Jump to content
IGNORED

What muscles make you drive the ball further?


redhotchlypeppr
Note: This thread is 3999 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

The muscles between the ears, because these are the only muscles that realize that big muscles and blazing swing speed are NOT what makes the ball go further. Proper kinesthetic sequence, path and face angle, and center contact are what make the ball go further. I still outdrive my son with my relaxed swing and him with his 400mph sonic boom swing that puts a billion rpm of sidespin on the ball. I can see though, that he is finally starting to make the realization...

  • Upvote 1

dak4n6

Link to comment
Share on other sites


your hips and trunk. tricep strength can help, but it certainly isn't the most important. it can add a little bit more club speed.

Driver: 10.5* callaway Razr Hawk Tour - 350 yards(usually into the wind, it can be windy here. at least 400 with a little wind behind me)

Hybrids: 2 and 3 callaway Hybrid razr tour (312 and 287 respectively)

Irons: 3i-10i callaway forged standard length(278, 263, 250, 235, 221, 213, 201, 190)

Wedges: callaway jaws cc 52* 12 approach, 56* 16 sand, 60* 13 lob (0-185)

Odyssey Black tour #9 putter(5 ft, i'm always at least within 5 feet on my approach shot)

I wonder who on this forum is a PGA tour pro, disguised as a normal player.. 

2013: play in the US amateur qualifier

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


muscles don't matter.  im skinny at 5'9, 140lbs and can hit the ball 300+ often.  everyone i play with cannot understand how i can hit it that far.  it's about how you move through the ball at contact.  i drive my hips and legs through the ball very well.  it helps to be limber also.  i've seen jacked guys that can't hit the ball 250.  and even at that, they are slicing the ball like 100 yards off the fairway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Originally Posted by 460CompMark

muscles don't matter.  im skinny at 5'9, 140lbs and can hit the ball 300+ often.  everyone i play with cannot understand how i can hit it that far.  it's about how you move through the ball at contact.  i drive my hips and legs through the ball very well.  it helps to be limber also.  i've seen jacked guys that can't hit the ball 250.  and even at that, they are slicing the ball like 100 yards off the fairway.

you have to have strong hips and legs to maximize driving into the ball though.

Driver: 10.5* callaway Razr Hawk Tour - 350 yards(usually into the wind, it can be windy here. at least 400 with a little wind behind me)

Hybrids: 2 and 3 callaway Hybrid razr tour (312 and 287 respectively)

Irons: 3i-10i callaway forged standard length(278, 263, 250, 235, 221, 213, 201, 190)

Wedges: callaway jaws cc 52* 12 approach, 56* 16 sand, 60* 13 lob (0-185)

Odyssey Black tour #9 putter(5 ft, i'm always at least within 5 feet on my approach shot)

I wonder who on this forum is a PGA tour pro, disguised as a normal player.. 

2013: play in the US amateur qualifier

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Originally Posted by onephenom

you have to have strong hips and legs to maximize driving into the ball though.


wrong.  i did mention im 5'9  140lbs right?  30' waist and chicken legs don't make for strong hips and legs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


All of them...But none of them matter much if they can't deliver the club through the ball at the right angle and club path.

If strength was the most important thing all of the guys down at the local gym would be able to hit the ball 400 yards. Fast twitch ability is more important than strength and that's something that we are largely born with (or not).

None of us will ever outrun Usain Bolt no matter how much we train and we won't outdrive Alvero Quiros no matter how much we train.

BTW different power hitters would use different muscle percentage contributions to their power. More upright swingers depend less on turn and hip action and are using a higher percentage of arm muscles and pull down muscles (like Jack Nicklaus after 1980). Flatter swingers depend more on turn and unwinding the body with the hips rotating hard and depend more on core muscles. Some use every bit of both (like Bubba). Some have a lot of wrist hinge and lag and others have little wrist hinge and less lag (like JB Holmes). Some drive up hard with their legs through impact (like Tiger) and others not so much. Then there is almost every combination imaginable between those groups.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


One key factor is muscle flexibility. Many golfers who have sit-down jobs and don't work out much can have a couple of problems that make their swing motion less efficient:

  • Poor flexibility of the lower back. This makes it difficult to "stay down" of the follow-through (failure to maintain spine angle).
  • Stiff hip flexors. Cuts down on power from hip rotation.

460CompMark , I suspect you have pretty good flexibility. From your avatar, are you into martial arts? (I'm about 3 months into karate, trying to increase flexibility and strengthen my arthritic hip).

Focus, connect and follow through!

