It’s a question that is commonly asked by amateurs who just simply can not fathom how someone can crush the ball so far down the fairway! The thing is if you meet these guys, you ‘re realize that they’re just human and are not built like brick houses either!
Secret Number 1 – Power Techniques
The technique that these guys have developed over the years means that they can seemlessly effortlessly transfer all their power into the ball with maximum efficiency.
But How Do they do this?
Well, they get their main power from two main points:
– Full shoulder rotation so that the shoulder sets underneath the chin.
– A firm base and coiled, resistant lower body
All the power in the golf shot comes from rotation in the shoulder and resistance in the lower body. Consider it like a coil, you wind up your body to the top of the backswing, drop the plane of the club slowly but steady into the correct position and then EXPLODE into the downward swing.
Secret Number 2 – A Wide Arc away from the ball
All the long hitters take the club back away from the ball on a nice long arc. Butch Harman, Tiger’s coach, used to preach this religiously and give Tiger a good old clout if he ever became too narrow.
Secret Number 3 – Incredible Weight Transfer
If you ever watch anyone who can hit the ball a long way in golf, you’ll notice that their weight transfer is always really good. This means that on the backswing their weight is on the foot that’s located behind the and then on the follow through they bring everything onto their front foot in unison.
If you do not do this correctly you’ll end up with a reverse pivot. This is where your weight is on the wrong foot in the backswing. In terms of technique, this is catastrophic to your golf swing and to your chances of getting any decent distance whatever
Secret Number 4 – Timing
In the downswing a lot of amateurs try and smack the ball too hard and bring their hips through faster than their arms. This is not really very good for power because your body is not working in unison.
Your body is always going to be the most powerful working as a unit. In Tiger’s early days, he was guilty of bringing his hips through far too fast for his hands. Butch put a stop to that pretty quickly because it was to the detriment of his power control.
Secret Number 5 – Tailor Made Equipment
Last but not least, these guys have their own customer made drivers that suit their swing and their biomechanics perfectly. They generally have low degree drivers – I think Tiger has a 7.5 degree Titleist which would end in catastrophe for a beginner. The less the angle on the club face the more chance there is of the ball slicing or hooking into trouble.
So what should I do to improve my distance?
Simply, you need to learn the correct technique and apply it to your game religiously down the driving range. I am now the longest hitter at my local club and clear the range with my three wood. The only reason I can do this is because I have studied books and pictures of what similarities the professionals have with eachother and applied to my game while practicing down the range. Choose your golf bible wisely, study hard and launch that ball into the distance!
