It’s official: Xander Schauffele is your Champion Golfer of the Year, shooting a bogey-free 65 during the final round of the Open Championship from Royal Troon to capture his second major title (both coming this season).

In previous years, the Monday after a major would often lead to criticism about Schauffele’s inability to get over the hump, with the 30-year-old answering questions about what he didn’t do right rather than what he did to win the tournament.

But 2024 is different.

While everyone talks about Scottie Scheffler’s dominance (and rightfully so), it’s Schauffele who has two majors on his resume this season, proving to be the most consistent player during the biggest moments.

There are plenty of reasons why Schauffele is a two-time major champ, but one obvious one is his driving stats.

This year, he currently ranks 12th in strokes gained: off the tee, 11th in total driving, 38th in driving distance at 305.7, and sits 71st in driving accuracy. In those same categories last year, he was 47th, 101st, 68th, and 131st, respectively.

Could an improved driver really be the secret to his magical season? Possibly, and one key could be a simple step drill that helps generate more power off the tee — which you can check out below to try for yourself.

Try Xander Schauffele’s driver drill

In the video above (courtesy of DP World Tour’s YouTube channel), Schauffele walks through an easy driver drill that can help every golfer generate more swing speed. Naturally, more speed leads to more power and farther drives — which everyone enjoys.

“The easiest way for me to gain a few yards is this little step out drill,” he says.

To execute the drill, simply stand one step behind the teed up ball. Next, at the same time as starting your backswing, take one step forward and swing through impact — which is the feeling of a baseball swing meeting the Happy Gilmore swing.

Schauffele demonstrates how the drill works in the video, showing how transferring his weight more towards the lead side as he steps up to the ball gives him added power.

“Even doing this right now, I can sort of feel a lot of load in my right side. Once I step, I can feel a lot of weight transfer from right to left [back to front for a right-handed player], sort of drastically,” he adds. “This helps the clubhead speed.”

Since that’s not a natural golf swing, Schauffele understands how it could feel a bit funky for most players. If that’s the case, he then offers up a simple alternative to experience the same feeling and increased power — simply lifting the back heel.

“If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can do a left heel lift [in your backswing] — and you can sort of feel the same motion,” Schauffele says. “You lift the heel, you load onto the right side, and you press hard down on the left. You’ll sort of feel this chain reaction through your body of one to release the club.”

By using your momentum and some ground force, you’ll slowly begin to see longer drives.

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$449.99

Ti 340 Mini Driver delivers driver-like action, with the launch of a fairway wood. The titanium construction and Ai smart face provide exceptional ball speeds with tight dispersion. The Mini Driver will give players a higher ball flight and softer landing off the tee resulting in improved distance consistency on challenging tee boxes requiring precision.
World’s First Ai Smart Face Designed Using Real Player Data
The all-new Ai Smart Face optimizes driver performance using swing dynamics from thousands of real golfers. These swing dynamics, or Swing Code, consist of swing speed, club delivery, and face orientation just prior to impact. This promotes optimal launch conditions and tight downrange dispersion, optimized precisely for the Mini Driver.
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With Ai Smart Face technology, micro deflections are activated upon impact helping to optimize launch and spin on off-center shots. The result is sweet spots not just in the center, but all over the face.
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Utilizing a front / back weight screw design, players can further dial in their optimal launch and spin numbers. A 4g front weight and 12g rear weight can be flipped to lower spin and encourage a more piercing ball flight.

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor