A common problem for amateur golfers is swinging a driver like it’s an iron. When you do that, your angle of attack is too steep and moving in the wrong direction (downward, not upward), and you can’t take advantage of all the technology built into these forgiving clubs. 

To better understand how you should swing a driver, imagine you’re hitting it out of a fairway bunker. Sound a little crazy? Perhaps, but hear me out: when you make a fairway-bunker swing, you want to contact as little sand as possible and clip the ball out, which is not all that different than your swing path with a driver. You want to come into the ball on a shallow angle of attack and, hopefully, clip the ball slightly on the upswing [above].  

When you address a teed ball with your driver, use this visual to not only help you shallow your swing and sweep the ball off the tee, but also to get in a better setup with your trail shoulder. It should be oriented lower than your lead shoulder. Now you’re ready to launch your driver and get the most distance you can.

Molly Braid is Golf Digest’s No. 1-ranked instructor in Wisconsin. She teaches at Westmoor Country Club in Brookfield.