Re: Overpowering the Ball

hi
welcome to GTO
if you try swinging at 90% instead of the 100% but work on hitting the ball out the sweet spot you will soon find that the cleaner contact on the face sends the ball a lot further and put it where you want more often.
if you use contact strips or even talc on the club face you will see your striking pattern hitting it 100% then swing at 90% and see the difference. but concentrate on the ball striking and you will see the distance is very close to what your hitting at 100%.
the biggest difference from to pro's to us handicap players is there ball striking, they put it on the money almost every time. once they can do that then they can increase there speed but some never change there tempo and stay with swing at 90%.
cheers
bill

Re: Overpowering the Ball

While I'm not an advocate of beating range balls, this is, IMO, one of the few times you need to. You need to make some 50% swings and some 80% swings on the range - and compare your distances and direction to making your 100% and 110% swings on the range (so that you compare apples to apples - same balls, same wind). This is so you can both see for yourself and prove to yourself the distances that these swings provide. I'm sure you'll find very little distance loss (if any) swinging at what feels like 80%.

Once I remind myself to swing easy and that, especially with irons, I'm not trying to set a new personal best for distance, I find I'm usually pretty happy with my ball striking.

The other thing that helps - mentally - is not 'trying' to 'get the ball' anywhere. For example, I know that on the par 5 on my local 9 hole course; if I hit a good ball, I'm in position to be on the green in 2. Any time I TRY to get on the green in 2, I rarely succeed. Any time I simply decide I'm going to swing within myself and trust that the club I've pulled will do it's job (I tell myself just to swing, and however far the ball goes, it goes), I'm usually in pretty good position. The former method gives me tops, thicks and bending ball flights as I get aggressive on my downswing and get out of synch and out of position. The latter usually works out well.

Just a thought (or 4).

Re: Overpowering the Ball

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Re: Overpowering the Ball

For me, the simple answer to swinging too hard is to take 2 or 3 more club than you need and see what's what then...

So, it's eithert head to the range and try and hit your 4 iron only 100 yards.

Or, when you're standing over your ball in the centre of the fairway and you've got about 120 yards to the green, instead of pulling 8 iron, pull 5 or 6 and see if you can find the putting surface.

It's interesting stuff...

As my good friend, the ex trainee pro says, golf is often about shot making and having the vision to see another shot besides the obvious.

Cheers

Re: Overpowering the Ball

Mentally:
Relaxed muscles work much better then tense ones. They have elasticity, and it is this fact that when they are asked to contract in a difficult sequence, that they have a greater range of motion, and are easier to control.

Physically:
Acceleration is going from a slow rate of speed to a faster one over a period of time. It is not an explosion of maximum speed all at once. It is a gradual increase. So, allow for this acceleration by starting slower, and when you are at your impact point, you will be in a much better controlled position to finish with the last "pop".

Re: Overpowering the Ball

I think the club is doing the work and not me. If I feel like I'm working to hit the ball further I'm in trouble. In fact I think about sending the ball down the fairway, or on the green, or in the hole and not about the swing at all.

Otherwise, like Chuck Hogan said your playing the game of "golf swing and not golf".

Tim.