  • Completed KBS Education Seminar (online, 2015)
  • GolfWorks Clubmaking AcademyFitting, Assembly & Repair School (2012)

Driver:  :touredge: EXS 10.5°, weights neutral   ||  FWs:  :callaway: Rogue 4W + 7W
Hybrid:  :callaway: Big Bertha OS 4H at 22°  ||  Irons:  :callaway: Mavrik MAX 5i-PW
Wedges:  :callaway: MD3: 48°, 54°... MD4: 58° ||  Putter:image.png.b6c3447dddf0df25e482bf21abf775ae.pngInertial NM SL-583F, 34"  
Ball:  image.png.f0ca9194546a61407ba38502672e5ecf.png QStar Tour - Divide  ||  Bag: :sunmountain: Three 5 stand bag

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Originally Posted by 460CompMark

wrong.  i did mention im 5'9  140lbs right?  30' waist and chicken legs don't make for strong hips and legs.

no, i'm right.

5'9 means you don't have a lot of weight, so strong for you isn't the same as strong for a big fella like me. It's relative to your body.

You're telling me that if you have weak hobbly legs and hips you can drive the ball just as far? pahh. no. you have to have hip and leg strength relative to your size to hit it far.

Driver: 10.5* callaway Razr Hawk Tour - 350 yards(usually into the wind, it can be windy here. at least 400 with a little wind behind me)

Hybrids: 2 and 3 callaway Hybrid razr tour (312 and 287 respectively)

Irons: 3i-10i callaway forged standard length(278, 263, 250, 235, 221, 213, 201, 190)

Wedges: callaway jaws cc 52* 12 approach, 56* 16 sand, 60* 13 lob (0-185)

Odyssey Black tour #9 putter(5 ft, i'm always at least within 5 feet on my approach shot)

I wonder who on this forum is a PGA tour pro, disguised as a normal player.. 

2013: play in the US amateur qualifier

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Originally Posted by 460CompMark

wrong.  i did mention im 5'9  140lbs right?  30' waist and chicken legs don't make for strong hips and legs.

There's a guy that plays in our Saturday game that's just like that. I do think his hands are fairly strong but not much muscle anywhere else, but he can unload on a golf ball.

Fast twitch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


If you are already fit, the top muscles would be

1) Lats, Obliques, Glutes

These three power the golf swing, lats are used to bring the club down into the slot, particularly the right elbow downward as you initiate the downswing

Obliques are rotation in the core

Glutes, are for the jump move that tiger made popular, were you sit down in the downswing, than extend upward into the shot with the legs.

If your not fit, i would focus on

Hip abductors/adductors, hip flexors, all Abdominal muscles, ankle and knee balance

This will allow you get your maximum potential, because no matter how much you work out the power muscles in the golf swing, if your off balance your wasting energy. It would be like having a turbo charged muscle car with shitty tires. Your step on that accelorator, but all you do is spin out of control

Once you get your stability muscles strengthened, you'll see an increase in distance from that. If you max out there, then work on some of the other muscles.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Originally Posted by WUTiger

One key factor is muscle flexibility. Many golfers who have sit-down jobs and don't work out much can have a couple of problems that make their swing motion less efficient:

Poor flexibility of the lower back. This makes it difficult to "stay down" of the follow-through (failure to maintain spine angle).

Stiff hip flexors. Cuts down on power from hip rotation.

460CompMark, I suspect you have pretty good flexibility. From your avatar, are you into martial arts? (I'm about 3 months into karate, trying to increase flexibility and strengthen my arthritic hip).


haha!  no im not into martial arts, although i like to watch MMA.  just thought it was a funny avatar.  i do see what you are saying about sit down jobs.  i used to not have a sit down job, and my swing was pretty smooth.  been an accountant for 4 yrs now, and my damn lower back is killing me!  have to make sure i stretch that bad boy out before every round now.  almost threw my back out on my first swing a few weeks ago! LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Originally Posted by onephenom

no, i'm right.

5'9 means you don't have a lot of weight, so strong for you isn't the same as strong for a big fella like me. It's relative to your body.

You're telling me that if you have weak hobbly legs and hips you can drive the ball just as far? pahh. no. you have to have hip and leg strength relative to your size to hit it far.


i can see what you are saying.  i do think i am strong for my size.  well at least i used to be when i was active in my early 20s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


i can see what you are saying.  i do think i am strong for my size.  well at least i used to be when i was active in my early 20s.

Yep, that's all I mean. Sorry I came off rude. I imagine your hips and leg strength would send john Daly's drive 200 yards, but with your smaller size, it works.

