How To Swing A Driver In Golf – The Difference In A Driver vs Iron
One of the questions we get asked all the time when it comes to how to swing a driver, is what’s the difference? What do I need to do differently when I’m swinging a driver vs swinging an iron. It’s a super common question and the reality is….nothing! You don’t do ANYTHING different whatsoever. Now of course with the driver, it is a specialty club. So that means you do need to hit the ball higher on the face. If you hit an iron high on the face it wouldn’t go anywhere.
Obviously, that’s a difference, but it doesn’t change the way you SWING the club. It only changes the fact that with the driver you’re using a tee. The only other change you’ll ever make with a driver swing is moving the ball position up in your stance, slightly inside the target line and changing your alignment slightly. Outside of that, what do you need to do differently? Nothing! The whole key of learning how to swing the driver vs swinging in iron is learning how to swing them in a way that feels like to you, the exact same speed.
One of the things people don’t realize is the advantage that just having a long shaft provides for you. How much? It’s about 2 miles per hour of clubhead speed that you’re going to pick up for every 1/2 inch of shaft length. That’s why all of your clubs are typically varied by a half inch. As you go from pitching wedge down to the driver. Pull your 8 iron out of your bag and set it next to your driver. You’ll see there’s a huge difference just in shaft length. Probably close to a foot difference. For arguments sake, let’s say your driver is a foot longer than the 8 iron. That means without doing anything different, simply with the increase of the radius of the swing arc, you’re gaining 24 MPH over your 8 iron.
Now, for many of you, you’re reading this and thinking “now listen”. “I swing my 8 iron at 85 MPH and my driver at 90 MPH, what’s the disconnect”. Great question because that’s what really matters. The math and science of it is 100% legit, but for so many golfers in real world practice, it doesn’t work out like that. Their driver swings almost the same speed as their irons. Why? Simple, you’re trying to swing the driver too hard from the top of your swing! If you get up to the top and try to fire it down real hard because you think that’s how you have swing it in your head, it’s not going to work. You need to swing the driver the same way you’d swing your 8 iron. You’re making a much smoother swing with your 8 iron because you’re not trying to kill it.
How many times have you made a nice smooth swing with a iron and would up hitting it too far? The key is you learn to sequence the swing correctly and you let the swing unwind without you trying to force it from the top. Iron swing or driver swing, you need to try and feel the exact same body speed. That doesn’t mean with the driver you can’t try to rip it now and then when everything is clicking. By all means, if you’re feeling it and everything is clicking that day, have at it! But in a normal round when things aren’t clicking, you need to feel that both swings are the same. That’s the difference in how to swing a golf driver vs how to swing an iron!
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