Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

[powerhungry]

Hi Everyone,

I think this is one for the pro's. I am 23, 5'11" and around 180lbs.
At the moment I am able to hit my 17.5 degree 3 wood around 200 to
220yds. Funny enough I hit my 10.5 degree Ti driver about 210 to 230. i.e. not much further. I have always been facinated with reaching 300yds. A real dream I know. I was wondering if there are any major tips. My impacts are quite good and I hit fairly straight. Is it then just a question of increasing my clubhead speed and will I have to consider using a less lofted driver to get near 300? I ask this question because when I hear of Mike Austin being able to crack a ball 515yds at age 62 I wonder if my grasp of reality is being tested, lol.

Thanks in advance

-PowerHungry

[GreeBoman]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Its all about timing unless you are willing to just lash at it, in which case you will lose accuracy.
Try throwing a baseball as hard as you can, but without moving your feet, now try throwing it using a normal action (stepping into it), much further huh?!
The weight transfer in golf is exactly the same principal.
Conservation of momentum, a large mass moving at a slow speed will cause a low mass to move at high speed after impact.

[powerhungry]

Re: Driving longer - Any help appreciated

Hi GreeBoman,
your spot on. That is just what I'm thinking. I now feel the key is to try and speed everything up in sync. It's very easy to swing to hard with the upper body and end up hitting it fat or hooking it left. Its trying to keep the upper body the same angle behind the leading lower body. So it's practice, practice, practice...

[kiwi]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

You have to have good timing but clubhead speed determines how far a golf ball will travel.Speed without timing is useless,timing without speed is not much better (who wants to hit a driver straight and only get 150 yards?) you have to have both

[powerhungry]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

It all sounds right to me so far. I wonder if anyone who does hit anywhere in the 300yd range could tell us about how they progressed to this milestone? Plus any critical tips. Cheers.

[thebigman]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Drawing the ball. Ive seen people fade it a mile too but its a slight fade we aint talkin bout, not 15 yards left to right..if your ball flight is doin any mad side to side movements its taking distance off how far straight its going. And if you are wanting to strike it 300 (without a big wind, 70 yards roll n a bounce on a huge rock etc..) then u gota swing around 130mph club head speed probably. Which not many people can do.

So if we're speaking personal i started adding 20-25 yards on my drives when i realised its the inside of the ball im hitting. Which produced a draw. Gave more roll etc, but what works for one might not for another

[gord962]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

I am 6'2" and Ihave no problem hitting 300 yards with my driver, and I don't swing much more that 115 - 120 MPH with my driver. If you do not have proper technique, it doesn't matter how strong you are or how fast you swing the club, you are going to have a tough time getting the ball out past 300 yards (and keep it in the fairway). Hitting the ball over 300 yards requires correct swing path, proper weight transfer, releasing your wrists correctly and proper timing of all of these items.

First thing you will want to do is work on your core strength and flexability - this will help you build the muscles needed to create a high enough swing speed. You will also need to visit a pro to get your swing in tip top shape.

[powerhungry]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

On page 4 of this article in the paragraph headed 'The downswing', step 2. It talks of the knees moving down.

http://www.golftipsmag.com/content/2...cyfootwork.pdf

Is this just talking about how you brace each knee as it bears the weight transfer of the swing? The analogy of 'hitting into the wall'. I feel this is a real key to power but how much leverage can you apply? I know you dont want to jump out of your stance

Cheers
P.s. I'm thinking this is another do what feels right and works well area...

[xperiment2]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

PowerHungry,

It's difficult to determine what aspect of your current swing that needs tweaking to get you the extra distance without seeing your swing first. However, I can tell you that from research and experimentation that these factors directly affect distance: Swing path, Club head speed, Face angle at impact and your equipment(ball and club). I'm only 5'8", 155 and when I'm striking it well during a round, I'll average 280. I used to stretch it a little more to try and chase the 300yd number, but lost the accuracy needed to score well. My suggestion to you is get your self down to a equipment fitting shop and get your swing analyzed, try different clubs and see what works for you.

[bonzi_532]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

It is all about unleashin everey ounce of energy to peak it at the point of contact. You do this and you hit as far as you can

[auldyn]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Hit it a bloody sight harder, mate.

[powerhungry]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Hi Everyone,

great to see this has become a popular post.

