Although every amateur player dreams of bombing driver 300 yards on the fly, the ability to keep the ball in play under pressure may be more important.
Just because you’re on the tee box of a long par-4 doesn’t necessarily mean that a high, soaring driver is always the right play. In fact, depending on the weather, hole layout, and course conditions (think a tee shot into the wind with firm fairways) it might be smartest to use a stinger shot — which keeps the ball low and produces lots of rollout upon landing.
There’s just one glaring problem: Most amateurs haven’t got a clue on how to properly hit a stinger.
Fear not, though, because Scottie Scheffler recently filmed a video for TaylorMade’s YouTube channel where he walks through his steps for hitting the perfect stinger with his driver. Follow along below, and in just 90 seconds, you, too, can learn how to hit this masterful tee shot.
Scottie Scheffler shows how to hit a stinger
The first thing Scheffler discusses is his tee height, reminding viewers to keep the ball low.
“The real important thing about teeing it up is to tee it up slightly lower,” he says.
As for setup?
“First thing I do is choke up on it a little bit, that way I can get really close to the ball. When you try to hit it really low, the thing I struggle with is fighting a hook. As I stand closer to the ball, it’s actually harder for me to get the ball from right to left.”
In addition to standing closer and choking up, Scheffler moves the ball position back and opens up his stance.
“First thing is, choke down a little bit. Then I move the ball back in my stance to get that low flight,” he says. “When you move the ball back in your stance, you catch it earlier on the arc; which can also cause the ball to hook. But for the sake of getting the right height, I put it back in my stance and then open up the stance.”
How does that compare to a typical stock swing with driver?
“Little closer to the ball, ball a little bit further back, and then I’m going to feel like I’m hitting it low,” he says. “The way I do that is to keep the arms low as I go through the ball. When I’m hitting a normal driver, I feel like I’m swinging up on it.
“[With my stinger shot] I almost feel like I’m swinging through it, and the arms are staying a little bit lower.”
The 2022 Masters champ then smokes his stinger a whopping 308 yards down the middle of the fairway. While it’ll be difficult to replicate that type of result, at least you’ve now got the formula to hit an alternative tee shot that can come in handy when you need it most.
