Distance

[redhawkgolf]

Why do so many people think distance is not as important as the short game. This may be true if you are big hitter. I do not hit he ball very far and have trouble reaching a lot of par 4's in reg. Most of my pars come on par 3 and par 5 holes. If I could hit the ball 50 yards further my handicap would come down a lot. I have tried a number of drivers,. the best being the Adams speedline draw. Has anyone gained measurable distance by finding the right driver?

[juststeve]

Redhawk:

I think you have correctly identified the extent distance is of primary importance. You must be able to reach most of the par fours on the course you play, from the tees you play, on a fairly regular basis. If you can't you need to learn to hit it longer of move up a set of tees until you can.

I do believe, that once you can reach most holes in regulation scoring is most closely related to chipping pitching and putting.

Steve

[oldironman]

Have you tried exercising to increase your flexability? Flexibilty=clubhead speed=more distance.

[redhawkgolf]

I have tried a great many exercises, without much success. I have read it is very difficult to increase clubhead speed. Has anyone had good results with exercises? Which ones help, I will try anything. I have people suggest some, but no one has said they work.

[j-rob]

You mentioned that you use a draw biased driver so obviously you have a problem with fading and even slicing the ball.

Is this a reoccurring problem in your other clubs?
If so that may be a cause of distance loss b/c you are losing distance from the fade/cut/slice that you are playing.

[oldironman]

Golf Channel had a show on where a female fitness expert gave tips on golf specific exercises and stretches. I haven't noticed it on lately though.

[MrParr1Noid]

[quote name='oldironman' date='26 February 2010 - 11:34 AM' timestamp='1267205658' post='2278924']
Golf Channel had a show on where a female fitness expert gave tips on golf specific exercises and stretches. I haven't noticed it on lately though.
[/quote]

Katherine Roberts, she has shown how to increase flexibility and add strength through her workout programs.

[url="http://www.yogaforgolfers.com/"]http://www.yogaforgolfers.com/[/url]

Hope this helps.

[redhawkgolf]

I use a draw driver because I have a push, no slice.

[jrjones60]

Well...At 62 year old, I'm hitting between 2 and 3 clubs difference than when I was 50. When I found myself hitting 3 irons and 5 woods on par 4's I finally decided to leave my pride in the trunk of my car and started playing from the senior tees. Damn.....all of a sudden it's fun again. Occassionally I can ever hit a par 5 in 2.

[sanderslongdrive]

redhawkgolf,

Assuming that you strike the ball well, and that you are not more infirm than most of us oldies (we all carry some sort of problem(s) there are three main areas to explore in order to secure potential rapid distance improvement:

1. Strike the ball even better.
2. Strike the ball faster.
3. Strike the ball with better equipment. Not necessarily more expensive, or more fashionable equipment, but equipment exactly tailored to you.

1. Get yourself a lesson from a good teacher at least once a month. EVERY tour player has a swing coach, and they are better than us. If they all need a coach then so do we.
2. This is not the place to write pages on how this can be achieved. But I will briefly mention the main activity which needs working on three times a week - overspeed training. Such involves getting the twitch fibres in your muscles to spark as fast as a sprinter, not a marathon runner. Sprinters do this by sprinting downhill. Golfers do this by training either with a headless driver (usually swinging one handed) or by swinging with a 130 gr. driver instead of a 200 gr. head. It does work and got my SS up from 113 mph to 134 mph very quickly. Not super fast but then I'm 59 years of age with a few crumbling edges.
3. Once your swing is spot on then get fitted, in a top studio, with fitted clubs.

That is the right way to go - planning, work, expenditure. Unfortunately however most people are lazy, so they go for the quick 'fix' which never properly works - a new shiny off the shelf driver - likely the one which you think that some famous tour player uses! So, I suspect that possibly you won't like my answer and will prefer a recommendation for a magic driver. If you choose that route, and if it works, then please let me know and maybe I'll buy one too.

[Sean2]

As others have suggested, move up a tee box. Before I play a course I look at the scorecard and I play from those tees where I can reach the majority of par 4's with a well struck drive and mid-iron. It's no fun hitting a fairway wood into every par 4, heck even the pros have trouble hitting greens with fairway woods. Make the game fun for yourself. No one cares what tees you play from, and if they do that's their problem, not yours.

[AlohaJim]

I've worked on consistent distance and accuracy off the tee with a more compact (modern) 3/4 swing at 70 percent effort. In doing so, I've gained a tad more distance, 220 carry, but with more accuracy, consistency, and less effort and back strain. This is a lot for having two spine surgeries and numerous other problems. More importantly, it doesn't make my spine worse from playing golf, at least so far.



What I did that might help.

Worked with a good PGA professional teacher on a weekly to bi monthly basis for about a year.

Fiddled around with various driver brands, lofts, lengths, lies, swingweights, shafts, and face angles. (you can maximize whatever swing you have by getting the right combo here that fits, but, it will change as the swing changes) I found getting the right "feel" in the club to be the most important.

Fiddled around with various driver lengths. Longer is not better. Shorter can get too short. Somewhere in between.

Fiddled around with various tee heights. Depends on the driver and how consistent the swing is.

Fiddled around with various ball types and brands. Effects impact feel, feedback, etc.

Focused on pure ball striking over distance, and often, there'd be a distance gain.

Fiddled around with putting a slightly sharper draw and changed ball flight a bit to get the most rollout.

mahalo,
jim