no power

I am new to golf, i have been playing for abot a year and shoot in the high nineties. i hit my 5 wood further than mt driver. I am trying to find out how to generate more power.I hit my 5 wood about 200 yards as well as the driver. I have never been shown much i am learning on my own.

200 yards with a five wood is plenty of power. Are you swinging the driver with the same smooth action as your 5 wood or trying to smash it?
With the same swing your using on your 5 wood your driver should be going around 240-260 yards.
Whats happening, ball flight,slice,too high too low?
Power comes from good timing and quick hand speed thru the hitting area.

The ball flight with the driver is very inconsistent and weak. It usually slices to the right and it rarely feels as like i make good contact. It will sometimes fly high and also go low. I am not sure i have the right speed at impact because this is the problem with my irons also. My irons are straight 90 percent of the time, but the shot is weak usually with small divot. My 8 iron will only go for 100 yards. I dont swing real hard because I dont want to overswing. I feel as if my head is in front of the ball at impact somtimes could this be the problem. Thanks again.

What type of clubs are you using? I'm mostly interested in knowing about 5W and driver. Head type (wood, metal), shaft manufacturer (DG, Rifle, Adila, etc), shaft material (graphite, steel), shaft flex (reg,still, etc) and any other details you may have.

As for your swing, don't try to learn golf on your own. Please take my advice and see a pro. I thought I could teach myself and finally, 18 years later, I have gotten what it's all about. Take a few lessons if you are serious about learning how to golf.

I am almost in the same situation. I have been playing for just over a year but i shoot usualy on the 80-90 gap. I have seen a few people to help with my swing so far and now i am getting more serious about lessons from a local pro. It has helped me take 30 strokes off my game just producing solid contact. On friday I have a chance to lower my score from last year by 40 strokes (128-88). This is awesome!

I get 210 yards out of my 5 wood and 265 out of my driver. Your swing needs to be at the same pace for every club. If you are not getting 250 yards out of your driver you must be swinging it different.

Hi BigBird,

This will go against popular opinion by my recommendation is forget about the mechanics of the swing and just hit the ball hard for a few weeks. When youve trained the muscles to strike firmly then worry about your swing. They say its not a power game but an 8 iron 100 yards just wont cut it. To hit different shots doe's require power. Work on a good strong release and hit thru the ball not at it.

All the best.

I say do the reverse. Work technique into your muscles and if you do that, then add power, i think you will be pleased with your results.

Its interesting that you say you think your head is in front of the ball through the downswing, you really will lose a lot of power that way as your upper body is sliding/swaying

Work on taking half swings and concentrate on keeping your head and upper body behind the ball as you swing through. Have that as your only swing thought, 'see the club hit the ball'. I think you'll see that you'll hit the ball more solidly this way

While I agree with kiwi that you probably need to be more agressive, I'll state alongside with Bonzi that technique is your key.

As a 6', 250lb guy who can bench a good deal and leg press a great deal, strength wasn't my problem (but my 150 yd club was my 5i, and my driver would only go ~200 yds).

A couple of lessons later and I had added 20 yards to my irons, and 60 yards to my driver.

Take the lessons. Get your technique down. Then work on speed and strength.

Good on ya for not wanting to overswing, however, you might want to at least swing at your natural limit!

__________________
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I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I need to revisit technique also but i think i should be ok for comp tomorow


I am striking solid now (better than usual)

My driver is straighter

My putter is golden~

Many years ago my coach advised me to play only power golf for six weeks because I didn't hit the ball far enough, I had good technique but no power. That was 24 years ago and for my game to date that is still the single best piece of advise I have ever received. Who cares how great your swing looks if you can't reach a long par four in two.
Just to upset people further technique is easier to learn than power.Having power although it can be lethal on a golf course is what enables you to short low scores.(power is why you can play the variety of shots needed in a single round,punch,spin,consistant draws and fades etc).
No body said you had to overswing to create power in fact you would probably loose power as theres a good chance your timing and weight distribution wont mesh together. But work on a strong release and hit thru the ball solid.
Don't swing that hard as to fall over or loose body position but you definately have to exert yourself. I can often be heard grunting on a drive. Look at the face and foreman of any photo in a golf magazine and then tell me they haven't exerted power into the shot.
Golfing muscles and weight lifting muscles are completely different, Golfers weight train but the key is train. Train there muscles for specific movements not to lift 250 pounds, check out GTO's gym/exercises

There is a big difference usually in the length of a driver's shaft compared to the shaft of a 5 wood. This is really what creates the power. The arc of the swing is much longer with the driver and it takes more effort to swing the club because more leverage is created. Because of the of the length of the swing more things can also go wrong. A little breakdown in form can cause a big difference in flight path with a driver.

I think both schools of thought are correct. You may not realize the effort that you need to make to maintain club head speed with your driver. Go ahead and work on swing speed then. After a while though work on method to get consistency.