How To Drive The Ball Farther

[iacas]

yes but the bigger your upper arms and upper body, the more clubhead speed you can generate.

No, sorry, that's not quite true.

Muscle strength and muscle speed are two very, very different things.

[michaeljames92]

im sorry but i dont agree with you. a skinny person with no strength in their arms and shoulders and the same person with stronger chest etc would always hit the ball further. you only have to ask why tiger woods builds his shoulders, and arms up to cream the ball.
edit: how about a quote from tiger's book? "A lot of what i've been able to accomplish in golf is the direct result of becoming physically stronger.
I couldn't play shots like the 2-iron stinger two or three years ago because i didn't have the strength in my wrists and forearms to execute them...in this game you need every edge, and physical strength has definitely become one of mine." so if you don't want to listen to me, listen to tiger, because he would have all sorts of experts giving advice.

[wachesawgolfer]

All the posters who answered "strength does not matter" are probably wrong.

If you look at any good golfer who has muscle tone which can be seen, so sorry, Tim Herron, you will notice that the lead forearm is much bigger than the back forearm. In a right handed player this means the left forearm is larger and very strong. It is unknown to most studiers of the physics of this game how, why and where this strength is applied in the swing because most teachers for many years have taught and advocated a light feeling grip through out the swing to promote the release. In fact, and just my opinion, it may be that the left forearm in a good player does just the opposite as is commonly thought. That is instead of flowing freely through the swing it is actually, with steel like force, holding the left wrist straight through the impact against the great forward momentum to create the good players flat left wrist at impact which is really where the power comes from as the club is delofted at impact and then must accelerate past the impact, if the hand is to stay on the arm.

[Guest]

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/jaso...f/features/202

"The golf ball doesn't know how big you are," Zuback says. "All it knows is the force that's applied to it."

being muscular and having lots of strength helps definately with longer drives but it has to be functional strength

[lolzzlolzz]

Ok, a lot of points to point out:

Technique first, then flexibility, then strength/power is the best way to go about it I think.

Work on your swing. A correct swing will create a lot of tension in your body, which is multiplied hundreds of times over into the golf ball. Ben Hogan was only 135 lbs and could drive the ball 300+ yards when he wanted because he had an amazing swing.

I practice at a golf academy where I see hundreds of kids every day get coached. The first thing I see them do is grab the club behind their neck and start turning side to side. UGH! I have to turn away, I can't watch them for long. I can almost hear their bones crunching and a slipped disk or hernia waiting to happen...

Do yourself a favor and keep your back straight when you stretch. Stretch your hips, shoulders, and hamstrings dynamically . Search google for how to do this. Don't do stretches where you just hold the stretch for 30 seconds (these are called static stretches). These don't help your golf game because they don't teach your muscles to be mobile in these positions, only still.

Now, strength: this is where everybody goes wrong. First off, forget about bulking up with bodybuilding routines. Bodybuilders are slow and not as strong as they should be. They use higher repetitions (8+) which promote muscle size more than muscle strength. Size without strength will slow you down.

At the same time, you don't want to use very light weight. You need to stress the muscle so it will get stronger. Do 5 repetitions with heavy weight. For help search google for " strength training routines ." Avoid bodybuilding routines.

That's not all though. Brute strength doesn't necessarily transfer to club head speed. You need to train speed strength and power as well. You do this by performing specific power exercises, use lighter weight, and be very fast and explosive. Again, search google for " powerlifting routines ."

Even with this knowledge, many people make the mistake of only training one kind of strength, not both. They train only strength, which doesn't completely transfer to club head speed, or they train only power/speed strength, and never reach their club head speed potential. You need to balance.

If you're serious about it, just do one training session per week. Say on Wednesday you do a full body strength training routine, then next Wednesday you do a full body power routine. Vary your workouts so they don't get boring and your body doesn't adapt and stop getting stronger. Throughout the week you should stretch (just 5 minutes of dynamic stretching does wonders for your body), work on your swing, and watch your drives fly farther

Edit: The golf ball doesn't know how big you are, only how fast the club is going through the ball. However, people who are bigger can generally drive it farther than smaller people because they have more leverage.

[Caddyshack]

You hit the 3 wood 400 yards???

Have you ever heard of sarcasim??

[Pat007]

yes but the bigger your upper arms and upper body, the more clubhead speed you can generate.

