Wanting more distance off the tee

[WUTiger]

Quote:

Im in very good shape, i squat 250, bench 150, do all sports, and very athletic.... I was swingin 95 today on the machine... Do you think swiching to a superfast this year would increase my distance?

... also my ball speed was very low...

Caution from a manufacturer's rep at a recent golf expo (company to remain anonymous)...

The superfast shafts and their cousins from other companies are very light. Thus, there may be a problem with control (tip too flexible in thinner shafts) for people with moderate to high swing speeds. If you gain 15 yards off the tee, but go 10 yards deeper in the rough, it may have a negative impact on your game. May not be a problem for people with slower swing speeds. Sounds like something to consider. I'm not backing one side or the other.

Strength vs. Power.. . In December, I started going to gym more regularly, about 3.5 times per week. I rotate a four workout routine:

Cardio.A | Strength | Cardio.B | Power (straight from TPI site)

We'll see this spring if it helps out.

[johnthejoiner]

Originally Posted by davidson11

Can you get 20 yards extra off the tee with a new driver? Wanting yalls opinion, driving around 250, thinkin swing speed is around 95-103... However i am going to get tested tomorrow

Wanting yalls thoughts on if a new top of the line driver will help

http://www.taylormadegolf.com/mainlevel/golfshop/drivers/r11.html#30

[davidson11]

Haha, im only a freshman in high school, so i guss i have the explosiveness...

[davidson11]

Haha im only a freshman in high school, so i think the explosiveness is there... I just needed yalls tips because the guy didn't give me none about equipment.

[phillyk]

Because you have strength doesn't equal out to explosiveness. As a freshman in high-school, I benched maybe 120, and I still had a swing speed of 110.  My strength had nothing to do with explosiveness. It's flexibility and torque that maximizes explosiveness on the ball.  Regardless, I wouldn't worry about power as a freshman though, build up consistency first.  Make sure you can hit the ball the same way every time before you think of trying to hit it far.  Plus, better ball striking comes with more distance.

[davidson11]

Thank you sir, i saw justin rose got 30 yards from getting his R11 tuned... Im going to my golf shop wedensday to see the difference between mine and the r11 both tuned to me... Mine in my town is a heck of a lot better than the one i went to... I hit the ball very straight all i want is to tweak some more distance. Idk if its the shaft or the adjustments, moneys not a problem

[Gerald]

30 yds ........

Originally Posted by davidson11

Thank you sir, i saw justin rose got 30 yards from getting his R11 tuned... Im going to my golf shop wedensday to see the difference between mine and the r11 both tuned to me... Mine in my town is a heck of a lot better than the one i went to... I hit the ball very straight all i want is to tweak some more distance. Idk if its the shaft or the adjustments, moneys not a problem

He was tied for 103rd place in the PGA stats at only 285.8 yds, add 30 yds will bring him to the number 1 position in average Driver Distance.

Point is that when he switched to the 9.5 Superfast, his stated average was 301 yds (tied at 15th in the PGA rankings), but some how dropped to 285.8 yds.

Now here is the new magic.

And I figure those PGA stats is driver length, we are not talking about carry here........

Your R9 Supertri is one of the longest (standard) drivers I have hit in the last year, I cannot imagine the real gain to be more than a few yards.

Gaining distance has very little to do with the Driver, but it swingspeed, smashfactor, ball, weightshift, swingplane etc...... the tools may differ a bit, but all modern drivers will be within about 10 yds........

[Zeph]

I would look into swing mechanics and technique before starting a big training program to gain muscles. Tiger hit it 300 back when he was a little wimp, still does today after he's bulked up. Lots of guys hit it long on the tour. I know most of them are working out today, but they didn't some years ago, and were hitting it far then too.

You can probably gain distance by working out too, but it may also give you some moves in the golf swing that can be inconsistent if you try using pure muscle power to hit it far.

A swing video of your driver is a good place to start in spotting where to improve. You mentioned getting tested, I assume that means hitting on a launch monitor. That would give you some data to begin with. Optimizing launch conditions is the first step.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by Shindig

I'm curious what the correlation between benching (and other traditional measures of strength) and distance is in general; I have recently come to the realization that I am quite weak (today's bench was 70 lbs) in these regards. But that's another story for another time. From your description, it sounds like physical condition isn't your issue.

