If you want to learn how to smoke drives off the tee, Kyle Berkshire is the man to listen to.
He is a four-time World Long Drive champion, and is regarded as the longest driver in the sport.
Kyle Berkshire holds the world record for the longest drive on a golf course after smashing it 579 yards from the tee box in 2023, and Berkshire hit a 1,060-yard drive on a runway in August with a 400+ yard carry.
While he can’t promise you’ll begin to carry your driver over 400 yards like he can, Berkshire laid out three simple steps for amateur golfers to gain more distance off the tee to golf coach Kerrod Gray.
1. How to create a positive angle of attack
Berkshire’s first tip is to ensure your spine tilt promotes a positive attack angle. The way your shoulders lean when setting up to the ball will define how your club meets the ball.
He explained, “The first thing I see, and I see this in a very surprising amount of golfers, is they don’t have any spine tilt. They’re like this (leaning towards the ball, on their left leg), and it’s almost like they’re trying to force the ball along, and they try to use their hands to hit the golf ball.
“That’s promoted by having a setup that’s either flat, or some people set up with their lead shoulder under their right shoulder. The best setup for speed is the spine axis tilt that’s positive to the plane you’re swinging the golf club.”
That means having your trail shoulder, or right shoulder for right-handed players, lower than your lead shoulder, or left shoulder.
He continued, “What I want you to do is put your hand on your chest, tilt, and feel that tilt. Then, go in for the swing. That promotes an ascending blow. A positive attack angle. Almost every single longer hitter on tour has a higher-than-average attack angle into the golf ball with their driver.
“That’s because the high attack angle allows the ball to fly better.”
2. How to stop slicing
A problem for 90% of amateur golfers is slicing the golf ball, and this issue can be exacerbated by how you set up for your swing. Instinct tells you to aim further left when you are prone to slicing the ball, but Berkshire explained how that can make things worse.
He said, “Another thing I see a lot of people do that causes some issues is that they set up so open to the ball. Sometimes they look at the target, and don’t realize they’re starting to [turn their body left].
“That makes you swing on top of the golf ball and hit a huge slice with a lot of spin. What I encourage people to do is set up slightly closed with that shoulder tilt. Now, everything you’re doing is promoting an inside half strike of the golf ball.”
Closed means having more of your back facing the target, rather than your chest.
Berkshire continued, “What I mean by inside half is, if the half furthest away from you is the outside half, the side closest to you is the inside half. We want to promote an inside half strike with an ascending blow. Having slightly closed feet or a square shape, either is fine, is a very good way to set that up.”
3. How to grip the golf club
Berkshire’s final piece of advice was on how to grip the driver.
He said, “The third thing I would say has to do with grip. It’s so important to learn what makes the golf ball go far, and that is a strong grip.
“If you want the most amount of speed, you want it in the fingers, and you want your glove hand slightly inside the grip, on the side of the crown of the head.”
To right-handed players, that’s the right side of the grip.
Berkshire continued, “Just above where the fingers start to split from the hand, then have the thumb to the point where you can see the midline of the grip, on the left edge of the thumb.”
Again, these tips might not have you smashing drives 400 yards down the fairway, but you can gain some extra distance and consistency off the tee by following Berkshire’s advice.
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