how to maximise distance off the Driver ?

for the long hitters out there,

can anyone share their 'secret' to wacking the ball to > 220m ?

Q1: when hitting driver , should we hit it on the downswing / upswing /level ?

Q2: % of left / right hand to control club on the start of downswing

some tips for the amatuer player out there .. THANKS !

Also wanna ask.

1. How straight should your stance be as compared to the irons?
2. How much shld you open your legs? I noticed that the more you open your legs wide, the closer to the center of your body is the contact point.

For an amateur player, I would be keen to focus on accuracy more than distance. However, if you've nailed accuracy, then you can continue to build on distance but then... I wouldn't consider you an amateur

Lift weights and hit at the sweet spot (still no guarantee the ball will go straight)... look at Zuback

watermyforrest wrote:

Lift weights and hit at the sweet spot (still no guarantee the ball will go straight)... look at Zuback

Sounds easy. But I'm sure it's quite the opposite.

Question... why do you want to hit soooo long?

siaw8 wrote:

Question... why do you want to hit soooo long?

Maybe birdies are getting boring. Eagles make for a nicer score

Seriously, a good drive allows the player to avoid the longer irons or fairway woods, and focus more on controlled shots with the shorter irons. And it avoids more walking time on the fairway too.

I hit only a short distance. but here are my thoughts:

1. Dont tee up too high...
2. Right hand will be cocked but aggressively straightening to acheive proper impact thru the ball. Kind of like trying to slap the ball with the club head...
3. Dont hit or swing at the ball... Hit THRU the point where the tee is...
4. 1 mental thought is enuf. Swing Smooth or accelerate work good for me.
5. A fast back swing does not result in a faster thru swing or more distance.
6. Stance is inline with direction of desired ball travel.
7. Left foot is opened a bit to help my hips swing thru.
8. Stance ard shoulder width + a bit wide... You are trying to hit a golf ball, not take a shit.
9. Let the club do the work... you bought it to do this anyway, so let it do its job...
10. Try for a high finish. Promotes a better thru swing for me at least.


Couple of observations/recommendations:
Look for a level area to stand and to tee the ball.
A lot of players look for the nicer patch of grass. Its nice because everyone that has figured it out will tell you that that area is most likely now level.
Chose an intermitent target justs a foot or so infront of your ball. Make sure its inline with where your tee is and where you want the ball to go. Making a mark is a penalty hor... but using one already present isnt. (so I am told)
Adjust your stance to the line formed by your tee and the intermittent target. easier then trying to figure out what is "inline" from a tee and a landing zone 220mteres away.
And Swing thru your ball/Tee and thru that intermittent target, accelerate as much as you can thru those points.

siaw8 wrote:

Question... why do you want to hit soooo long?

Bro S8, i also want to ask you this question.....

Technospaz wrote:

siaw8 wrote:

Question... why do you want to hit soooo long?

Maybe birdies are getting boring. Eagles make for a nicer score

Seriously, a good drive allows the player to avoid the longer irons or fairway woods, and focus more on controlled shots with the shorter irons. And it avoids more walking time on the fairway too.

For me, it will be more time for searching.
6 mths ago bought a driver but barely used it on course. (terrible slice).

All along, I have been using 5 wood to tee-off but until recently 3 mths ago, I use 3 wood to tee-off. It is consistent for me to hit fairway.

But downside is, out of 14 tee-off shot, usually 3-4 shot goes thin or fat.
And it's these 3-4 holes, I blew it.

So now, I started to practise driver whenever I have time.
Try to hit it straight and preferrably, same distance as 3wood is enough.
At least hitting thin or fat is less likely. (bad shot will at least go more distance than wood due to the high tee)

Conclusion: My objective is just straight. Could save alot of stroke for me.

I agree with you Roystonn. I've learned my lesson with trying to go for distance and sacrificing accuracy. Of course, if I can get both, that'd be awesome but it doesn't always happen. Between the 2, I would strive for accuracy. For me, minimal dispersion outweighs distance. I enjoy my game a lot more when I don't have to forage through the rough like a anteater looking for ants.

To hit long, do some or all of the following things:

1 Tee up high, stand slightly wider than shoulder width, and move the ball slightly forward so that you can sweep it in a slight upswing. Hitting the ball in downward swing like an iron will only create a lot of bottom spins, sending the ball high up like a rocket, and wasted on horizontal distance. It's still a 300 yds drive - 100 yds up, 100 yds down, and 100 yds forward, but you don't want that.

2 Hitting the sweet spot at 75% power gives you more distance than hitting the ball 100% power but missed the sweet spot by half cm. So swing 75-80% to get accuracy, don't swing too hard.

3 Focus on a smooth, wide, sweeping swing, don't focus on "hitting" the ball.

4 Passive right hand, keep the right hand angle as long as possible to maintain the "lag", and let the full swing thoughts to uncock your hands naturally thru impact, this will give you straight, long shots. Look online for Vijay Singh's drive sequence photos and note his right hand almost comes off the grip at impact.

Those are the few things I follow to hit beyond 200m, for an old man. Played yesterday with Uncle Soo at Legends yesterday and at the dual-fairway 18th (384m par 4), he wanted me to take the short cut between the bunkers with only about 15m of fairway to land. I did it with a 230m drive, safely on fairways...using those few points above. So next shot I only needed a 6 iron. If I had played the safer, wider left fairway, I would need a 4 iron or 5 wood for approach. So this is the dvantage of long drive (if only I can always do it right!)

Get a 48" driver.

Or this: http://www.divnickgolf.com/bigstik/worldslongestdriver.html



•Longer than any club Callaway has ever made.
•Longer than Taylor Made's best ever.
•Longer than Titleist.
•Longer than Nike.
•Longer than Cleveland.
•Longer than Cobra.
•Longer than Ping.

