how hard to hit the ball

this is my question; how hard are you supposed to try and hit the ball in a full swing ?

in ben hogans 5 lessons, he says you should try and hit the ball as hard as you can, whereas others have told me that i am trying to hit the ball too hard, when i was probaly hitting it 95% max.


thoughts ?

This is where every learner golfer goes wrong. They all want to hit the ball 300 yards+ and they all think the way to do it is to hit the ball harder or as hard as you can. You don't need to hit the ball hard at all! By swinging harder it is a lot harder to keep your balance and if you don't keep your balance you will be hitting the ball all over the place...

If you swing really smooth and gentle it will go further... Distance is all about technique and not how hard you it the ball.

Agree 100%. The key is to find a good repeatable swing and then you can adjust it from there. Just swinging hard won't do much since you won't be able to control it. The better the swing, the easier it is to control so you can sometimes get a little extra if you need to. I tend to have a hard swing, but there is a fine line that I try not to cross. If I go a little to hard or take the backswing to far, things go bad.

Try and find some video of Ernie Els (The Big Easy). He has the same swing speed and tempo on every shot. Yet he can hit it as far as anyone, and can control it as well as anyone.

I agree and disagree with the not swinging hard. For me, my biggest misses are when I try to not go after it. I believe hitting the half shots well is one of the hardest things for me. I know my best days are when I feel confident and really try to hit the ball hard all day. If I try to just hit the fairway on a short hole I will end up 50 yards right in the trees. It really throws off my timing. But when I need to hit a good one hard, I seem to pull it off easier.

Another point. It is impossible to be in pressured situations and not swing hard. The addrenline (can't spell) will not allow you to swing easy. So if you want to play competitively you have to be able to go after it. Look at most pros with the driver. Most swing hard with balance. The big easy still goes after it but he makes it look so smooth. Same with Paul Casey.

I have to agree. In todays game you have to go after it a bit. I would say if you are just starting off, swinging 80% and getting a feel for making good contact is important, maybe even slower at times. However, once you have gained the ability to make contact consistently it is important to find a speed that works for you. I think some people do better going after it and some do better swinging slower. The whole swing slow hit it farther just isnt true, i guess i would say "swing SMOOTH hit it farther." If you are able to make the same contact swinging hard as you do when you swing slow the ball will go farther, the key is to practice swinging fast. If you do this you will learn the timing necessary and be able to make the same contact. If you practice swinging slow and then try to crank it up on the course you will definetly suffer mis-hits and less distance. I to tend to hit it off line when i swing slow and try to aim it. I guess in the end try it all and see what works!

Hard enough. Thats the only way I can think of to describe it. I know how far I hit each club and don't try to hit it further. I also don't think too much about hitting it 80% or whatever.

To me, its just swing at the speed that gets me the best combination of distance and accuracy, and that speed differs depending on how well I'm playing. That speed will normally sort itself out without me having to think about it.

A big reason why people are hitting slices, hooks & wild shots is due to trying to hit the ball too hard... They don't complete the swing correctly because they lose their balance or they use their arms to force the ball in the wrong direction. You still need to have your Rhythm wether you hit it the ball hard or soft to strike it well. But the easier swing to control is certainly a more gentle swing.

I've tried swinging the ball at crazy speeds and striking it 100% out of the middle and it doesn't make a difference to my distance. And when i say crazy speeds i mean crazy speeds, when i missed the timing i really pulled a lot of muscles.

As hard as you can hit it with a controlled, comfortable and repeatable swing. For me, it's about 95%. I find, honestly, that 80% effort will yeild 95% of your distance.

I find i hit the most perfect shot when i apply the least amount of effort into my swing. No thoughts... nothing... Im not strangling my big dog and i am swinging like i don't want to hurt him.

With this technique i have driven to the front fringe of a 443 yard par 4 off the back white tee's in a club final with about 50 people watching. The conditions were not good either... Not much wind & slightly damp. My ball shots are 99.5% flight and i would love to add some topspin to make them roll but i really don't want to play with my swing.

As long as you stay in-tempo and on balance, you can swing as hard as you want. The problem with swinging as hard as you can is that you often get out of tempo or you go off-plane and you never know where the ball is going to end up.
The key to hitting the ball isnt in how hard you swing, its in how good your technique is and in how solid your contact with the ball is.
Swinging slower and hitting the ball in the center of the clubface is better than swinging as hard as you can and hitting the ball all over the clubface, IMHO.
Typically I only swing at about 75%. I actually have to force myself to slow my swing down, which for me results in more solid contact and shots that actually go farther and end up where I aim them.
Not to say that I know more than Ben Hogan (I most definetly do not), but what worked for him may not work for everyone.