I am starting right off by attempting to answer an email which was sent to me just recently. “How can I add 20 more yards off the tee?” The 20 yards you are looking for is somewhere out there and I will be the first to say that it might be an equipment issue. Ball and club is where most of us begin, but that’s only part of it. Twenty additional yards is possible for some. Where it might be found could surprise you.
I enjoy playing with a regular group of friends at least once a week. Although we are all decent players, we would still like to add more distance. I think this is a common concern in most golf groups. Not hitting the ball far enough to reach the green in regulation would make most golfers crave that extra yardage, while those who can reach greens in regulation want to get there more easily. With the group I play with, the 20 is out there for each of us, at times. I will break it down and explain how each of us has captured that elusive “longer ball” and where that 20 yards “hides.”
I mentioned hides because it comes out of hiding, here and there. Hitting the ball solidly is the starting point for each of us. When we hit it solidly, we can better gauge what’s going on from that point on. Often times, ball contact is not quite in the middle of the club face. One of my playing partners struggles with this more often than the rest of us. This player often tries for that extra 20 by trying to hit the ball as hard as he can. Often times the swing rhythm is off and the tempo too quick. Instead of gaining 20, he loses 20 because of that mistake. So “centeredness of hit” is his most important key for finding that 20 additional yards.
Another one of my playing partners has lost length due to the natural process of aging. This player has added 20 more yards because he is on a strength and flexibility program. I am impressed with his commitment to meet with a trainer more than once a week and work on regaining what he once had. This player can once again make the necessary turn and motion that allows for a more powerful blow at impact. His price, an exercise program, will benefit him with much more than 20 yards. He will get a better quality of life, as well.
The next player clearly is on a mission to find that combination of shaft and club. Having gone through a fitting process to measure swing speed, ball speed and more, this player has dialed up their yardage with the benefit of today’s technology. It’s amazing what a launch monitor can do to help make the experiment a little more exact. Combining the information with the right shaft, driver head and ball has greatly benefited this player and put his mind at ease.
Another player is benefiting with some lessons, putting her on plane by creating a little more dynamic motion and improving her rhythm. She has generated more speed so her ball will go further. I am also seeing her now able to hit shots and keep them in the air longer.
As you can see, it’s not a simple answer. Each one of these players has found distance in different places. Anyway you look at it though, who isn’t happy when they’ve added 20 more yards to their drives?
Email me at ddelongolf@aol.com with your question and I will perhaps choose your question and send to you a free golf lesson! Also, I can send a gift certificate for golf lessons via mail for anyone who would like to give the gift of golf. I recommend a series of 3 private lessons for $125.00.
ON THE GREEN
DAVE DELONG