How much does muscle factor in to distance

[Zeph]

It matters a bit, but only to give some extra distance. Anyone can hit their drives 270+ with the proper technique. The large guys on tour like Daly, Holmes etc. can hit it a mile, but without the rest of the game, they won't win anything.

I'd say it's 90/10 or even 95/5 between technique and muscles.

[iheart8.0]

try to hit the ball in the sweet spot with a clubface that's sqaure to the line.

[shortstop20]

I weigh 135 lbs, I'm 6'4

Holy crap! ........and I thought I was skinny at 6' 2" 165.

IMO size plays a very small part in hitting long off the tee or from the short grass, now hitting from 12" rough there's more of an advantage, but it still doesn't matter if you don't have the mechanics.

[Drennen13]

well Im 18. I weigh 140 punds but i played baseball for 14 years and golf for 10 and baseball has helped me hit the ball far. So im sure its just mechanics. and my average drive is about 305. And im kinda jacked ha

[maraca2020]

thanks for all of the help

[TheNatural]

IMO
To hit a 300 yard drive.

Technique and Strength will become slightly more or less important as the muscle mass "with" dexterity increases or decreases as well as the affect of the level of dexterity with ratio of muscle mass, the greater the leverage the less important all of these items become(only slightly since it affects the arc and club speed)

4 variables at play(dexterity=flexibility and muscle twitch speed/tendons) (muscle mass+strength) (technique= ball striking and lag) (leverage=height length of arms)


Take me. 6-3+/230 very strong core, stronger than avg arms, very flexibile, huge leverage factor. Technique is poor. Its easy for me to drive a ball at a range 300 yards,(on the course its a mess) and this IMO is due to mostly to "other than" technique. If i were 5-5 140lbs I wouldnt come close with my swing.

A friend of mine is 5-5 150. He drives the ball over 300 every time on the course. His lag and wrist whip is so immense that the club flex does much more work in generating clubhead speed. technique and flexibility make him what he is ;strength and leverage take the back seat.

with respect to the OP size you have to rework your swing completely to find that technique to match my buds club speed, As far as your flexibility I cant judge.


Sudlowski is the reigning bomber and this is due to 1.technique 2. flex 3.strenght 4 leverage or height. If he were jacked up to the "max" point of "no loss" in felxibility he would hit even farther.

HIS (jamie)competition outweighs him on avg by 40-50 lbs im guessing. They are mostly taller 6-3 to 6-5 but not all of them. SO this tells me "3" and "4" are his least important assets.

One can be too big also. I think 6-6 and taller causes one to lose ball striking ability. A 300lbs person is less apt to have the flex/muscle control.

One can also be too small, being shorter than 5-5 makes the odds of hitting long very low.

Its a static comparison. As one rises the other variables become less important.

[shankapotamus]

A good example would be Camilo Villegas. In college he was very skinny, and he didn't hit the ball very far. Now he's jacked, and he has like 300 yards carry.

[Golf till death]

I would say muscle is something every golfer should work on. Its obviously not everything but the times you are in deep rough it will help you keep the club face square on impact.

[ddalet]

I would say muscle is something every golfer should work on. Its obviously not everything but the times you are in deep rough it will help you keep the club face square on impact.

that is about the only time arm muscles will help you in golf.

guess that is why tiger got so jacked, he is always in the rough

[HytrewQasdfg]

Obviously pure strength does have some impact on distance. IMHO, the reason LPGA players don't reach the length the men do is women just don't have the natural upper body strength men do. I'm talking about the core muscles (stomach, side, back, etc...) that are used to power a rotational swing. Even the typical 5-0 tall man will be stronger in those areas than the typical 5-8 woman.

The areas that affect distance are (again imho, and in no particular order):

Flexiblity - If you can't get into the proper position at the top of your backswing, you're going to lose power.

Clubface impact point - The sweet spot on irons is about the size of a penny. Missing it by just a little can cost you yards.

Lag - Holding a late release adds yards.

Hip rotation - imho, most amateurs under rotate their hips and/or slide too much. I would include proper weight transfer from the back to front foot in this also.

Size of swing arc - An area tall golfers have an advantage (just as tall pitchers do.)

Arm mechanics - dragging the left arm through for swingers, pushing the right arm for hitters. I suspect this is where most golfers lose their distance, as doing these wrong will reduce distance/accuracy.

[OzzDOA]

From what I understand power comes from the core muscles. The abs, chest and hips. I have been working on shortening my backswing to get rid of a flying right elbow and found that my distance is the same if not better. This is because to get your shoulders turned you need to use your core muscles to create the "coil". I've found while my shoulders, arms and hands are more relaxed that my hips and core feel like they explode more through impact.