Hitting the long ball

[Stargaze]

Originally Posted by dak4n6

Yes.

I prefer to use width and lag and good tempo. I find that when I crush one, I end up holding my pose with great balance, which shows I swung with good tempo and stayed in my shoes.

Can you break this down for me a little?  I think I understand "good tempo", meaning not a rushed swing but consistent and fluid?

What do you mean by width and lag exactly?

[freegolfhandica]

Hitting the long ball is great, and I am very good at it.  But, when I muff my chips and miss my putts, that long ball isn't really doing me much good in the long run.

[k-troop]

For me, the best drives--in terms of length, traj, and accuracy--come when I do three things:

(1) hinge my wrists at the left arm horiz position;

(2) make a full shoulder turn; and

(3) hit the ball in the center of the clubface.

#3 is really just a product of doing both #1 and #2.

[Stargaze]

Saw this video this AM, I'm going to practice out at the range in a little bit.  What he's saying here really makes sense to me and I think my swing plane is probably off as my drives are not very consistent.  I hit the ball every time but not on the sweet spot every time.  Notice he doesn't jump out of his shoes lol.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by freegolfhandica

Hitting the long ball is great, and I am very good at it.  But, when I muff my chips and miss my putts, that long ball isn't really doing me much good in the long run.

Excellent info for all of us to have.

[Doodaddy]

Originally Posted by Stargaze

So these large [huge even] driver heads are great for being forgiving but they take away some distance correct?

I'm assuming their size can, in some instances, decrease a player's swing speed.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Doodaddy

I'm assuming their size can, in some instances, decrease a player's swing speed.

There is a threshold where the additional air resistance from the larger clubhead offsets the added forgiveness, but at 460cc's it's still more advantageous to have the larger clubhead.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by freegolfhandica

Hitting the long ball is great, and I am very good at it.  But, when I muff my chips and miss my putts, that long ball isn't really doing me much good in the long run.

A lot of guys on this site believe that if you hit a long ball you're mistaken . . . if you're also claiming to not have a good short game or be a good putter. True story.

[Doodaddy]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

There is a threshold where the additional air resistance from the larger clubhead offsets the added forgiveness, but at 460cc's it's still more advantageous to have the larger clubhead.

What about in square headed territory?

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Doodaddy

What about in square headed territory?

Not sure about the square designs, but some experts estimate the difference in clubhead speed (due to air resistance) between a 250cc driver and a 460cc driver is about 1 or 2 mph.  This assumes two shafts of equal length.  The higher ball speeds off the face of the newer driver, coupled with the longer shafts completely eliminate this deficit and make the larger clubhead more desireable in terms of both max distance and forgiveness.

[Mattplusness]

I'll start off by saying that I used to not be able to hit a driver to save my life. I had some random Maxfli driver won from a raffle at an outting - couldn't hit it consistently to save my life. Then my friend gave me a hand-me-down Taylormade TI bubble 2 - couldn't get it to not do a nose dive 30 yards in front of me.

Then I went and got fitted for a driver with a stiff shaft and a 11.5* face. In the simulation room I was hitting them and he was shocked they were going consistently 280+. I told him I'd never been able to hit a driver.

After a few range sessions it occurred to me that what was causing me to lose consistency was swinging slower (odd, eh?). So I started to just put my whole body and all of my arms into it on every swing and viola, I'm not hitting them consistently 270+, 250 carry with my longest being just over 310 with a backwind and a nice roll/bounce.

I may still have a bit of control issue with a lee-way of 10-20 yards, but I feel like that is more of just not knowing where to aim when I'm hitting it farther than I can see on a sunny day.

But I'll take Driver-wedge from the rough over driver-short iron from the fairway every day when I can get the ball to stop or roll out no more than a foot from the rough.

[Lost-Ball]

Originally Posted by Doodaddy

What about in square headed territory?

i had a square headed driver and it was good for hitting straight but they are heavier and have more drag to them slowing your swing speed down.

[dak4n6]

Originally Posted by Stargaze

Can you break this down for me a little?  I think I understand "good tempo", meaning not a rushed swing but consistent and fluid?

What do you mean by width and lag exactly?

Width = wide arc. It's the easiest way to add some mph to your swing. I think of a low wide takeaway (feed the alligator), and then keeping my hands as far away from my right ear as possible at the top.

Lag is simply maintaining your wrist angle well into the downswing and then firing the hands at the bottom.

Yes, good tempo implies not rushing, and more specifically it entails building speed gradually from a slow start to maxing out just past the ball.

[bigwave916]

Originally Posted by Lost-Ball

the harder you swing at it the less likely you are to be able to find it. i think keys to consistence "long" drives are

1. hitting the ball in the center of the club face

2. using your upper AND lower body. not just swing your arms fast

3. good balance and timing

4. LAG and trajectory

look at old Freddy Couples. hes still crushing the ball at his age and finding fairways and it looks like hes just taking a smooth practice swing.

Totally agree with all four points but I would add acceleration through impact. Freddy Couples is producing highest club head speed in his swinig at the bottom of the swing and through the ball. Best swing thought I've ever heard for producing acceleration is to think of you back swing as a roller coaster going up the big hill until it rolls over the top and accelerates down hill to the bottom.(the downswing)

[Doodaddy]

Originally Posted by Mr3Wiggle

Not sure about the square designs, but some experts estimate the difference in clubhead speed (due to air resistance) between a 250cc driver and a 460cc driver is about 1 or 2 mph.  This assumes two shafts of equal length.  The higher ball speeds off the face of the newer driver, coupled with the longer shafts completely eliminate this deficit and make the larger clubhead more desireable in terms of both max distance and forgiveness.

Very interesting. I went the route of squarehead simply for presence of forgivability and oddly enough, I enjoy the aesthetics of them a good bit more. I assumed there were some trade offs, but 1-2mph really isn't all that much of a concern to me. I'd much rather have more shots in the fairway instead of an extra 15 yards.

[Lost-Ball]

Originally Posted by bigwave916

Totally agree with all four points but I would add acceleration through impact. Freddy Couples is producing highest club head speed in his swinig at the bottom of the swing and through the ball. Best swing thought I've ever heard for producing acceleration is to think of you back swing as a roller coaster going up the big hill until it rolls over the top and accelerates down hill to the bottom.(the downswing)

yup

[NuclearMike]

My "best" drive since I came back to golf last year put me 15 yards from the middle of the green on a 302 yard par 4, so hitting 280 consistently is just a pipe dream for me.  I hit the fairway with my driver about 75% of the time because I keep a controlled swing but only average about 230-240 yards with a few longer and a few shorter.  Of course, I'd rather have that drive in the fairway than a longer one that ends up in the rough or worse.

[14ledo81]

Originally Posted by bigwave916

Totally agree with all four points but I would add acceleration through impact. Freddy Couples is producing highest club head speed in his swinig at the bottom of the swing and through the ball. Best swing thought I've ever heard for producing acceleration is to think of you back swing as a roller coaster going up the big hill until it rolls over the top and accelerates down hill to the bottom.(the downswing)

A thought that has worked for me to continue acceleration is to think of pushing a child on a swing.  You would not give them a hard push from the top of their swing, but rather steady with a hard push at the bottom.