Some details have been changed since this piece was originally publish on Jan 31 2015. -GolfInRed
Have you ever heard the old cliche drive for show and putt for dough? Now just reverse that.
As you know there are many games within the game of golf. There’s your Metal/Physical Game, Long Game, Approach Shots, Short Game, Putting. That being listed in order of importance.
Flying today is considered one of the safest ways to travel. Planes are built with a high degree of redundancy. All components should perform as desired but just in case, you always have Uncle Sam. Unfortunately in golf there are no mulligans, so you need to develop redundancy in your golf game.
Without a doubt hitting the ball straight and far off the tee is the single most important part of golf. But to be the best player in the world. Your putting should be the best part of your game followed by short game, approach shots, long game. In a perfect world this will allow for the best possible outcome after a shot doesn't go as you expect. Instead, your confidence level will gradually increase as you get closer to the target. This is the ideal and it sets the standard for where your long game has to be for you to be an awesome golfer. So lets get that part down first.
With only so much time in the day to devote to practice, you need to maximize your time by practicing what influences your scoring the most. That's how Happy Gilmore found his success and so will you.
So take off you'r shoes, drink 10 coke's, smoke a pack a day, and just rip it. It worked for John Daly, hes got 2 majors.
Golf is so individual, you really have to find whatever works for you. Just take the pieces of advice from people that sound right to you and find a way to own it for yourself.
The average driving distance for players on the PGA tour is 290 yards and rising. If your goal is to become a single digit handicap I would say the absolute minimum you can hit your driver is 260 yards. If you can't, make sure to play the appropriate tee box.
Obviously the first step is to find a benchmark for over selves and a definite average of our current driving distance. You can subtract your second shot distance for the start distance. Be sure to take into account external variables such as wind, elevation change, temp as this can dramatically skew your results.
Keep your expectations realistic and determine your average carry distance. This will give you confidence off the tee knowing whether or not you can carry the bunker and what lines to take.
No matter what play your game and don’t let anyone else’s club selection off the tee influence your strategy.
Here are some simple changes that should instantly add distance to your drives no matter the conditions.
Tee the ball up higher.
If you find your ball floating in the air chances are you have too much spin and it’s killing your distance. Tee the ball up so that when you place your driver directly behind the ball half of the ball is completely above the driver. If this means barely putting the tee in the ground, so be it. This should indirectly increase your attack angle bringing the trajectory up and spin levels down.
If you are feeling really ambitious decreasing your drivers loft will increase compression and lower spin even more.
Consistent center contact.
Due to gear affect with your driver any off center hit will influence smash factor and spin. Get yourself some Dr. Scholls foot spray to spray on your clubface to see where you are making contact. Works even better than impact tape.
You want the ball to impact just above center. Shots hit low on the face will shoot the ball out low with lots of spin.
Toe indicate a path to the left. Heel shots could mean you are coming to far from the inside.
Positive attack angle.
Maximum distance with your drives is the combination of high launch low spin. The easiest way to achieve this is by increasing your attack angle. When the ball is on a tee it allows for an upward strike on the ball. A positive attack angle should feel very different than your irons and woods because with the ball on the ground you should always be hitting down.
Make sure your ball position is in the front of your stance opposite your left heel with the driver. This will drop your head well behind the ball creating a nice spine tilt away from the target.
If you look at all the longest drivers on the PGA Tour one thing they share in common is a massive spine tilt at and through impact. I think Jack Nicklaus and Bubba Watson are great examples.
Develop fast twitch muscles.
Training with the combination of a weighted golf club and alignment stick will give you both strength and speed.
I bought a Power hitter at 310 grams which is difficult to swing and should be. When training with a weighted club swing as hard as a can without sacrificing tempo and balance.
On the other hand when you swing an alignment stick or shaft forget about balance, timing, rhythm and swing as fast as you possible can. This should actually take much more effort than the weighted club.
Swing both right and left handed.
Hit the gym.
No excuses, find the time to get yourself into excellent shape. Just ask Gary Player.
If all else fails increase your driver shaft length and swing hard. Good Luck!