The vast majority of amateur golfers are on a seemingly never-ending, and sometimes unrewarding, quest to hit longer drives.
However, gaining distance off the tee isn’t as difficult as most amateur golfers believe, and listening to the correct golf tips will see you hitting longer drives in no time.
- Read also: Three main reasons why many amateurs can’t get their handicaps down no matter how hard they try
The game of golf has evolved over the past five years into a sport where distance off the tee is no longer a luxury but a necessity.
Do you think you could win The Masters if you started every hole on the green?
If not, how many shots would you also need?
The average driving distance of all 34 PGA Tour winners in 2025 was 306 yards – five yards longer than the average driving distance on Tour.
Only seven players out of the 34 winners averaged below 300 yards with their driver.
While the vast majority of amateur golfers won’t be able to hit their driver anywhere near 300 yards, marginal gains regarding more distance off the tee could make all the difference for them.
*Golfing Gazette writer Antony Martin spent four years playing on the professional mini-tour circuit in Central Florida. Before turning pro he got down to a plus four handicap and represented England at schoolboy level.
Three secrets to help amateurs hit longer drives
Hitting longer drives isn’t easy but it’s certainly not as difficult as many instructors and golf analysts make out.
Here are three key tips to help you start bombing your drives further than you ever have done before.
Speed training is crucial: speed sticks, impact bags
The name of the game now is speed.
More speed equals more success at every single level of the game.
The best way to increase your clubhead speed and, subsequently, your ball speed, is to embark on a speed training venture.
Bryson DeChambeau brought speed training in vogue in 2019 when he bulked up and added around 20 mph to his ball speed.
Pay a visit to your local golf store and purchase a golf impact bag as well as a speed stick.
The speed stick will help you fire your hands and body in sync and provide you with the sensation of accelerating through impact.
Meanwhile, the impact bag will help you get to the position required at impact, with your hands forward and a slight shaft lean.
This will ensure that you haven’t wasted all of your energy and power before impact.
Tee your ball up higher
Firstly, I have to caveat this by saying this tip is purely about helping you gain extra yardage. It WILL NOT help with hitting straighter, more consistent drives.
So if you’ve reached a level whereby you’re a solid driver of the ball but lack distance, this tip is for you.
The key to longer drives nowadays is all about hitting the ball on the up with less spin.
The higher you can send the ball into the air, the more carry you will achieve with your driver.
Teeing your ball lower still has a place in the game. It’s useful when you need to hit a lower flighted fade to find a fairway or to suit the shape of a dog-leg.
However, when you need to send one, perhaps on par-5s or on short par-4s, tee it high and let it fly.
Ball position
This is a really simple adjustment to help you hit longer drives.
As with the above tip, modern-day equipment lends itself to hitting higher ball flights with less spin.
When you’re hitting your irons, you want your ball position to be in the back of your stance with the higher lofted clubs and in the middle for almost every other club aside from perhaps two and three-irons.
That’s because in order to strike your irons crisply, you need to hit down on the ball. However, the opposite is true with the driver.
If you move your ball position up to the inside of your lead heel, you will encourage a motion where you’re hitting up on your ball at impact.
So, to combine this tip with the previous one, tee it up high and move your ball position forward by a couple of inches in order to get the most out of the technology available to you.
You control your destiny when it comes to hitting longer drives
Fail to prepare and prepare to fail. The key to success is in the detail.
It’s impossible to be successful in any walk of life without working hard and giving yourself the best chance to succeed.
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The beauty of implementing the three tips listed above is that none of them require you to change your technique.
It is possible for amateur golfers of all levels to start hitting longer drives if they practice with real purpose.
And by making just a few small changes, consistently longer drives await patiently on the horizon.
Far too many amateurs try to create their power from the top of the swing by lashing down towards the ball with their hands and arms.
That isn’t necessary. You need to utilise your big muscles correctly to create speed.
The speed sticks and the impact bags will train you to do just that and then the adjustments with the height of tee and ball position will take your driving to another level entirely.
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