Learn the driver tee shot: tee height, ball position, wide stance, upward strike and tempo. With rules knowledge, warm-up and typical mistakes.
The driver tee shot is the only shot you play from a tee and hit slightly upward: the ball sits forward in the stance, the stance is wide, and you let the club run through the ball in an arc instead of hitting at it. With contact quality and tempo you gain more than with power.
The driver is the longest club, so it forgives the least. Two research findings help you: first, the club's loft determines which trajectory yields the greatest distance, and that loft depends on clubhead speed [1]. In practice, slower swingers therefore play more loft. Second, a clean, central strike gains you more than high speed: variability of the impact point on the face significantly shapes the scatter of launch angle and distance [3].
And the honest answer to "How far do I hit it?": that depends on your speed, not on wanting. Swinging with force makes contact worse. That is why you learn the tee shot at about 80 percent tempo (coaching experience).
The driver is not a hammer, it is the end of a whip. Length comes from rhythm.
Push the tee so that about half the ball sits above the top edge of the clubhead (practice). Too low and you hit down, too high and you hit the top edge. Under the rules the tee must be placed in or on the ground [4].
The ball is about level with the inside of your front foot (practice). Even small shifts change posture, angle of attack and clubhead speed [2]. Choose a ball position and keep it.
Stand about shoulder-width to slightly wider. Let the shoulder line tilt slightly back so that the trail arm hangs lower. This makes it easier to hit the ball upward.
In the backswing a larger part of the ground force rests on the back foot, in the downswing it moves forward [6]. Swing at about 80 percent of your possible speed.
Milestone: of 10 balls, at least 7 fly straight enough to stay on the fairway with only a little curve (practice target).
Before the shot, choose a side of the tee box: if the fairway has danger on the right, tee up on the left, and vice versa (practice). Behind the ball you pick a line, make a practice swing at the intended tempo and then step in. The same routine every time calms the head.
Swing through to a balanced finish with the chest facing the target. If you cannot stand, the swing was too wild.
Warm up dynamically rather than stretching for long: a 20-minute static stretching routine before the driver lowered clubhead speed by almost 5 percent in young competitive golfers and clearly worsened consistent ball contact [5]. The driver flies far: before every tee shot check that the group ahead is out of range and shout "Fore!" if the ball heads toward people. The ball is not in play until you strike it; if it falls off the tee you may re-tee it without penalty [4]. Does not replace supervised training.
If your ball regularly flies too high or too flat, try ball position first. Then tee height. Only then the club. A fitting with a pro makes sense because loft and speed interact [1]. But sensible changes are small: one centimeter of ball position, half a centimeter of tee height. Test every change with ten balls.
Ball forward in the stance, tee height so that half the ball is above the top of the clubhead, a wide stance and about 80 percent tempo. You hit the ball slightly upward. The central strike matters.
About so that half the ball sits above the top edge of the clubhead (practice). Under Rule 6.2b the tee must be in or on the ground [4].
In practice, slower swingers play more loft; how much depends on speed [1]. Beginners often play 10.5 to 12 degrees (practice). A fitting with a pro clarifies the fine tuning.
Yes: if the ball falls off the tee before the stroke you may re-tee it without penalty anywhere in the teeing area. If you hit it while it is falling, the stroke counts [4].
A slice arises when the clubface is open relative to the swing path. Check grip and alignment first, then the sequence in the downswing. The basics of curvature are in the fade and draw guides.
The Golf Downswing: Sequence, Weight Shift and Lag Explained