How to bomb one or just keep it in play

Though the differences might be difficult to spot on TV, tour pros make changes to their setup and swing depending on the goal of a particular tee shot. If they’re trying to go for a par 5 in two, how they swing the driver is going to differ from what they do to make sure the ball stays in the fairway. You should make similar adjustments on your tee shots. Maybe the fairway is generous and you want to air one out, or the hole is so tree-lined that you can’t afford to be anywhere but the short grass. Here are some tips for hitting a bomb or keeping it down the middle.

THE BOMB

Your setup to launch one high and far is key. The first thing is tee height. You want to strike the ball when the driver's path is slightly ascending and teeing the ball higher will help. I recommend that about three-quarters of the ball on a tee should be above the top of the driver at address. Another setup key to help you hit up on the ball is to add a little more side bend to your torso. That means feeling like your spine is leaning a little more away from the target than normal (below). Ball position matters, too. It shouldn’t be any farther back in your stance than off the heel of your front foot, even up a little from that isn't a bad idea.

For the swing, the first thing you need is to extend going back. You want to feel more right-side stretch in the backswing if you're a righty. Feel like your rib cage is separating from the pelvis and you’re loading up on your right leg. You’re trying to lengthen your hand path. A lot of people think they need to swing the clubhead back farther to crush one. Not so. It’s the distance the hands travel that matters more. You’ll know you’ve lengthened your hand path if you feel a nice stretch in your arms (below). You’ll also feel some unweighting, meaning you feel very light on your feet, like you’re almost leaving the ground.

Here’s the part I can’t stress enough: Don’t try to swing through the ball with more effort than normal. Use your regular tempo. All the things you did in the setup and backswing are what will put some more pop into the strike. If you mess with your tempo, trying to go after the ball crazy hard, you’ll be out of sync and all that energy you created going back will be wasted.

So to recap: Tee it high, put some extra tilt in your spine, feel like you really stretch your arms going back, and then swing down at your normal tempo. A good visual is to try to smoothly sweep the ball off the tee (below).

THE FAIRWAY FINDER

For obvious reasons, swinging in control and keeping the ball flight down are going to help improve your accuracy. Start by teeing the ball a little lower than normal. How low? You still want a little of it above the top of the driver, but just a sliver. You also shouldn’t play the ball any farther forward than in line with your front heel. Like the bomb, you still need a little spine tilt away from the target, but just a touch for this one (below).

The backswing adjustments you should make are fairly simple. You don’t want to sway off the ball or feel like you’re loading into your right side a ton. You’ll feel a little unweighting of your body going back, but don’t make a big shift away from the target.

Now here’s the real key: Be patient as you start down. If you rush down from the top, you’ll have no control over where the ball is going. Feel like the start of the downswing is almost as casual as the pace you take the club back (below). Don’t worry, as the club moves closer to the ball, you’ll pick up speed. The issue we’re trying to avoid here is putting too much spin on the ball—sidespin especially, but also backspin if you don’t want to lose too much distance with this accuracy drive. The lower tee height helps, but so does making a smooth pass through impact.

To recap: Tee the ball a little lower than normal, feel like you stay more centered in the backswing, and keep it smooth as you swing down and through (below).

Jason Baile, one of Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America, is director of instruction at Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla.