Power Precision

Make Your Tee Shots Count

- Dustin Johnson

I made two adjustments to my game last year, and it turned out to be the best season I’ve had as a pro. Three wins; my first major; I led the tour in scoring and finished in the top 10 in 15 of 22 PGA Tour events. What did I change? It started with my driver. I now almost always play a fade. I’m still driving it plenty far. I averaged 313 yards off the tee last year – but I’m hitting more fairways, and my misses are way better. I don’t snap-hook them by accident anymore. That’s the first part of my new game plan. The second is that I don’t waste those great tee shots. I spent a ton of time dialling in my short-iron distances and now go into every tournament with three stock yardages for each club from 9-iron to lob wedge. The result is that I’m hitting my approaches a lot closer, and I led the tour in birdies. I’ll tell you about my technique on the following pages, and hopefully you can take my advice and use it to have your best year ever. WITH RON KASPRISKE

OFF THE TEE

The best thing about playing a fade is that it’s reliable. The second-best thing is you really don’t have to make major adjustments to hit the shot. Keep in mind, I don’t want the ball to curve a whole lot unless the hole calls for it. More important, the way I hit a fade is not with a glancing blow across the ball. It feels really solid coming off the club face.