Driver: 10.5* callaway Razr Hawk Tour - 350 yards(usually into the wind, it can be windy here. at least 400 with a little wind behind me)

Hybrids: 2 and 3 callaway Hybrid razr tour (312 and 287 respectively)

Irons: 3i-10i callaway forged standard length(278, 263, 250, 235, 221, 213, 201, 190)

Wedges: callaway jaws cc 52* 12 approach, 56* 16 sand, 60* 13 lob (0-185)

Odyssey Black tour #9 putter(5 ft, i'm always at least within 5 feet on my approach shot)

I wonder who on this forum is a PGA tour pro, disguised as a normal player.. 

2013: play in the US amateur qualifier

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I' m not saying I disagree with any of the body part answers here, but I think too much attention is already given to the wrong things in this game. After I just out-drove my son by 30 yds the other day, he said with disgust, "I gotta get to the gym and bulk up." I said that he couldn't be more wrong, that he needs to.slow his swing down, swing down the line with the face square at impact, and develop a nice tempo. His transition goes from 0 to 150 in the first 10" of his swing. To the OP, I would strongly recommend not worrying about your muscles and more about your timing and technique. Let distance come on its own.

dak4n6

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I' m not saying I disagree with any of the body part answers here, but I think too much attention is already given to the wrong things in this game. After I just out-drove my son by 30 yds the other day, he said with disgust, "I gotta get to the gym and bulk up." I said that he couldn't be more wrong, that he needs to.slow his swing down, swing down the line with the face square at impact, and develop a nice tempo. His transition goes from 0 to 150 in the first 10" of his swing. To the OP, I would strongly recommend not worrying about your muscles and more about your timing and technique. Let distance come on its own.

He's right, look at the pros, most aren't huge guys by any means... Warch the LPGA players, they hit it really far and are by no means giant people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


believe me, its a myth that bulking up with limit your flexibility. As long as your using your muscles, and being active, your muscles will be flexible. Look at some Olympic weight lifters, they are huge, bulky. But they can get deep into a squat better than those who are very thing. The reason, they are using those muscles, they have been doing countless squats, training. They are bulked up, but the muscles they use, and the direction they use them are more flexible than most people out there. This is why Mark McGuire could play golf, he played baseball, all his muscles are fine tuned for rotation. Given golf isn't dominated by bulky guys, but most people are not going to get huge with out the help of supplements, its nearly impossible unless your an outlier genetically. Very few people can get body building, Olympic Weight lifting big with out the help of supplements or steroids.

So really, there is not fear in loosing flexibility if you lift weights, or want to bulk up. If you have a sedimentary life style, you will gain mobility and strength.

There really isn't harm in both learning to swing better and work out. Your overall health is more important than your golf game. So i recommend working out just because its good for you. That's why i always say go with a fully body workout, and throw in a handful of golf specific stuff a couple times a week just to help out a bit.

Matt Dougherty, P.E.
 fasdfa dfdsaf 

What's in My Bag
Driver; :pxg: 0311 Gen 5,  3-Wood: 
:titleist: 917h3 ,  Hybrid:  :titleist: 915 2-Hybrid,  Irons: Sub 70 TAIII Fordged
Wedges: :edel: (52, 56, 60),  Putter: :edel:,  Ball: :snell: MTB,  Shoe: :true_linkswear:,  Rangfinder: :leupold:
Bag: :ping:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades

Note: This thread is 3999 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up
  • TST Partners

    TourStriker PlaneMate
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FlightScope Mevo
    Direct: Mevo, Mevo+, and Pro Package.

    Coupon Codes (save 10-15%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope.
  • Posts

    • I did not realize that, I was thinking a more traditional golf club.  
    • Thanks for the feedback. @StuM, we are a "club without real estate" so no facilities or pro. We have a membership of around 185 players and we only play together as a group at our tournaments, which are held at public access courses. A group of us setup the tournaments, collect the money and dole out the prizes.
    • In general, granting free relief anywhere on the course isn't recommended.  Similarly, when marking GUR, the VSGA and MAPGA generally don't mark areas that are well away from the intended playing lines, no matter how poor the conditions.  If you hit it far enough offline, you don't necessarily deserve free relief.  And you don't have to damage clubs, take unplayable relief, take the stroke, and drop the ball in a better spot.
    • If it's not broken don't fix it. If you want to add grooves to it just because of looks that's your choice of course. Grooves are cut into putter faces to reduce skid, the roll faced putter is designed to do the same thing. I'm no expert but it seems counter productive to add grooves to the roll face. Maybe you can have it sand-blasted or something to clean up the face. Take a look at Tigers putter, its beat to hell but he still uses it.     
    • I get trying to limit relief to the fairway, but how many roots do you typically find in the fairway? Our local rule allows for relief from roots & rocks anywhere on the course (that is in play). My home course has quite a few 100 year old oaks that separate the fairways. Lift and move the ball no closer to the hole. None of us want to damage clubs.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

The popup will be closed in 10 seconds...