Hit Longer Drives

By Lawrence Bredenkamp

Most golfers would like to hit longer drives. There is just something so macho about a ball that comes out of the screws and flies forever. As soon as you’ve hit one of these you know that everything was just right through impact.

When playing in club events where there is a longest drive prize the winner invariably struts up like a prize cockerel – there is definitely more ego in this prize than any other.

To be able to hit longer drives consistently takes a bit of practice and a lot of self belief. If you’ve done it once you can do it again. It’s all about tempo and timing.

In one of the first, and in my opinion still one of the best, video tutorials Jack Nicklaus (Golf My Way) describes how, when he wants to hit a long drive, he concentrates on having a totally relaxed body at address and throughout the swing. It is very interesting that he does not grip it to rip it.

To hit longer drives you do need to have the basics correct. So your grip, aim, alignment, stance and posture have to be correct. It also helps to be able to hit a draw which has considerably more run than any other shot.

Think of a golf swing like fly-fishing or a circus trainer cracking a whip. In both these situations it is not the speed of the arm that has the desired effect but rather the tempo of the whole movement. If the arm is too fast it overtakes either the line in fly-fishing or the rope (is it rope or a leather strip?) on the whip, in both cases resulting in a less than satisfactory result.

Similarly if the arm is too slow and lags behind the line or the whip the result will be a disaster.

The golf swing works pretty much like a bicycle wheel. The central cog (you) rotates slower than the tyre (the clubhead) and is linked by the spokes (club shaft and your arm). The faster you peddle (rotate your body) the faster the spokes (shaft and arms) turn, resulting in more speed (clubhead speed). The important thing to note here is that it is the body that turns and not the arms. Far too often golfers try to hit the ball further by using the power of their arms. As soon as you do that you are getting tension through your body. Jack Nicklaus says this is wrong and I’m not one to argue with him.

You need to put coil in your spring (torso) so that when it is released on the forward swing the power generated gives you greater clubhead speed and therefore greater distance.

Try this drill to generate greater clubhead speed. Without a ball turn your driver around and grip it below the head. Swing the club with both hands but allow the non-target hand (right hand for right handed golfers) to come off just before impact, whilst the target hand continues to the finish. Listen for a “whooshing” sound. The louder the sound the greater the speed. Keep doing this until you find a speed which gives you the greatest sound. This will be your most effective tempo. Now do the same again but keep both hands on the club through to finish whilst replicating the speed that gives the greatest sound.

To hit longer drives therefore it is important that you have the basics right. Once you have that you need to concentrate on relaxing, there should be no tension in the hands, arms, shoulders or legs, and then let your body take over. Any tension will result in a less than favourable shot.

As a qualified EGTF golf professional teacher I get great pleasure in helping people improve their game. Why not head over to Better Golfing and take up my challenge to reduce your golf handicap by 25% within 6 weeks?

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