Proper Driver Impact Position – 5 Critical Elements to Check

HackMotion

Jul 31, 2024 . 7 mins read

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Impact position with the driver is different than it is with wedges or irons.

Simply put, impact with the driver is all about maximum distance, perfect ball flight, and plenty of roll. With iron shots, we want compression, accuracy, and spin.

Let’s take a look at the impact position with the driver and the key checkpoints you need to understand to hit your best drives.

Impact Position with Driver (Key Takeaways)

If you don’t have time to head to the range and work on your impact position with the driver right now, here are the most important points to take with you:

• The lead wrist should be flat and slightly ahead of the clubhead to get a consistent and powerful impact position with the driver.
• Keep the head behind the golf ball to improve power.
• The ball position should be off the lead heel to improve ball flight and hit the ball on the upswing.
• Letting the trail shoulder fall a little lower than the lead shoulder will increase the launch and total distance.
• Wearing the HackMotion while working on your impact position with the driver can help find any issues causing a loss in power or consistency.

5 Checkpoints for Driver Impact Position

There are five checkpoints for driver impact position. These include ball position, head and spine angle, hip and shoulder alignment, hand and shaft position, and weight distribution.

Here’s a look at how you should handle each of these.

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Ball Position

The correct ball placement with the driver is just inside the lead heel. If the ball position is too far back in the stance, there will be issues with both launch and ball flight.

The same can be said for the golf ball being too far forward in the stance.

This should help you find the proper position to let you hit up on the ball and increase your total distance.

Head and Spine Angle

When you contact the driver, your head should be behind the ball. Keeping the head behind the ball at impact and the spine tilted away from the target helps to promote an upward strike.

In addition, if you can stay in this position, you’ll have an easier time squaring the clubface and maximizing total distance.

The common tendency for golfers is to throw their upper body at the golf ball and lose that position of staying behind.

Hip and Shoulder Alignment

Once you have your ball position correct and the head and spine angle in place, it’s time to work on the hip and shoulder angle. Always ensure your setup is correct to begin with; it will help you get the hips and shoulders into the correct position more easily.

At impact, the hips will be open to the target line with the lead hip rotated towards the target. Most golf professionals are more than 30 degrees open to the target line. This open position helps generate power and improve the weight shift onto the lead side.

Allowing your hips to open can also help make sure you don’t slide or sway through impact.

As far as the shoulders are concerned, you may also notice them being slightly open. However, the shoulders won’t open as much as the hips. You’ll see them closer to 5 degrees or 10 degrees open.

With hips and shoulders open and rotated, you can take the club on a more shallow inside-out path, resulting in fewer slices and much straighter golf shots.

One last thing to be sure of with the shoulders is that the trail shoulder is just slightly lower than the lead shoulder to get that upward strike.

Hand/Wrist and Shaft Position

Without wearing the HackMotion on your wrist, it can be difficult to tell exactly what your hands are doing at impact.

At impact, the hands should be slightly ahead of the clubhead, making sure that the lead wrist is flat.

Even though we are not working on a descending blow with the driver, it’s still important that the hands are just slightly ahead of the clubhead.

For some golfers, this may feel more like a flat lead wrist than a bowed lead wrist, and that is completely acceptable.

When the lead wrist is flat, the clubface is prevented from opening. For golfers who struggle with a slice, this slight change in the position of the lead wrist can make all the difference in squaring the clubface.

Weight Distribution

Proper weight shift towards the lead foot is necessary for both power and control.

At setup, you’ll have about 55 % of your weight on your lead foot; when you get to the top of your backswing, you’ll have nearly 80% of the weight on the trail foot.

As you get to impact, you want to return that weight to the lead foot. You can do this with turning and still being able to stay behind the golf ball with your head and spine.

It’s a move that all professionals have, and it is the only way to guarantee consistency in the yardage and accuracy of your drives.

Drills to Improve Driver Impact Position

If you need a few ways to work on your impact position with your driver, you can do so through drills.

Golf drills help you improve your feel and consistency. In addition, they make it easier to practice things like feel and position.

The 5-5-5 Drill

The 5-5-5 drill from Top Speed Golf is a great way to help players struggling with power and consistency with the driver.

The drill goes through three key movements: staying behind the ball, shallowing the club and, swinging from the inside, and getting the right forearm under the left forearm.

In this video, you’ll also see how to work on the hammer drill to encourage a better release and more power.

Skip a Stone Drill

This drill from Tyler Ferrell can help ensure you get the body, arms and hands all working together at impact. For this drill all you need is your driver and a couple of golf balls.

Cross Handed Driver Drill

This is a unique drill in which you place your hands cross-handed on the driver shaft and take some practice swings.

Then, you can set alignment sticks to create a channel to swing through and get a combination of the proper path and turn for a better impact.

Conclusion

Impact is the part of the driver swing that matters. This is how you will improve your distance and accuracy in your golf game.

Focus on key things like ball position, head and spin angle, hip and shoulder alignment, and hand and wrist position.

Your goal at impact is to ensure your driver clubhead position is square, and that is done with the wrists. Wear your HackMotion as you practice to ensure you are always in the right position.