Best Driver Swing Thoughts – Set Your Mind Free

Golf is not only a game of the body but also a game of the mind. Achieving the right mental balance while hitting a drive has been found to be beneficial to play better shots for amateurs and professionals alike.

Sports psychologists have been studying what goes on in the mind of a player while preparing and playing a shot and how this affects their game. Some say that it is best to think about the shot and be fully involved in the moment, whereas others think that it is better to let the mind go blank while playing a shot. Let’s look at several theories about golf swing thoughts.

What are Driver Swing Thoughts?

Driver swing thoughts are simply the thoughts that are running through your mind while focusing on swinging. They help you stay focused on positive things like hitting the fairway instead of something you don’t want to happen, like hooking your ball into the water hazard. Simple golf swing thoughts can also help keep you fully focused on properly swinging the club.

If players get too technical and keep switching between different thoughts, a noticeable hindrance is caused to their game. Driver swing thoughts help calm the mind in such cases. However, these thoughts are not the same for everyone and unfortunately, do not come with a guarantee that they will work.

It takes some time for each individual player to fine-tune the thoughts that work for them and understand how and when to use them during a game of golf. Different types of thoughts will work differently for each individual too. For some, it can be complex thoughts, and for others, easy golf swing thoughts help them best.

There is no right or wrong way as long as they work, but if you are unsure which to use, the following driver swing thoughts are a good place to start, so you can determine what works best for you.

Low and Slow

Low and slow is a technical driver swing thought that serves as a reminder of how to play a driver shot. Here ‘low’ refers to the fact that the swing with a driver is best played flatter than one with a wedge. This is because drivers are long and require you to stand more upright while taking the shot. This is different from wedge shots where you play the shot at a low height, and usually with knees slightly bent and a narrower stance.

The ‘slow’ is meant to remind you that your arms move slower than the clubhead which is at a distance from your body. As the clubhead travels further during the swing than the handle of the club, it achieves a higher velocity in the process. Due to this, a slow movement of the handle is enough to hit a hard drive shot.

Thus, you shouldn’t rush the swing and as such can more readily control the shot. Both parts of this thought refer to the physics of a driver swing and directly address how this shot should be played.

Swing a Bucket of Water

This is another thought that is less technical in nature. Thinking of the club as a bucket of water takes the pressure from your mind as the subconscious thinks of this action as a simpler one.

On the other hand, it also acts as a swing trigger, guiding you into the more complex action of swinging a golf club by starting from the simpler action of swinging a bucket of water. It makes sense to use such a trigger while using a driver because the intensity and importance of the shot can make you anxious.

This is especially true on the first tee and it is your opening shot. Instead of overthinking, tensing up and making a horrendous drive,  adopt the thought of swinging a bucket of water and think about doing that instead of swinging a club. This can be used on either the backswing or the downswing.

So, your swing thought on the backswing is that you are taking the bucket of water behind you, and swing thoughts for downswing are that you are bringing the bucket of water back past you and forward to empty out the water from it.

Look at the Back Half of the Ball

The impact point for any golf shot is always in the back half of the ball, and drive shots are no exception to this rule. This golf swing thought compels you to think about the ball as two halves and lets you move your focus to the half facing toward you. When you think about the back half of the ball, you are spending the energy of your mind into looking and thinking only about one particular thing. This helps you become focused and aware of the shot you are about to perform.

During any golf round, you have the final hole as the target in your mind for the bigger picture, but with this driver swing thought, you will be focusing on the immediate target which is the back half of the ball. As you have this one part of the ball in mind, it is easier to keep your attention on it and stay committed to hitting it cleanly and accurately throughout the swing.

Try Not to Kill It

This thought is again simple in nature and prevents your mind from getting into a complicated thought process while playing your opening drives. It reminds you that your club is designed especially for driver shots and it’s best to let it do its work instead of putting in too much extra effort.

Woods are the longest clubs out of all, and they have the greatest clubface speed at the time of impact. This is a reason enough for you to not apply too much force and swing the club at a regular speed.

Focusing on a good swing rhythm will impart positive acceleration into the ball. The thought literally sets out to tell you not to destroy the ball but instead assist it in traveling a long distance, in a straight line. It also protects you from the plethora of errors you can make if you try and rush your swing. If applied correctly, this thought will help you get effortless long-distance shots with your driver.