Obviously there's some correlation, but I bet it's fairly weak.  Example: I'm 6'2", 200, ex college baseball player who does body weight strength training now instead of hitting the weights, but would generally consider myself fairly strong with good core flexibility and strength.  I max out at about 310 and average maybe 275.  My best golfing buddy is 5'9", maybe 160, soccer player with good leg strength but doesn't work out other than playing soccer and golf (and the Kinect if you count that!).  He maxes out at about 310 and averages 270-275.

To the OP, about adding distance.  I switched last year to a 9.5˚ from a 10.5˚, and started out hitting the ball too low.  I put the ball maybe one inch further forward in my stance and concentrated on a steeper front shoulder to back shoulder angle at set, almost leaning back a bit, to try to hit the ball more with an ascending blow.  That added significant yardage without other obvious swing changes to significantly increase in SS.

[johnthejoiner]

Originally Posted by davidson11

Can you get 20 yards extra off the tee with a new driver? Wanting yalls opinion, driving around 250, thinkin swing speed is around 95-103... However i am going to get tested tomorrow

Wanting yalls thoughts on if a new top of the line driver will help

[Kieran123]

Originally Posted by davidson11

Thank you sir, i saw justin rose got 30 yards from getting his R11 tuned... Im going to my golf shop wedensday to see the difference between mine and the r11 both tuned to me... Mine in my town is a heck of a lot better than the one i went to... I hit the ball very straight all i want is to tweak some more distance. Idk if its the shaft or the adjustments, moneys not a problem

.....a new driver will not magically give you an extra 30 yards.

Read what people are telling you, you need to focus on your swing mechanics.

I have a friend who is strong, a personal trainer, I can out drive him with no issues, because he doesn't swing the club properly ( neither do I, but still better than he does )

Look at Bubba, not exactly macho buff guy, but he bombs it LONG

[Camo]

Even seen bubba Watson ? He is kind of a scrawny little guy....lol. It ain't about being buff Tigers recent mucle man routine hasn't done much for him, John daly is a tub o lard. Phil is pudgy marshmello man My point, being fit is obviously a great advantage in life but in golf, it is all in the swing technique. My typicall driver swing is best described as "stuck" and i only hit my driver about 220 When I can manage a free flowing and smooth swing I drill it 250+ I know what I am after, just have not been able to consistently produce it. Focus on your swing technique.

[JMReynolds]

8 months ago I was 6'1 295 lbs. Today I am 6'1 215 lbs, benching a little over 250 and leg pressing a tad over 1,000 lbs. I was averaging 260 yards on drives. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. My arms and legs were so strong. My local pro told me to focus more on my core strength. I've seen 15-20 yards of distance increase because of it. http://www.askmen.com/top_10/fitness/53b_fitness_list.html What helped me. I also did a full 90 days of p90x. MiLLER HTC Inspire :D

[davidson11]

JMReynolds, im proud of ya bud, thats awesome.... Me and my dad did p90x during the summer.... But i see the point, swing mechanics

[The_Pharaoh]

310...maybe 320. Haha!!

Originally Posted by johnthejoiner

[tweaky]

i can't bench press a pound of butter but my swing speed is 105+ on average.  technique in the swing is what you need to put your $$ in to before another club.  you're trying to "buy a game".  work on more swing speed first- right now you've worked up your strength muscles.

Remember this- Mike Austin still holds the Guinness World Record for the longest drive in a PGA sanctioned tournament in 1974.  515 yards.  He was 64 years old using a steel shafted 11* persimmon headed 43.5" driver.  look him up.  technique, not technology.

[delav]

Originally Posted by tweaky

i can't bench press a pound of butter but my swing speed is 105+ on average.  technique in the swing is what you need to put your $$ in to before another club.  you're trying to "buy a game".  work on more swing speed first- right now you've worked up your strength muscles.

Remember this- Mike Austin still holds the Guinness World Record for the longest drive in a PGA sanctioned tournament in 1974.  515 yards.  He was 64 years old using a steel shafted 11* persimmon headed 43.5" driver.  look him up.  technique, not technology.

Yeah... but think what 3D tuning could do for him...

[vikramraju]

I've been having some trouble with getting extra distance off the tee too.... the best solution I have found is to work on flexibility a little more and focus on a full shoulder turn on the backswing. Additionally, working on getting some lag as you hinge your wrists while coming down will do wonders in catapulting your ball a bit further...