hard hitting

[Liam Hancock]

who here tries to hit it harder with the driver than any other club.

Any suggestions on that let me know.

Liam,

[golfonenemesis]

Re: hard hitting

Actually, the looser and more relaxed one is, the farther the ball will go with more control.
Trying to hit harder just creates tension and wayward shots of less distance.
Exception: long drivers: it takes them 6 balls to get one in the grid.

[bloodredsun]

Re: hard hitting

I must admit that I swing harder with the driver. With a tee'd up ball and a larger club face I know that I have a greater margin of error when swinging so I will go at about 90% rather than 80%.

Ultimately, head-speed and pure contact are what you want. A smooth, even swing will more likely result in a purer contact but serious head-speed can only be generated by a strong swing. People like Fred Couple and Ernie Els may seem to belie this but their headspeed at contact is very high.

Whether or not swinging harder is a smart thing to do can be debated, but it seems to work for me.

[Ian Hancock]

Re: hard hitting

Hi Liam

For a long drive I tend to swing slower going back and concentrate on making a good solid contact.

You have a lot of club head speed due to your very late hit, so I suggest you just keep hitting everything really hard, it's easier to slow down than speed up.


Great round at the weekend son.


Ian aka Dad.

[kiwi]

Re: hard hitting

I try to rip most of my drives. The idea of the driver is to get me as near to the hole as possible ( usually). Having said that i don't automatically reach for the driver on every par 4 or 5.

[jcbdb]

Re: hard hitting

I focus on a smooth tempo and slow backswing then to a full finish with all my clubs.

I never try crushing the ball off the tee, having messed about with it on the range I found if I hit it at 90-100% I would lose my timing.

I did spend sometime only hitting 200 yard drives which was painful as my swing is consistent and well timed (so my pro tells me). So we worked on building my core muscles and flexibility which bought with it a natural increase in distance.

[golfonenemesis]

Re: hard hitting

A tight grip leads to shorter drives-no question.
Keep it loose, in the fingers, and complete the wrist hinge; the rest is fundamentals like ball position, alignment, posture, and weight transfer.
Also, remember driver requires upward swing path at impact while irons requires downward swing path at impact.

[dannyra]

Re: hard hitting

Liam,

I'm guessing for your age your hitting the ball pretty far already. Instead of trying to increase club head speed now, try to be patient. It will come automatically. I know that's not what you want to hear.

My recommendation is to learn to draw your driver if you don't already. That will give you some extra distance.

[msklar92]

Re: hard hitting

If I really need to carry something far, I try to create more power by lenghtening the arc of the backswing and getting my hands as far from my head as possible. You can do it at your age, but if I did this on every drive they would have to call for an ambulance

[mtngoat]

Re: hard hitting

Liam,

I try to crush the ball when I'm driving, I usually end up in the trees. I am trying to slow down my swing and get a nice smooth tempo.

[jeremia]

Re: hard hitting

i try and i emphasize try, to say to myself "now jerry dont hit it harder, hit it better"

good luck mate.

[jman100]

Re: hard hitting

Hey Liam

I have seen your swing now a few times and I'd say you can't swing much harder than you already are! You've got a great swing with a really late release into the ball so I wouldn't be thinking about swinging harder. Tempo with an 8i should be the same as tempo with the driver, lower loft, greater club head speed gives the distance. Swing smooth, swing relaxed, it will benefit you and help you lower your score. Good luck and keep us posted.

J

[SonicBoomGolf]

Re: hard hitting

I swing my club the fastest when I think "Kill The Ball"

I hit my farthest drives when I think "Swing Smooth"

There is a big difference between the two.

[aftford]

Re: hard hitting

Hi Liam.
i stopped using my driver years ago for the simple reason that i could not trust myself to swing at my usual tempo . Every time i used my driver off the tee , my swing speed would increase and my tempo would suffer and so would my accuracey.

It has since been banished to the loft and i have not used a driver on the course for seven years.

[canadian_man_44]

Re: hard hitting

I try to concentrate on hitting hard and smooth. That being said, I do swing my driver harder then my irons. I intentionally don't hit my irons at 100%. Probably more like 80 - 85% really. The easy swing with my irons lets me control the ball easier and besides that, I know what distance each club in my bag hits with a slower, smoother swing. Sometimes I do get razed at the course when I'm hitting my 7 iron 150 yards while my brother is using a 9 iron for the same shot, but, like I said, I know my distances. I average around 260 in the air with my driver plus roll depending on the fairway. I use my 3 wood for 220 and up. 5 wood - 210, 3 iron - 200, 4 iron -190, 5 iron - 180, 6 iron - 165, 7 iron - 150, 8 iron - 135, 9 iron - 120, PW - 105, SW - 70, 60* Wedge - 40. That's hitting my irons at around 80%. When I need to fill in the gaps for the shorter clubs, I just swing at 100%.

Anyway, I definately hit my driver harder then my irons. It works better for me this way. Might or might not for you.