Xander Schauffele on the changes he makes when he’s trying to rip driver for extra distance 

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It is easy to forget that Xander Schauffele went into the second major of 2024 with real question marks hanging over whether he was someone who did not have what it took to win the biggest events in the game.

Xander Schauffele has been one of the most impressive players on the PGA Tour for the large majority of his career. And he has certainly not had any issues putting himself into contention, having registered eight top five finishes in the majors.

Schauffele would indeed take that next step as he won both the PGA Championship and The Open Championship. With that, he can now be considered one of the most complete players, both in terms of quality and results.

And one of the areas Schauffele has vastly improved in is his game off the tee. Schauffele added a remarkable amount of clubhead speed in the last couple of years. While he is not amongst the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, he was only just outside the top 30 for driving distance in 2024.

Xander Schauffele shares what he does when he wants to rip the driver

And he appears to have found a level which leads to all kinds of success. It is definitely going to be intriguing to see how he builds on that in 2025.

Schauffele is therefore, probably one of the best players to take advice from. And speaking to Danny Maude, the world number two shared what he does when he really wants to step on it with the driver in hand.

“Much different setup. I would tee the ball much higher, moving the ball up in my stance, keeping the ball inside my left heel. You’re trying to hit up on it, so setup-wise, I try to hike this [left] shoulder up. Bryson’s another person you see, he’s sitting there like this. But for me, because the ball’s further up, I don’t really want to attack something that’s so far up in my plane with a really flat shoulder feel. So I’ll kind of cheat this up a little bit,” he said.

“I’m not sitting there with a reverse K because I move off the ball, so as soon as I do that, my tilts and lines, everything gets all over the place.

“When I’m trying to hit one hard, I try to seriously ramp up my nervous system. I’m sitting there, I’m not taking crazy deep breaths. I’m sitting there, trying to prepare myself to go.

“Because it’s further up, this shoulder, I think hiking it up too is a good way to get it on line. Now we’re way up, and I play for kind of a high pull almost. And I’m going to give a little [left] heel lift, that’s usually how I give myself a little extra arc.”

The consistency of Schauffele’s driving on the PGA Tour

Interestingly, the average distance Schauffele has hit off the tee has not changed a great deal. He averaged 306.8 yards off the tee during the 2017 season, while he was up to 308.5 in 2024.

He was 17th for strokes gained off the tee in 2017, while he was up to 10th last year. So it has always been a strength of his game. And clearly, he has the ability to go through the gears if he feels that it is needed.

Scottie Scheffler’s 2024 season certainly suggests that being a flawless iron player is so important in the current game. But Schauffele will be hoping that his quality in every facet of the game – including with the driver – gives him a real chance of closing the gap over the coming months.