Golf Driver

What is a driver in golf?

The driver is the club designed for distance. It's also called wood 1, because it’s the first in the family of woods—those clubs with large, rounded heads that are numbered according to their loft. It’s the club you pull out on the tee box of long holes, when the goal is to hit the ball as far as possible down the fairway.

You can spot it at a glance: it has the largest head on the bag, the longest handle, and a very shallow angle.

What are the characteristics of a driver?

A big head, but with a ceiling

The R&A and USGA Equipment Rules limit the volume of the clubhead to 460 cm³ (with a small measurement tolerance). Most modern drivers are close to this maximum: a larger head provides a wider hitting surface and is more forgiving of off-center hits.

A small loft

The loft is the angle of the clubface relative to the vertical. The angle of a driver is generally around 8 to 12°, depending on the model and the player. It has the lowest loft of all long-game clubs (only the putter, which rolls the ball, has a lower loft). Many newer drivers have an adjustment feature that allows you to slightly change this loft.

A long handle

The maximum allowed length for a club, excluding the putter, is 48 inches (about 122 cm). Drivers sold in stores are significantly shorter, often around 45 inches. A typical local rule also allows organizers of high-level competitions to limit the driver to 46 inches. The longer the shaft, the faster the clubhead travels, but the more difficult it becomes to center the weight.

When should you use the driver?

• Teeing off on the par-4 and par-5 holes: That is its main use. The ball is placed on a tee, which allows you to hit it on the upswing.
• Rarely at the start of a par-3 hole: Except on a very long par-3 hole, a shorter club is sufficient and easier to control.
• Very rarely from the fairway: Some experienced players do this with a ball placed perfectly, but without a tee, the shot becomes much more challenging.

You don't have to use a driver. On a narrow hole or one lined with out-of-bounds areas, hitting a 3-wood, a hybrid, or an iron off the tee often results in a better score, even if it means playing a longer shot afterward.

How do you hit a driver well?

At the address

• Advanced Ball in the stance, level with the inside of the front heel.
• Tee that's fairly high-cut: A common guideline is to let about half of the ball protrude above the top of the clubface.
• Wide stance, at least shoulder-width apart, to maintain balance during a full swing.
• Front shoulder slightly higher than the back shoulder, which naturally tilts the upper body behind the ball.

The gesture

With an iron, you hit the ball as you swing down. With a driver, the ball is on a tee, and you try to hit it instead. slightly uphill, or at least horizontally. It's not about hitting harder: a full swing, a steady rhythm, and a contact in the center of the face create more distance than a forced gesture.

The Most Common Mistakes with the Driver

• The slice: The ball travels to the right (for a right-handed golfer) and curves away from the golfer in the air. The driver's low loft accentuates the side spin compared to irons.
• The ball is too far back: It's hit on the downswing and starts low, with too much spin.
• Trying to hit too hard: The rhythm becomes irregular, and the center is lost.
• A tee that's too low: It prevents you from hitting the ball on the rise.