Robb

I don't have anything to prove (except to myself). My longest drives have reached 350, but that was when I was younger at 65. I've lost a few yards since then, but my hands and wrist roll are helping me gain back my yardage. The season is about over here in Northern Illinois, so I'll have to wait until I've turned 68 to get back into the 320s. You may or may not want to share this video link from Paul Wilson. I believe it will help most golfers. Signing off. Robb

Sorry if you are offended because I don't follow conventional teachings about the golf swing, but following "conventional teachings" never got me to 300-plus yards. I never reached 300 yards until I was 64 and began rotating my elbows, forearms and hands. And I know through experience and practice precisely where in the swing sequence I need to rotate my hands. When a high-jumper or basket ball player starts to "jump" and flex or spring off their toes, they don't stop and say, "I can't do it. I've only got 14 milliseconds. It's impossible." The hand rotation as a result of practice is anticipated. The timing may vary from golfer to golfer and is learned first in EASY SWINGS and learning to accelerate at the bottom. Sorry, I don;t have a laboratory other than the driving range and golf course, so all I've got is, "I know it works, because I do it." Jack Nicholas was criticized for years with his flying elbow, as was john Daly and Bubba Watson for their swings. Copying them and other long ball strikers is what lead me to longer drives. The conventional tripe never got me beyond 250 yards. Robb PS: I don;t like argument, so I will not comment further.

Hi guys! I'm almost 68 and I suffer from a football knee and broken lower back, from my younger and seemingly invincible days. Every time I go to the range, I'm not really sure I can make a half swing...but I do. In fact that is how I start whether I'm at the range or on the first tee. But one key to a longer swing is NEVER RESTRICT YOU KNEES OR HIPS.. Allow your left heel to rise off the ground. I am a student of (the late) Mike Dunaway, who believed the center of the golf swing, around which everything else rotates, is the TOP VERTEBRAE at the top of your backbone. Mike actually taught, that you could slide your hips and rotate. The only point in the swing you need to keep centered was the TOP VERTEBRAE. Another move that will allow you to reach parallel to the ground (and even as far as John Daly) is to let your trailing elbow "fly". Most long drive champs do. Robb

Respectfully, I don't examine every golfers wrist action and my comment was intended to address a problem wherein the original questioner said they were having difficulty closing the club face when making a full swing. But, I must admit, my takeaway and wrist cock follows the teachings of (the late) Long Drive Champion, Mike Dunaway. I hinge my right hand at the wrist as opposed to "cocking" my wrists at the top. Then in the down swing I only need to rotate my right hand 1/4 turn. I DO need to be careful. A little too early and I'll go left. But it doesn't require any more practice than competitive darts, pool or other sports. Robb

With all due respect, I agree and disagree. Most golfers do have swing faults in their swings which are amplified in their downswing. Proper sequencing does increase swing speed. Swinging with a driver at 110, 115 or 120 mph does require near perfect timing. Learning to rotate your wrists and hands about 2 ft before impact by starting with EASY 3/4 SWINGS on the driving range, however, is not that hard. I started my original thread comment talking about how many golfers struggle with the "transition" between swinging down and then delivering the club head into the ball. If you watch super-slow motion video of virtually any long drive competitor or my favorite golfer, Freddie Couples you'll see him rotating his right hand just before impact. Robb

Yes, I know what is typically proposed and taught regarding squaring the club and the release, which I believe, is also WHY most golfers hit short and right. What may come natural to some golfers ie., squaring the hands...is not at all natural to the majority. Most, pull their lead elbow through impact with the club face wide open and never come close to developing any significant speed, much less hitting the ball in the fairway. Using the technique I described yesterday, I hit a 318 yd drive, a 309 yd drive and other 280 to 290 yd drives. And I am fast approaching 68 years old. Not only that, I really don't need to put much effort into it. Robb

You are struggling with one of the most common problems, with which the vast majority of golfers struggle. That is the "transition area" between swinging the club DOWN and DELIVERING the club through impact. At the 3 o'clock position all you need do is rotate your hands, arms and club face back to square through impact. It's pretty simple. But raising the arms to the top is entirely different, because most golfers "open their arms, hands and club face" and now, need to swing DOWN, then deliver the club into the ball. Getting comfortable in this "transition area" is tough. The arms and hands swing down before you can rotate and close the face of the club, thus everything goes right. Right? There are 3 things you can do. 1. Begin trying to make 'EASY' 3/4 swings. 2. As your left hand comes down to approximately one foot before the ball, allow your left "pinky knuckle" to tuck and rotate your left thumb down and roll over to square the back of your left hand with the club face. 3. Assist your left hand rotation, by also rotating or rolling your right thumb down and through impact. You may find you will start drawing the ball and thus need to swing out, across your target line. The idea is to rotate everything around the butt of your club grip. I do this and my typical 9-iron is 150, 7-iron is 175, 5-iron is 200 yds.