Darrell Klassen PGA teaching professional with over 30 years of golf experience!

I've been teaching golf for over 35 years and have taught almost all of my students, (young and old), how to add serious yardage to their drives… in most cases, 40, 50, even 60 yards! Today, I'd like to give you a couple of distance tips that will help you drive the ball longer and straighter!

One of the most common mistakes I see is golfers' trying to get more power by using their arms and shoulders. While this sure FEELS more powerful, the results speak for themselves - less club head speed and less distance, hooking and slicing. The number-one way to gain club head speed (and thus longer drives) is to learn how to properly "release" the club naturally.

When I say "release" I'm referring to the clubface turning to a slightly closed position while it's accelerating through the ball. You can achieve this by simply maintaining absolutely NO tension in the arms and wrists. Because if you have any tension in your left arm and wrist, you will slice the ball every time. If you try to compensate by muscling your right hand over the top, you'll snap hook the ball. (Any of this sounding familiar?)

But if, on your downswing, you simply stay relaxed and let the club fall from the top as you turn your body, the clubface will naturally square-up without forcing anything. This will result in golf shots that travel straight as an arrow. By simply not slicing or hooking the ball, you've just added some major distance to your drives… not to mention the strokes you'll save by staying out of the trees.

Another distance tip is to generate power from the "coil" in your right leg and hip. As you rotate your shoulders to accomplish your backswing, you should NOT be rotating your hips back. Instead, allow yourself to feel as if your right leg were a spring being wound. You'll feel it in your right hip and the inside of your right foot. Allow gravity to drop your hands toward your right hip and then release that wound coil in your right leg and hip. Do not pull the club across your body with your arms, but instead keep your club off your right hip as you uncoil your spring. If you're allowing the club to accelerate through the ball with no interference or manipulation from your arms or wrists, the clubface will square up naturally and you'll be crushing drives straighter and further than you ever dreamed possible. I can guarantee that when you start hitting 250-300 yards down the middle of the fairway every time off the tee, your golfing friends will be taking you a bit more seriously. This isn't hard. As my motto goes, "golf is an easy game". Good luck!