how do these pros hit their irons so long with such little effort

[Lihu]

13 minutes ago, Piz said:

The secret to hitting farther, with less effort, is to use less effort.  The toughest thing in golf, for me, is getting my head around that concept.  

To be precise, less antagonistic effort and more directed effort is the key.

8 minutes ago, 2turnswish said:

It was a "hard headed" 3 years, following retirement, before I embraced smooth power. I swung hard and harder to try for distance and played the next shots from humiliating locations. Very interesting to see all the golf course and write down crooked numbers. 

Yes, it is funny. I'm currently working on this now.

[2turnswish]

To Lihu, my very best to your journey, discoveries, and joys. Like Hogan said a pure shot goes right up to your heart. I'm an incurable addict and I love my addiction! (Blessed with a great understanding spouse also who never complains, she has her own!)

[Lihu]

10 minutes ago, 2turnswish said:

To Lihu, my very best to your journey, discoveries, and joys. Like Hogan said a pure shot goes right up to your heart. I'm an incurable addict and I love my addiction! (Blessed with a great understanding spouse also who never complains, she has her own!)

Thanks, it's also about having a swing that will work into old age as well and not just getting immediate distance. 

[2turnswish]

Lihu, so true, so true. We have a guy here, he's 78 and he's the best golfer of all. Of course he plays the Reds. He shoots under par almost everytime. His swing looks feeble. Never more than 1o'clock on backswing and almost slow on downswing. 210-230 drive, on the green with next, one or two putt. Bingo. When he misses, up and down in two. Calm, reticent, cool. Can't beat him. He's one reason I quit trying to muscle the ball. I keep my left arm very straight,  concentrate on width without swaying in the backswing, keeping on plane, 3/4, and a smooth acceleration down to swishing thru the ball. My errors will be flipping instead of swishing. So I visualize the right hand, arm, and knee extending out through the ball and that gets me to a full finish and weight over to the left side.

[JonMA1]

I agree with those who mentioned this before... these guys are very good athletes who went into a sport that suited their natural abilities. 

I think some people are guilty of looking at a golfer's physique and judging athleticism based on that. Maybe he has a gut, or thin arms, or whatever and mistakenly think, if that guy can hit it so far, I should be able to.

Just a guess, but maybe pros combine above-average rotational body and arm speed with freakishly good timing and hand-eye coordination.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

I agree with those who mentioned this before... these guys are very good athletes who went into a sport that suited their natural abilities. 

I think some people are guilty of looking at a golfer's physique and judging athleticism based on that. Maybe he has a gut, or thin arms, or whatever and mistakenly think, if that guy can hit it so far, I should be able to.

Just a guess, but maybe pros combine above-average rotational body and arm speed with freakishly good timing and hand-eye coordination.

Athleticism really only has to do with distance and endurance. There's more to golf than whacking the ball a long way too, even though that's a good part of it.

What I see on the driving range is a lot of people, including myself, using their antagonistic muscles too much. If they could relax those muscles and make more efficient use of their body mechanics, their swings would also look effortless.

For instance, I think it's possible for 99% of golfers to get at least 10% more distance than they are getting now. Maybe even a lot more for some? The problem is not that they do not have the fitness, but that they don't coordinate their muscles well enough to make a good swing. If they could be taught to do even only that operation, more people would have these efficient swings.

Whether they can covert that distance to better scores is another thing, but at least their swings would look "effortless".

Edited December 17, 2017 by Lihu

[JonMA1]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Athleticism really only has to do with distance and endurance. There's more to golf than whacking the ball a long way too, even though that's a good part of it.

Thank you for making my point... sort of.

There's more to athleticism than what you've mentioned above. And the question posed by the OP was "how do pro's hit their irons so long with such little effort?". So while there is more to golf than "whacking the ball a long way", that is kind of the topic.

In case you missed this in my post above....

2 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

Just a guess, but maybe pros combine above-average rotational body and arm speed with freakishly good timing and hand-eye coordination.

The last two attributes are a big part of being a top level athlete in most sports, in my opinion. As is awareness of what one's body is doing, balance, etc. I don't agree that athleticism is only power and speed, or distance and endurance as you seem to believe.

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

I think it's possible for 99% of golfers to get at least 10% more distance than they are getting now. Maybe even a lot more for some?

I agree, but more from improving technique and mechanics than anything else. 

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

The problem is not that they do not have the fitness, but that they don't coordinate their muscles well enough to make a good swing.

Again, this supports my definition of what I think of as athletic ability. While pro golfers are probably stronger and faster than the average amateur, there are certainly plenty of studs out there on our courses who are stronger and faster. However, most lack the other abilities that allow the pros to be superior athletes when it comes to golf.

Athletics is much more than fitness, speed, power and endurance, IMO.

Edited December 17, 2017 by JonMA1

[iacas]

18 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

Tiger is 6'1" Rory is like 5'9" Jack in his prime was about 5'11"...

Tiger is not even 5’11”.

[2turnswish]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Tiger is not even 5’11”.

According to the internet, Tiger is 6' 1", weight 185.

[iacas]

1 minute ago, 2turnswish said:

According to the internet, Tiger is 6' 1", weight 185.

He's not. Ask anyone who's stood next to him. Like me. Or anyone else.

Let's move on, okay? He's 5'10", 5'11" when he wears spikes with a thick sole.

[cooke119]

I'm glad to read that others have the same problem as I do, though I'm sorry you do. I hit my 7 iron (Ping G25) about 135 to 140 yards and I've tried everything to get more distance, I can't figure it out. I would be happy with 150 to 160 yards. Now I'm 66 years old and have had three back surgeries but still, I'm in good shape, my back doesn't hurt but I still can't increase my distance. I have the same problem with all my other clubs as well, driver is 200 to 210 yards. I guess I need to spend the money and go to a pro to correct my swing but I am cheap (retired on a fixed income) and don't want to spend the money. I have taken lessons when I first started years ago but I've probably developed poor habits over time. I'll try some of the techniques discussed above and see if that helps. 

[nevets88]

 

On 12/17/2017 at 8:23 PM, iacas said:

He's not. Ask anyone who's stood next to him. Like me. Or anyone else.

Let's move on, okay? He's 5'10", 5'11" when he wears spikes with a thick sole.

It's been awhile since I saw him live, but I'm between 5'10" and 5'11" and when I last did he seemed about my height.