Currently I don't think there is much wrong with my swing. I have based most of my technique on Ben Hogan's tips of swinging from the ground up. I found his demonstration to be revolutionary for me.
I'm now hitting a 10.5 loft Titleist 975D around 230 at the range, which is slightly up hill. It then rolls a further 20 yds or so, finishing ~260.

I did try a callaway big bertha war bird which is 9º. Normally I have a slight fade in my swing and I must admit I find drawing the driver difficult. Some shots were good but most resulted in terrible push slices. I'm putting this down to:
1. A smaller head size which is less forgiving
2. My naturally fading style being down to a slight open face.

This is why I'd like to ask how much you big hitters concentrate on turning the hands?
It seems to me that I have an in-out or in-out-in swing

I really struggle in closing/squaring the club face. Almost always the ball flies 90% distance straight only to fade in the last 10%. No matter what stance I try. My grip is strong as well.

Cheers

-powerhungry

[auldyn]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

An old time pro said he played his best golf when he felt he was swinging from his heels. Check your posture, could be your weight is inclined too much to toes.Start by feeling weight almost completely on heels, modify until centered on insteps .I strongly feel most problems are caused by poor posture.

[Sipes]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Hi PH,

The eternal search for extra distance....... we all want to hit it further, no matter how far we hit it.

First of all, you said

Almost always the ball flies 90% distance straight only to fade in the last 10%.

Old balls and therfore most driving range's balls become soft and will have exactly such a flight. It eill fly straight and when it looses momentum, it will fall out to the right. So maybe your swing isn't as bad as you think.

Secondly, most ranges use a different compound and dimple configuration ball, than your average ball bought from the pro shop. This causes the ball to feel like a normal golf ball, but it loosoes energy quicker and causes a performance drop of around 10% (200 yds = 20 yds loss). So your range ball going 260 yds will be close to the magic mark of 300 out on the course, using a good new ball that suits your swing speed.

Now for the technique. Lots of things were mentioned here, like swing plane, swing path, fading vs. drawing etc. These things will all have a influence, but ultimately you want as high a swing speed as possible at the point of impact. The reason why your 3 wood goes further than your driver at the moment is because your impact is not powerfull enough (yet). The lower the loft, the more enrgy is needed for the ball aerodynamics to do it's job.

So, how do you create a faster swing speed? Have a look at a frame-by-frame swing of Tiger/Ernie and compare the photo just before impact with the same position of an amateur. You'll see that the amateur's angle between forearms and club is around 90 degrees, or even more. The pro's still have an angle of 60 degrees or even less at that point. The amateur starts releasing the club too early and I think that is where you can still improve. Learn to keep the club back and to throw it at the ball at the latest possible moment. That is what is being meant by "releasing the club". Keeping the tention in your wrists until just before impact and then letting the club really "fling" at the ball will create that extra enrgy that you are looking for. Being able to control it, is what you'll find most difficult though.

Good luck and keep us posted as you get closer to that magic figure.

[powerhungry]

Re: Driving longer - Any help ppreciated

Sipes,

Lots of good points. I have cured my slice for the first time ever! I have read many tips, suggestions and studies. I dont know how many hours I have spent reading and how long I've watched videos by Els, Mclean, and Hogan to name but a few. Then, right there I found the holy grail in a book of 50 quick fixes. I looked up my problem (not easy to find as golf has so many faults and fixes) and read that it was advised to start the downswing with the left side and let rip with the right side once the club is at hip height on the way down. I also held myself in a frozen impact position to get a feel for it. I now kind of push the ball off the tee with the right hand cupped and starting to turn in to the left after impact. If the ball hooked I reduced the turning effort until it was right. The rest of my technique is good enough I feel.

I battled against the urge to let rip each time until I could consistantly hit straight or even draw it a little.

Tonight it has all come together. I feel I was not swinging with too much effort. Its absolutely unbelievable. I was putting the ball out to what must be 260 at the bounce. It probably rolls a further 20 yds. With a top class ball it may make 300!

Its very hard to describe how to do it and needless to say I'm sure I'll forget for a while and start cursing again. But I've done it once so I should be able to do it again. If only you could record a feeling

Right now tho I'm a very happy bunny!!!


Good Luck with your progress everyone, stick at it!