The tee is where each and every golf hole begins. If you have difficulty driving the ball, then you're starting every single hole at a disadvantage. You might save a bunch of pars with great chipping and putting, but you could well be going for birdies if your driving was up to scratch.

For the majority of golfers, being consistent with the driver and hitting long golf drives are far from being impossible. Being consistent off the tee is a lot easier than most golfers understand.

With the modern multi-layer golf ball and Titanium driver, long drives come from hitting the ball on a high launch angle and getting the best angle of descent. It's not about wormburners anymore. Long drives come from high towering trajectories, with most of the distance being carry.

With their high swing speeds and consistent ball strike, pros can still get height on the ball, even with low lofts on their drivers. For most club players though, playing a higher lofted driver will boost accuracy and carry. The majority of club golfers would get better results from drivers with 11 - 14 degrees of loft.

Fitting the proper shaft is vital when it comes to being long off the tee. The shaft has a vital part to play in all your clubs but the effects of playing the wrong shaft in your driver are magnified.

The majority of golfers fit graphite shafts to their drivers. Unfortunately, many golfers are playing driver shafts that are too stiff for them. That might be where the most common fault in golf, the sclice, comes from. Play a shaft that is excessively stiff and you'll most likely slice the ball.

In part, that has to do with the widely held mistaken belief that graphite shafts are too whippy, too soft. That might have been true 10 years ago, but new graphite shaft construction has given us exceptional models with excellent flex profiles.

On the whole, golfers would improve their driving by playing lighter driver shafts with softer flexes and medium torque profiles. Lighter shafts develop your swing speed and a medium torque shaft will load better in your back-swing, delivering your driver into the ball with higher energy. More yards come from more energy.

Launch angles are also affected by the rigidity of the shaft tip. Your launch angles will suffer if you use a shaft which is overly tip-stiff. The launch angle is where a long golf drive comes from. Bear in mind, we're not after worm burners anymore.

To hit long golf drives you have to select a driver / shaft combination to go with your swing. You want your driver to help your game, not amplify any swing faults.