Official Golf Thread - Page 9

Amen. For some reason, after playing golf on and off for the better part of 12 years, this finally clicked for me the past week. I'm not putting a death grip on the club and am just letting gravity, momentum and the club do the work; as a result, I'm hitting my driver straighter -- and way further (bombed a few 270+ yard drives the past few rounds...I'm only 5'7") -- than ever. I still don't trust myself as much with my irons though, since I feel that being too loosey-goosey on them will result in hitting it fat or thin, since I'm not trying hard enough to hit down on the ball. I figure I just need more time on the range with them to ingrain the idea that swinging easy with irons is OK. Fuck, I'm in golf withdrawal already. I've played 5 rounds in the past 4 days but am not playing tomorrow. I wish I was. This thread is awesome though, just for sharing experiences and tips.

sweet, 89 is my lowest.... SO FAR!!

Yes. All of them are ridiculous strikers, but part of the reason for some of those distances is that I think they tweak their clubs to have lower lofts than what us regular Joes use. They are using 6 and 7 degree drivers to our 8 and 9s. etc.

If by tweak you mean deloft at impact, then yes, but I'm pretty sure they don't use strong lofted clubs.

It also has a little bit to do with clubhead speed at impact which is significantly higher for a pro than for a good amateur.

Pio - Just remember they usually swing at about 90% most times. For every club in the bag they have that extra 10% if they need it.

Sure, though I would bet that the efficiency of strike, the angle of the club on the ball etc is more different than the speed.

yup that's what i meant.


good golfers drive through the ball and let the club do the work. plebes try to pick the ball up off the ground.

Avid golfer here...

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You've got each wrong.

Most tour pro's iron sets are weaker throughout the bag.As example,most would use a ~48* PW,whereas most sets made for hacks would have a PW with loft of ~ 46*.Good players start at a preferred loft/distance for a LW and work backwards--leaving specific gaps.

Drivers are tweaked with the ball and shaft to get an optimum launch/carry/spin combination.Most would use a driver with between 9* and 10* of actual loft.A few would go as low as 8.5*.Few,if any, players on tour use anything lower.

^What I've been doing lately, has REALLY helped with everything.

I've been striking through the ball with my driver which has helped to mitigate mis-hits, turning them into slight fades or draws when they do happen. It has really helped to improve accuracy as well. I've never hit my 3 iron better.

Now I just have to work on my short game.

Of course all are important, but if we're strictly talking distance, a lot of the differentiation is that longer hitting professionals are able to generate enormous clubhead speed while at the same time delivering the club in the proper position at impact. For example, the average amateur has a clubhead speed in the low 80's, the average scratch player or professional probably gets into the lower 100's. Tiger Woods and his ilk deliver the clubhead to the ball at around 125mph. Instantly he's got a 40-50% or so advantage in force.

Remember that we're only talking about what generates distance here. The same clubhead impact at 90mph will obviously not hit as long a shot as if it were at 125mph. However, a more efficient (i.e. better) golf swing will also, typically, allow for an increase in clubhead speed.

When Nicklaus was just starting to play as a kid, his teacher taught him to hit the ball as hard as he could and worry about direction later.

THIS IS HORRIBLE ADVICE FOR ANY ADULT LEARNING TO PLAY THE GAME AND WILL DO NOTHING BUT SCREW YOU UP. However, if you're looking for the reason why pros generate more distance, it's simple physics of force. They have trained themselves to make a really hard swing at the ball, smoothly and efficiently. Paradoxically, the best way for most people to increase clubhead speed over time is to focus not on clubhead speed, but on a smooth and efficient swing that stays on a simple plane. If you eliminate elements of the swing that are inefficient, you actually increase the force, without increasing the effort and you do so on a plane that keeps it in control as well.