Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back to our February 1979 issue when Seve Ballesteros revealed four keys for hitting long drives.
As the Open Championship is set to be played this week at Royal Portrush, it’s impossible not to think about Seve Ballesteros, who was Champion Golfer of the Year three times during his illustrious career.
Ballesteros is best known for his short-game wizardry and Ryder Cup prowess — but that’s not all that made him a legend of the game. Thanks in part to his elite driving ability, Ballesteros was able to win 50 times on the Euro Tour, including five major titles.
As the game’s best get set to compete this week for the Claret Jug, we are turning the pages of GOLF Magazine back to 1979. In February of that year, Ballesteros shared his four keys for pounding longer drives off the tee. Apply them to your own game, and you’ll soon be mashing driver yourself.
When Jack Nicklaus was 21 years old, he had won two U.S. Amateur titles and several other amateur events. At the same age, Severiano Ballesteros has earned over a quarter of a million dollars by playing in professional golf tournaments in Spain, Holland, France, the Philippines, the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Kenya and Scandinavia.
Since 1976, he has won eight national open championships, two World Cup team titles, seven European tour events and three European Orders of Merit, the equivalent of the American Player of the Year. Moreover, during a short visit to the United States in 1978, his victory in the Greater Greensboro Open proved he could win on the highly competitive PGA Tour. Clearly, at a remarkably young age, Ballesteros has succeeded, and his victories, like Nicklaus’, are largely due to his ability to wallop a golf ball.
Without a doubt, Ballesteros’ raw power has much to do with his knack for humbling golf courses. When other golfers lay up short of trouble, Ballesteros goes over it. When others hit wedges onto par-5s in three, Ballesteros slams a 4-iron home in two. When others hit 2-irons off the tee to avoid the rough, Ballesteros “busts” his driver, knowing he can slash the ball out of the deepest grass.
Below, Ballesteros offers an exclusive analysis of his keys to power.
I try to line up with everything square to the target line-feet, hips and shoulders. My weight is distributed about 50-50 between my left and right feet. Because I want to hit the ball high to carry it a long way, I play the ball up in my stance, off my left in-step, and I set up with my head well behind the ball. This also puts me in a position to take the club back naturally with my right hand. I use the Vardon overlapping grip. It’s just strong enough for me to see two knuckles of my left hand at address. Most important, at address, I grip the club lightly. Too tightly, my muscles would get too tense and my clubhead speed would be too slow. It’s like boxing. When a boxer’s arm muscles are tense, he can hit hard, but his punch is slow. I relax because clubhead speed is what hits the ball a long way.
I use about 70 percent right hand to 30 percent left hand on the backswing because I am right-handed, as are most people. It’s natural and easy for me to swing back with my right hand. I think left-side dominance in the golf swing has been badly overemphasized. For example, notice how my hips stay secure, without turning too early in the backswing. This is largely the result of my right-handed takeaway. If I used my left hand too much on the backswing, my hips would tend to turn too early, and I would lose the coil of my upper body against the resistance of my legs. My left knee is pulled in toward the ball, and my right leg acts as a brace. It doesn’t move to the right on the backswing. Notice also that by swinging back with the right hand, I can achieve a long extension and keep my head steady.
Seve Ballesteros’ easy tips for more control with your driver
A secret to my power is my huge shoulder turn. I get this by continuing to pull the club back and up with my right hand and arm on the backswing. At the top of my swing, in addition to turning my shoulders about 120 degrees, my left knee is broken in behind the ball, and my right leg braces my backswing. This sets me up for a powerful movement with my legs through the ball on my downswing. But it must always be a controlled downswing. Although I have swung back very far and will swing very hard into the ball, I stay in control of the club. My right leg brace helps me do this, as well as a firm wrist position at the top. Even though I have a big shoulder turn, the club shaft is not far beyond parallel, because the club rests on my left thumb, which is directly underneath the grip, supporting the club. If I didn’t have this support, I’d lose power and accuracy.
The first thing I do on the downswing is move my knees toward the target. My coiled backswing sets me up for this. From my top-of-the-swing position, it’s easy for me to use my legs on the downswing and avoid hitting from the top. My swing to this point has set me up for a very late release, which is the essence of power. And, although my knees are driving, my hips are starting to turn to the left at the same time, keeping the club on the correct path and generating more power. It’s important for me to keep my head behind the ball, too. If I didn’t, I’d lose distance and accuracy, especially with my legs driving as they do. The main elements here are moving the legs left and staying behind the ball with the head. If I used my left hand too much, I couldn’t stay behind the ball very well. But by using my right hand, I can use my legs and stay behind the ball.
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