Unlocking Distance: 8 Keys to Hitting Longer Drives for Ladies

The biggest issue women golfers deal with on the golf course is lack of distance.

This issue with distance comes down to science; most women golfers are not physically capable of hitting their drives as far as men.

That’s why we get the ladies’ tees.

In the past, I’ve had to work quite hard on developing more distance in my game, and I’ll never forget the things that got me those ten or even fifteen extra yards off the tee box.

I have 8 key tips to hitting longer drives for ladies that will work whether you are a 10 handicap or a 30 handicap.

How to Hit Longer Drives for Ladies (Key Takeaways)

If you need a quick answer on how to hit longer drives for ladies, here are the top things to focus on:

• Increasing physical strength will increase the total distance.
• You have to go after the ball (try to hit it far).
• Hitting your drives with a square clubface will significantly increase the total distance.
• Playing with the right equipment absolutely makes a difference.

Stick with us as we clear up some myths about ladies’ driving distance and give you some actionable tips that will take your game to the next level.

8 Essential Tips for Ladies to Hit Longer Drives

Know What a Good Drive Is

Do you know how long a woman golfer should hit a drive?

Sometimes you may think you have a distance problem when in reality, you are getting the right amount of distance for your swing.

Distance can come down to a math formula, greatly impacted by your swing speed.

Slower swing speed women golfers may drive the golf ball 125 yards, while faster swing speed women golfers can get over 200 yards.

The average swing speed woman golfer hits a driver about 150 yards.

Starting this process of hitting longer drives with a bit of knowledge about how far a good drive is will only help you be more successful.

If you are under 150 yards and want to get there, focus on improving your total distance by about five or ten yards at a time.

Go After the Ball

One of the best golf swing tips for ladies is to make sure you go after the ball. In other words, swing at it!

So many women golfers have extra swing speed and distance in them, they simply slow down as they go through impact, and this creates issues in their game.

The idea of hitting the golf ball hard sometimes scares lady golfers.

You think you will look too aggressive, fall over, miss the ball, etc.

Once you get used to this concept, these fears will subside.

Swinging faster and going after the ball does not require you to make extra movements; it doesn’t require you to lose balance or move your head around.

We simply mean to try and hit the ball a little harder.

When you are hitting off the tee box, and the ball is on a tee, it’s much easier to be aggressive.

Square the Clubhead at Impact

I was playing golf with my husband recently, and he noticed that his drives were not traveling quite as far. His swing speed was the same, his swing plane was the same, and even his balance was the same.

Where was the difference?

The angle of the clubface.

His clubface was just slightly open at impact. Not enough to hit the ball in the woods or a water hazard, just enough to lose some distance and make golf frustrating.

A driver is meant to be square when it strikes the ball. If your’s is slightly open or closed, it will not have the same ability to produce distance. Getting your wrists into the right position is the best way to square the clubface at impact.

HackMotion is a golf swing trainer that you can wear on your wrist as you practice golf. The HackMotion gives you information about the angle of your lead wrist at setup, the top of the backswing, and then again at impact.

There is no perfect wrist angle for a lady golfer. Instead, after analyzing more than 1,000,000 golf swings, we know that there are certain patterns that all golfers benefit from.

The most important of those angles is to move to a flat or even slightly flexed lead wrist position as your clubhead approaches the golf ball. This movement makes it easier to hit a straight shot.

Stretch and Warm Up

I used to be incredibly lazy about stretching and warming up before a round of golf.

Only in the last few years did I realize what a mistake this was.

I was missing out on anywhere from ten to twenty yards of distance by not warming up and stretching before the start of my round of golf.

Now I use a weighted club or do a yoga video before a round, and I get my full distance right from the first tee box.

Of course, you can compensate for this lost distance by hitting an extra iron or hybrid into the hole, but there is no point.

Instead, take this into your own hands, stretch, and warm up before each round.

The great thing about this process is that it only has to take five minutes or so, especially if you are not currently stretching at all.

Your body will be glad you are doing something to help it!

Do Some Equipment Testing

I’m not going to try and convince you that a new golf driver that costs $600 is your secret to hitting longer drives, but it could be.

New equipment has impressive technology that allows for a faster speed off the face and can help mask some common golf swing mistakes that ladies make.

Every two to three years, it makes sense to test equipment to make sure that the clubs you are playing are a fit for your golf game.

Equipment testing can also include changing out the shaft in your driver.

Believe it or not, if your golf shaft is too lightweight, it could cost you distance. Sometimes a little extra momentum and mass will equal more yardage.

Finally, one of my biggest pet peeves in the world of golf is 15 degree drivers for women.

The 15 degree driver is a great choice for a low swing speed player, a beginner, or those with a shallow angle of attack.

However, it’s not the club for everyone.

Just because a golf driver is said to be for ladies does not mean the loft is going to be the right fit for your game.