Wrong! You're not generating speed from your arms, you're generating it by un-coiling your hips and driving with your legs. Case in point: Corey Pavin, Mike Weir, Jesper Parnevik, .... all small people that can poke it pretty well off the tee. Hell, look at the women on the LPGA, they'd out-drive about 98% of us on here. Its all about timing, tempo and solid contact as well as keeping your right body parts in sequence more so than upper-body power. I work as a strength and conditioning coach....

[iacas]

Have you ever heard of sarcasim??

No. What's that? Is it like sarcasm? Or is it yet another Sims expansion pack?

Case in point: Corey Pavin, Mike Weir, Jesper Parnevik, .... all small people that can poke it pretty well off the tee.

You're right about what you say re: uncoiling, arm strength, etc., but dude - don't use Corey Pavin as an example of someone who can "poke it pretty well" off the tee. Dude averages 263 and is dead last on the list.

[Pat007]

263 may not be far by PGA standards iacas, but how many people here (on this forum) actually average 263? 10%? 5%?

[iacas]

263 may not be far by PGA standards iacas, but how many people here (on this forum) actually average 263? 10%? 5%?

Doesn't matter. You'd have been better off choosing someone small who is NOT dead last. Camilo Villegas, for example. Especially since I agree with your original point.

A lot of people here DO think they average 263, so Corey Pavin wouldn't impress them, especially since he's got access to fitting technology and whatever that they don't have.

[TinCupTampa]

im sorry but i dont agree with you. a skinny person with no strength in their arms and shoulders and the same person with stronger chest etc would always hit the ball further. you only have to ask why tiger woods builds his shoulders, and arms up to cream the ball.

Do you even know what the "stinger" is? This isnt your typical golf shot by any means. Yes you need strength to execute this shot purely because of the swing mechanics involved. Strength isnt the reason you hit a "typical" shot a long ways.

Furthermore... bulking up and getting stronger is going to limit your flexibility and speed. If strength were the key to power why arent bodybuilders world class sprinters?

[HansMoleman]

It is proven that lifting weights does help with distance. As long as you dont lose your flexibility in the process. Tiger Woods seems to be getting bigger every year and he is the best at the game.

[michaeljames92]

tincuptampa and some others, you have missed the point which many of us a are trying to say. Iacas is is correct in that you need flexibility etc, but a little definition on arms and upper body certainly won't hurt your game and may give you some extra yardage. we are not talking about body builders here. we are talking about just a little extra definition that would put a few more yards on your game. lets not turn this into a fight. it is just a forum with people adding their knowledge/suggestions. that is all

[Dent]

For some reason, when a lot of people join this forum they find that they start hitting it a lot further, usually upwards of 280 yards.

Sorry, but I think commenting on the exaggerated driving comments are getting old. It's been brought up so many times, people get it! Some lie on this forum. Who cares?

It also has nothing to do with the OP's question, he mentioned nothing about how far he drives.

[lolzzlolzz]

Weight lifting and bulking up doesn't hinder your flexibility, it helps it.

[Three Putt]

It's all about technique.

Some people have slow twitch muscles (Colin Montgomery), and some people have fast twitch muscles (Tiger, JB Holmes, Jason Zuback). Hell, look at Freddie Couples, still one of the longest at his age. I would say Bubba Watson is fast twitch, but he has an "archy" swing to me.

Swing Speed is one thing, BALL SPEED is quite different. If you don't hit it on the screws, you lose.

All that matters is the 7 iron and in, most people don't know this, so off to the store for another $400 Driver.

Forearm strength is great for stability and a last millisecond snap for the tee um high and let um fly holes, then Back Muscles (Lats), and of course Ab muscles (Core) for stablity and extra rotational power.

[extremeld]

a lot of nonsense is posted on this subject.

You can get 20 yards extra just go Buy the longdrive bible then commit to actually gaining the distance - it takes a lot of work to hit bigger drives.

[JaY_B]

It's all about technique.

I don't really think that fast and slow twitch

fibres (not muscles) have that much effect on the speed of the golf swing, I would of thought that the differential between fast and slow twitch comes in a reasonable period of exercise say from 8 seconds too 5 - 10 minutes, the golf swing is too fast/instant for the percentage of fast twitch fibres to make a noticeable difference to swing speed, is it not?