need consistent contact and a reliable amount of speed to make the ball go the same distance, and you need to make sure the ball hits in the middle of the face so the speed is coming out the same way every time,” said Mayson, who has taught multiple winners on the PGA and LPGA Tours, including 2017 Women’s British Open champion I.K. Kim.
With this drill, if your swing bottoms out behind the ball, you’ll hit the back towel. If you’re too steep, you’ll whack the forward towel. Remember, the key to good driving is having a long flat spot at the bottom of the swing—a level sweep through impact. Work on this drill on your own, and pretty soon you’ll be hitting your drives consistent distances.
Watch Chris Mayson use the “Two-Towel Drill” to groove driver impact:
Learn how to clean up your contact issues and diagnose and fix your other swing flaws in “DIY Swing Fixes,” now available in Golf Digest Schools. In this 27-minute clinic with Mayson, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers, you’ll learn how to be your own coach on the practice tee. Choose from a full range of drills designed to improve your ball-striking, distance control, shot shape and short-game technique. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, this is the series for you!
“DIY Swing Fixes” is one of nearly 150 video programs in Golf Digest Schools. Take your game to the next level with instruction from the top teachers and players. And with the new Golf Digest Schools app, you can bring it all with you anywhere you go. Check out Golf Digest Schools, a revolutionary experience in golf instruction.