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For some golfers, every driver is hit at full throttle. However, if you’re Thriston Lawrence, there’s an extra gear that you can call upon when the chance is there.
The South African is a new recruit to the PGA Tour and when bunkered caught up with the big hitter, he took us through some keys to get the most out of your driver.
He’s keen to stress that on tight holes, keeping control of the big stick is crucial, but when the fairway opens up he’s not afraid to give it everything.
So, when Lawrence is faced with a wide-open fairway on a par-5, what does he do differently? Here’s some of his keys.
Stand Tall
While widening your stance is all well and good, Lawrence explains that something else in his stance is key.
“Standing taller to the ball is something that is important for me,” he explained.
“I want to work down into the ball, so I need to create space before starting my swing.”
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When you widen your stance, it’s easy to get lower and more squat into the address. However, if you overdo that, it can be hard to move effectively through impact and you might actually lose power. That brings us onto Thirston’s second point.
Use the Ground
Power in the golf swing comes from the ground up. For Lawrence, being able to use the ground and his legs effectively is key to getting the most from his driver.
“If you look at the longest hitters on tour, they start tall, then move down towards the ball, before jumping up at impact,” Lawrence explains.
“When my father coached me, that’s one thing we always worked on. I was a small kid, so getting extra power from the ground helped me to gain distance. I feel like using your legs and firing your hips through the golf ball is going to give you maximum speed.”

Adjust the ball position
This might be different to what you’re used to hearing, but Lawrence likes to move the ball back in his stance when he wants to get extra yards out of his drives. He explains that when he wants to get the most out of his driver, he tries to hit a high draw. To get that shape, moving the ball back in the stance is the way to go.
“If I’m trying to hit a high draw, I’ll put the ball slightly back in my stance.
“Still fairly far forward, but slightly further back for me. No matter what club I’m hitting, I always have the ball pretty far up.”
• This feature first appeared in issue 217 of bunkered. For more like this, take out a subscription. International subscriptions also available.
Thriston Lawrence is a Peter Millar ambassador. For more information, head to petermillar.co.uk.
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