Longer than Adams, Bridgestone, Srixon, SMT, KZG, MacGregor, Mizuno, Nicklaus, Razor, Sonartec, Yonex, and Yamaha.*

It is even longer than the club used by the great Jason Zuback, winner of many long drive competitions such as the RE/MAX Long Drive Challenge.[img][/img]

Pls dont handicap yourself by storing away your drivers. It will come with practice.

i said it once.

i said it twice.

i said it many times. but i will say it again;

gym, gym and more gym.





in addition, you have to take note of weight transfer, contacting of sweet spot and confidence.

Roystonnn wrote:

For me, it will be more time for searching.
6 mths ago bought a driver but barely used it on course. (terrible slice).

All along, I have been using 5 wood to tee-off but until recently 3 mths ago, I use 3 wood to tee-off. It is consistent for me to hit fairway.

But downside is, out of 14 tee-off shot, usually 3-4 shot goes thin or fat.
And it's these 3-4 holes, I blew it.

So now, I started to practise driver whenever I have time.
Try to hit it straight and preferrably, same distance as 3wood is enough.
At least hitting thin or fat is less likely. (bad shot will at least go more distance than wood due to the high tee)

Conclusion: My objective is just straight. Could save alot of stroke for me.

Bro I will gladly provide a storage service for your driver... free

No leh, 40-50 kg kids outdrive me, some 75-95kg and fit men drive shorter than me.
Now we are talking abt 200-240m drives and not PGA distances like some of you here are doing. Muscle helps,but physical and mental Fitness help more when playing compettively for 4 straight days... So weekend warriors, dont worry so much, take lessons, get fitted, practice and play! ( now that takes a lot of time doesnt it? Add gym work? )

mUAr_cHEe wrote:

i said it once.

i said it twice.

i said it many times. but i will say it again;

gym, gym and more gym.





in addition, you have to take note of weight transfer, contacting of sweet spot and confidence.

Gym is important, but technique is by far the most important thing. Having big muscles will not fix your over the top swing, hence no distance. Good technique will create the proper swing path, lag, and impact which will give you greater distance. Definitely go to the gym once you have the technical stuff under control, otherwise you will be wasting your time. Too much gym can also be a negative as there is also a flexibility component involved. Too much gym can restrict your range of movement and cost you distance. Pilates is a great way to train for golf, focusing on the core muscles.

watermyforrest wrote:

Roystonnn wrote:

For me, it will be more time for searching.
6 mths ago bought a driver but barely used it on course. (terrible slice).

All along, I have been using 5 wood to tee-off but until recently 3 mths ago, I use 3 wood to tee-off. It is consistent for me to hit fairway.

But downside is, out of 14 tee-off shot, usually 3-4 shot goes thin or fat.
And it's these 3-4 holes, I blew it.

So now, I started to practise driver whenever I have time.
Try to hit it straight and preferrably, same distance as 3wood is enough.
At least hitting thin or fat is less likely. (bad shot will at least go more distance than wood due to the high tee)

Conclusion: My objective is just straight. Could save alot of stroke for me.

Bro I will gladly provide a storage service for your driver... free

Now it is like a long lost legendary Dragon Sabre that I have once pulled out again in the range to practise.. haha!

Uncle Lau tell me not to loan my clubs to people..

Felt so bad for my driver...

Right_sided_coach wrote:

mUAr_cHEe wrote:

i said it once.

i said it twice.

i said it many times. but i will say it again;

gym, gym and more gym.





in addition, you have to take note of weight transfer, contacting of sweet spot and confidence.

Gym is important, but technique is by far the most important thing. Having big muscles will not fix your over the top swing, hence no distance. Good technique will create the proper swing path, lag, and impact which will give you greater distance. Definitely go to the gym once you have the technical stuff under control, otherwise you will be wasting your time. Too much gym can also be a negative as there is also a flexibility component involved. Too much gym can restrict your range of movement and cost you distance. Pilates is a great way to train for golf, focusing on the core muscles.

totally agree with you.
especially on the pilate part, as it trains up individual to be aware, focus and control the core muscle and that helps in golfing.
In general, as a sportsman, overall physicall fitness is important.
Regular exercise like jogging, gym, swiming etc...all these not only helps in physical fitness but mental fitness as well...and all these contribute to a better mental state in golfing.[left]

Gym is important for any sport. I'll go back to hit the weights. That said, I still believe that being strong but not having a good swing doesn't mean much. To me, it lies in the swing. Strength helps, of course. But a good, solid and consistent swing will help drive the ball further.

Besides, with a consistent swing, you can exert more strength knowing that your shot is likely to be more accurate.

My max goal distance is 200-210m on Fairway ...am currently approx 10m away fm my goal . I reckon to achieve my max distance....I need to keep the ball straight...not the %^&%$%$ banana ball left right.....

Possible solution: Finish my swing.....

when comes to strength training, one have to understand that when starting strength training, the golf swing will be affected, may not be much, thus performance will drop slightly first. after that the performance will improve and better than before starting strength training.


Strength training is important but without the proper technique, you will be wasting your time.

humm... i think i'm better off to stay content of my current driver distance of 180-200m and focus on hitting every fairway rather than hitting long but no control

looking at the PGA Tour guys like David Toms/Anthony Kim/Tadd Fujikawa
(almost same size like me)

just wondering how these 'small sized' chaps can generate the power to hit > 250m consistently

If you watch the Playing Lesson from Pro (the episode with Anthony Kim). He mentioned that his huge driver comes from the speed that he is turning/swinging (no doubt it is coupled with hitting the driver's sweet spot).