All You Need to Get Longer

When it comes down to it there are only a few simple things we can do to get longer off the tee and it truly comes down to physics. We can either be more efficient with the speed that we currently possess or learn to move the clubhead faster through impact. The following video addresses both elements and goes into greater detail…

We have the following important elements to tap into if we’d like to hit the ball longer off the tee, and yes, we all would…

Improved Efficiency

1. Impact Location

   Use a powder based spray like foot spray or dry shampoo to get the feedback you need regarding where you are striking the ball on the club face. Practice with the spray on a regular basis to improve your strike quality and energy transfer from clubhead speed into ball speed.

2. Club Delivery

   This important element is a product of the direction the clubhead is traveling as it runs into the back of the golf ball. For maximum distance the ideal delivery occurs when the clubhead is traveling straight, which means it has very little in-to-out or out-to-in bias and slightly upward. I have found that the best attack angle range is somewhere between 2 and 5 degrees upward. Anything more than that will most likely compromise a player’s ability to strike the ball properly.

Faster Club Speed

1. A Longer Backswing

   The further you can make the handle travel going back, the more time you have to pump energy into the system. Make sure you do this one correctly as the arms need to remain fairly wide and extended for maximum handle travel in the backswing.

2. Intentional Practice

   We must train our bodies to move faster and this is the best single way to educate your body and nervous system to move faster. You don’t need to overdo this, but a 20-25 ball set once a week will do wonders for your ability to get moving. And the best part, once you get faster, it’s very easy to maintain that increase in speed.

You have the ability to make the ball travel around 2.75 yards per MPH of clubhead speed when at peak efficiency. If you’re still looking for more distance the only way to get there is to work towards an increase in speed.

I hope this message inspires you to start putting the work in to hit the ball longer off the tee, because we are all better with a 9i in our hands than we are with a 7i in our hands. I have done it, and I know that with some motivation and a little effort, you can too.

Get Faster Off the Tee

Here is an exercise to help you gain a few miles per hour of clubhead speed over time and allow you to pick up that much needed yardage off the tee. The objective is to slowly introduce your body to the increased speed, efficiency and agility necessary to generate additional clubhead speed.

Here is what is required:

• It is important to get loose prior to starting your speed sets
• Using your driver you want to hit two sets of five golf balls with a recovery period in between each set
• There should be little concern for accuracy or even quality of shot - the sole objective is speed
• The first shot in each set should be at your normal driver speed
• Each shot builds on the speed of the previous shot
• The final shot in each set should be the absolute fastest you can possibly swing

If you can do two speed sets as mapped out above 3 times a week for a month I would be surprised if you had not gained 4 mph of clubhead speed when making a normal feeling golf swing. That's enough for 10 more yards off every tee box!

Additional resources for more distance off the tee:

Getting More Out of Your Driver | Andrew Rice Golf

Hitting Up or Down? Here's How to Set Up | Andrew Rice Golf

Hit Up On the Driver: Here's a Great Drill - YouTube

Two Shots for Sand Success

In order to be a great bunker player you need more than one shot.  How often have you found yourself in the sand, twenty feet from the hole, and you need to hit a high, soft, spinnning shot to have any chance of getting up and down?  Or found yourself sixty feet from the target and you now need a lower, running type bunker shot in order to reach the hole?  You need to learn these two shots!

The first shot is a high velocity, high trajectory, high spin shot.  It is most often struck with the most lofted club in the bag.  In this situation the ball needs to come to a screeching halt very soon after landing, due to the fact that you have very little green to play with.

Here is how to play the shot:

• Using your most lofted club, open the face as much as possible.  You should feel as if you could balance a glass of water on the face of the club at address - take note of the picture above.
• The velocity and speed in the swing is what gets the ball high and spinning, so even though this may be a short shot it requires an aggressive approach.  Hit it hard!
• Going through impact try to feel the hands scoop under the ball.  The club head releases under and thus the club face stays open through the hit. This is an important element to this shot as it allows the golfer to hit hard, yet when releasing the club properly, the ball goes up versus far.
• Practice this shot from good lies off of a slight up slope in the sand.  While hitting the shot as hard as you can try to see how high and short you can make the ball travel.

The other shot is a low velocity, low trajectory, low spin shot.  It should most often be played with the second most lofted club in the bag.  If you have an LW it would be the SW, or if you only have an SW then you should use the PW.  In this situation the shot needs to traverse a large portion of either flat or downhill green.  There is ample opportunity for the ball to roll like a putt!

Play the shot this way:

• Using a lesser lofted club the stance should be of average width and the ball position is still forward of center.
• The clubface remains open, yet to a lesser degree than the above shot.
• This shot is played almost in slow motion as there should be very little speed in the swing. I often call this the 'dump and run' shot, as it should just get out the bunker, land early on the green and roll to the hole as if it were a putt.
• The hands should be light throughout the swing and it is okay to actually roll the face a little through impact.  This serves to lower the shot further and causes the ball to release more.
• Do not attempt this shot when your ball is lying on an upslope! An upslope requires a more aggressive swing and that robs the ball of  its ability to stay low.
• Practice is vital for this shot as it tends to take a few tries before sensing the correct speed of the swing.

With a few minutes spent experimenting with the above suggestions in the sand you will soon start to lose some of the angst we have all experienced when stepping into a bunker.  Give it a try and please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Additional Resources:

How to Hit Great Bunker Shots

Luke Donald's Buried Lie