Equipment testing focuses on everything from the shaft to loft, to kick point to the lie angle, and these all make a difference in the total distance you can hit your golf drives.

Work Out to Improve Your Golf Muscles

Some golfers love to work out, while others dread it.

If you want to get more distance from your drives, you have to learn to love to work out.

Personally, I have found that lightweight lifting, resistance exercises, and core training have led to the greatest increase in distance.

When you work out and improve your golf muscles, the club feels lighter in your hands and will travel considerably faster through the air.

If I skip the gym for a few weeks, the difference in my golf distances, especially off the tee, is noticeable.

One word of caution, some exercises are not great for your golf game.

I recommend starting slow, consulting with a trainer, and keeping things simple in the beginning. You can take on more difficult exercises as you improve your strength.

So many muscles are used in the golf swing. Even increasing the strength of your wrists can help you get them into the proper position throughout the swing.

Improved wrist position will lead to increased total distance.

This video has a few great options to get started on improving the muscles that are going to matter the most.

The Ground is Your Friend

The world of golf is only now starting to fully understand the importance of ground forces and how that will impact your distance off the tee.

Lady golfers either do a good job of utilizing the ground, or they don’t take advantage of it.

Have you noticed that new releases for golf shoes are getting lower and taking advantage of your natural connection with the turf beneath your feet?

This goes beyond simply finding a pair of shoes that won’t slip and instead focus on using the ground as a way to push off and gain power.

When you can stay connected to the ground, it gives you a more stable base. The more stable base will, without a doubt, increase your power.

As you are swinging down and through the golf ball, feel as though you are using the ground to push off.

I like to think about it the same way you think about pushing off the wall when you swim in a pool.

That extra momentum you get from the push can be applied to a golf swing in almost the same exact way.

Focus On the Right Things

It’s easy to get too many swing thoughts in your head.

Most players have anywhere from 3 to 7 things they are thinking about at any given time.

Having one to two is a much more reasonable and attainable goal.

You must focus on the right things, like where to look when hitting the golf ball, what your first move away from the ball will be, and a general positive idea of where the golf ball is going to go.

The first idea is to focus on the back of the golf ball.

Some amateur players have no idea where to look, and it causes some inconsistency in the movements in your game.

Next, try to think about the takeaway and bring the club back on the proper line.

Once you have the club back, keep one positive swing thought about where the ball is going to end up.

I like to think long and straight and I even visualize this type of shot.

Interestingly, I’ve experimented with visualizing poor shots like hooks and slices, and you would be amazed at what the power of visualization can do in a golf swing.

Using HackMotion to Increase Driver Distance for Ladies

Now that you have all the best tips for increasing driver distance, here is a way you can get out on the range and start practicing these movements and skills.

HackMotion is one of the simplest tools to use to gain distance, not just with the driver but with the irons as well.

Collect Data

The first part of this process includes collecting data about your golf swing. Wear the HackMotion on the driving range while you hit about 15 drives.

Take a look at your data and see if your clubface is overly extended or flexed at any time in your golf swing.

Did you notice that your longer drives had wrist patterns that were more in line with what they should be?

Once you find the flaws (HackMotion data will be highlighted in red when it’s an issue), you can then move on to fixing the problem in real-time.

Use Audio Feedback

Audio feedback is one of the best features of HackMotion because it allows you to feel the issue in your golf game as it is actually happening.

Set the range for the audio feedback, take more swings, and let the HackMotion alert you when you are extending the lead wrist too much or adding extension as you are swinging the driver back.

Test and Monitor Progress

After working with HackMotion to increase your total distance, make sure you are continually monitoring the progress. Check back in to see how your data looks today compared to what it looked like a few weeks ago.

Are you noticing the correlation between the wrist angle and the distance that your shots are traveling? Make sure to continually practice with the HackMotion to avoid slipping back into any bad habits.

FAQs

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about hitting longer drives for women.

How can a woman hit a driver longer?

Women can hit longer drives by improving their wrist angles and squaring the clubface, working on getting extra speed through exercise, and maintaining balance throughout the drive.

How do LPGA ladies hit so far?

LPGA lady golfers have golf swings that are very efficient. They also work on core strength to rotate their body faster and hit shots further.

What is the average drive for a female golfer?

The average drive for female golfers is around 160 yards. Faster swing speed players hit more than 200 yards regularly. Professionals hit their drives more than 250 yards.

Is 150 yards a good drive for a woman?

A 150-yard drive is good for an average to slightly below average swing speed woman golfer. To gain extra distance, make sure you are hitting the golf ball with a square clubface and rotating your body through impact.

Article Summary

Hopefully, these top 8 keys to hitting longer drives are some of the best golf driving tips you have received.

The same information of keeping your head down and left arm straight is outdated and overrated. These tips actually work and have helped thousands of women, myself included, to hit longer drives.