Mike Austin-the longest drive ever!

[BASHERBAKER69]

Hi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRZkx0TegqI

i was wondering if you would watch this video and tell me how a 64 year old man in the days of persimmon and low technology balls could produce a 400 yard drive, and do it consistently....

what do you think?..he must have a brilliant technique.

bb

[Mark19]

hahaha 35 mph tail wind

[Dent]

im sure it was basically the wind helping. I wonder how far it would have gone without the wind.

[Eore]

maybe he just had good technique, and hit the ball in the sweetest spot. it can't just be wind, cause you had guys like arnie driving 364 yard greens with the old equipment. or, like my avatar, COMPRESSING THE BALL

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Maybe technology hasn't been quite as impressive the marketeers claim?

[BASHERBAKER69]

thanks QQ Q...thats the point i was trying to make in a round about way-awesome power and distance is not just the preserve of the modern game-

you can't beat the sound of balata on persimmon....in the early 90s Davis Love was still using wood and was hitting it 300+ consistently in his youthful years!

bb

[ganjagolfer]

Maybe technology hasn't been quite as impressive the marketeers claim?

you hit a persimmon driver on the sweet spot and it will go as far as any other driver

[ganjagolfer]

maybe he just had good technique, and hit the ball in the sweetest spot. it can't just be wind, cause you had guys like arnie driving 364 yard greens with the old equipment. or, like my avatar, COMPRESSING THE BALL

exactly, mike austin had great technique and was as well, extremely strong, one account has him lifting himself a motor out of a vw in his mid seventies that two men had a problem with lifting and putting back

into his mid-seventies, he was still hitting his drives over 350 his technique is a different approach than the standard pga swing and is popular among participants in long driving competitions. mike actually has great disdain for how golf was being taught and said he wouldn't want a pga pro to piss on him if he was on fire anyways, the 25 (25 hours according to the national weather service that day) 35 mph may have helped but it does not account for the 460 yards the ball travelled in the air

[Q.Q.Quillume]

thanks QQ Q...thats the point i was trying to make in a round about way-awesome power and distance is not just the preserve of the modern game-

When I said that I was half-way expecting to be "jumped" . . .

[JaY_B]

The key to hitting a persimmon driver far was to swing slower (ironically) with a fast swing speed the ball just balloons. In a test done by Todays Golfer, the persimmon wood when swung slower near as dammit kept up with a driver boasting the newest technology.

[jstewart09]

Its a bunch of BS!!!

[Three Putt]

It makes sense that a smaller, denser, clubhead will transfer more energy if hit on the sweet spot. I've been told that blade irons travel farther then CB's when hit on the sweetspot.

Basically, more tech. covers up crappy ballstriking for a while till the guy (or gal) starts swinging harder and really starts mis hitting....off to buy a new driver.

Who is Mike Austin?
I have to call BS, did he use corked drivers or juiced up balls before sufficent testing....

[AustinFan]

I can tell you one thing - Mike was a genius and strong as a bull.
I spent over 5 years with him. Effortless power and accuracy were the results.

[sean_miller]

I can tell you one thing - Mike was a genius and strong as a bull.

It looks like he's going after that iron pretty hard actually. No matter - I doubt Davis Love and Mike Austin "routinely" hit 300+ yard drives with persimmon and balata. Occasional, yes. I'm no Davis Love, but I had a more powerful swing in the mid-90s than I do now, but still hit my irons about the same (same irons actually - better ball) but hit my driver ~ 20 yards farther on average. One anecdote is hardly scientific, but if persimmon was as long, they still be selling it (sorry Louisville).

[AustinFan]

I was actually only going about 75% with that iron.
Mike's teaching allowed you to utilize the levers of the body efficiently and freely.
As he put it, he wanted "supple quickness, not rigid slowness."
The club head was swinging at great speeds. I was not.
Mike was a member of the 350 Club, American's long driving team. At over 65 years of age, he averaged 312 yards.
For some examples of what it was like to be taught by Mike see www.mentoredbythelegend.com

[chilly]

During this weekends Memorial coverage, Faldo (I think) asked Nicklaus what a good drive was for him with a persimmon...Jack said 265yds. He also said that the first metal woods were no different then persimmon with a wound abll, but that the solid core balls were worth 15yds, and titanium woods are the "other" 15yds over persimmon. In the same conversation, Jack said the first time he was on a monitor was when he was 51, and his SS was 118mph. So, basically, if Jack hit a good one 265yds in his prime, I kind of doubt 300yds was ever "routine" with that technology, and 460yds seems to be pure fiction.

[golfla]

It is hard to dispute the drive as the Guiness Book of World Records verified the event with enough scrutiny to put it into their record book. One of the guys in the foresome was interviewed only a few years back and reconfirmed what he saw that day. It was Chandler Harper, a former PGA champ. I have heard there is another book on Mike coming out, and that even back in the 1930's there were accounts that got "press" of him hitting drives over 400 yards. His swing is as good as it gets. His concepts are very different than the "conventional" swing even though it not so noticable watching him in action. He definately knew a lot about how he body worked and how to fit that informaion into a golf swing.

[duppy]

Is there someone out there that could suggest a instructor of the Mike Austin swing---I started using the swing about 6 months and have continuously improved my accuracy and distance---I live in the Indianapolis In, Louisville KT, Nashville KT area---Any help will be appreciated----JD