Can't get past 200 yrds!

I agree, my tempo is definitely slow and smooth but as I go through the ball I really decelerate to a full finish.

This may come from trying to steer the ball rather than act is. Not that it is doing too much harm, always on the fairway and hitting late 70's early 80's but the lack of distance will stop me lowering my scores further so action is needed!

Thanks again for all the comments....

I think what Nicole was referring to is keeping the wrists really loose through the swing which allows them to hinge fully on the way back and unhinge fully on the way down.

I think most people start off with a good idea of setup and swing path but have locked/tight wrists and hands. So they hit weak slices as the wrists dont hinge properly on the way back and then the clubface doesnt release properly on the way forward. They then start aiming left to compensate, bringing them OTT, still with locked wrists. Now they pull slice (the one you see most hackers doing on a sunday). As they play more these players then try to swat with their hands to square the clubface. Most are still open and still coming OTT. This move is really inconsistent since again it is weak and relies heavily on timing

Finally they realise they have been playing with tight wrists and hands and learn to take the tension out and also the hands out of the release altogether by using body/upper arm rotation to square the club. This is the real breakthough in terms of distance and accuracy

I wonder if you can guess who was also one of these players this parable relates too

Driving longer is all about club head speed PLUS your ability to finish "long".

I was clocking 104 mph and hitting consistently straight 300-310 yard shots. I obviously thought my technique was flawlwss with the driver becasue very few can hit 300. The local pro walked by one day after a particularly big drive, and said I was finishing "short". One hour, and 125.00 later he had me bombing 340 yarders!

To make a long instruction short, this "finishing long" is the releasing of the forearms that everyone talks about. At impact your forearms should not feel as though they are "controlling" the clubhead. You should almost feel as though you arent controlling the head. Envision your arms as string with the head attached to the end. At impact your forward transfer of weight should be "throwing" the string/clubhead into AND THROUGH the ball. If you attempt to keep your head perfectly still, your driver head will be rising at impact in essence transforming your 9.5 degree into a 14 degree driver. Instead, you need to be driving through your target at impact (allowing the loft of the driver provide all the lifting).

i gotta disagreee with you here. there is a reason long drivers use a 4* loft, it is because they ARE hitting on the upswing turning that 4* into 14* or whatever, because that gives them less backspin when they hit it high on the driver face and on the upswing. if you hit the ball when you bottom out and use the loft of the driver to get the ball in the air you will probobly get too much backspin and your ball will climb high, and then it seems like it hits a wall and just falls. and not that i am calling you a liar or anything, but are you absolutly sure that your SS was 104 and the launch monitor was calibrated correctly and you hit 300yds! i have read many diffent places that you need a SS of at least 120 before you can hit 300yds. i don't know if the physics allow a driver face to spring a ball that far with that little SS. but i do agree with you about your swinging through the ball and finishing long and high, that has given me an extra 40-50yds as well.

In reality, you must hit the ball on the upswing a bit.

however

When attempting to teach someone a technique for driving longer, it is important to use words that will translate into a feeling. Driving "through" your target can help accomplish that. Telling someone that you must hit a driver on an upswing will lead to a pulling of the lead shoulder and create short swings that will have a tendancy to slice.

As far as the accuracy of the swing velocity equipment I cannot be sure (I am not the owner of the equipment or the calibration tech), but those were the figures I was given before the drive increases. At last years LipovitanD Long Drive Regionals in Khon Kaen Thialand I went 302 yards with a velocity of 105mph (9 degree).

Since then, I'm sure my bigger 330+ drives are undoubtedly faster. The physics of "releasing the forearms" will generate more clubhead speed naturally, but I havent seen a reading since then. I would be curious to find out.

OK so I was curious...

Went to one of those online calculators and plugged in the following:

Swing speed- 47.5 meters per second (+- 105mph)
Loft- 9 degrees
temperature- 35 celcius
clubhead mass- 250 grams

there were some other variables but this was the meat and potatoes.

Result=301 yards

Looks like the measurements were fairly accurate. I am more curious than ever now to have it re-checked since re-vamping the swing.

Also checked on some tour averages: most tour pros are in the 115mph range with Tiger, Daly, and Keuhne in the 130mph range.

Results at last, so simple I don't know why I didn't think about it in the first place. My frustration was leading me to almost strangle the grip!

A light grip has added 30 plus yards, also added distance through my irons with the same change, 20 yrds to my seven iron (about 140 yrds). This was with poor quality range balls, so hopefully on the course this will go up a bit.

Still work to go to get up with these 300+ yard drives you are all hitting but for now I am happy with my drives going 230-250 yards where I aim them.

It just shows, always look at the basics first, after going through all my setup and posture I looked for a complicated reason for the fault rather than the simple ones.

Thanks again for all the input, there are definitely good points that will help me gain further distance once I have embedded this change.

__________________
JCBDB

what was the name of the website you used to find that info?????

and the fact that the avg pro is 115 but the average pro doesn't hit 300+ makes it hard to believe that a 105 mph went 300, that is all that i was saying. you would have to have absulte obove optimun launch angle spin rate and the moon and the stars need to be lined up. lol but maybe becaue you club head is so heavy and that is why you were able to hit it so far. buti didn't mean to sound too negaive, if you say you did i believe you, i just never head of a SS so low getting that much distance before.

i found a web site that says this


Distance for clubhead speed :: 50 m/s 115mph
Flight Time = 6.5
yardCarry = 232 yd
Total Range = 264 yd
Initial Backspin = 4027 rev per minute


which is what i have heard before and sounds more accurate to me, but dind't have club head mass so maybee that is why yours went so far (maybe you have a heavy club head)

Yeah, I was hitting a Cleveland Launcher 460cc driver at 9 degrees.

The swing speed was taken at the event (outdoors of course). I really am not at all an expert on the science involved with swing speed equipment or whether an indoor vs. outdoor setup makes that big of a difference.

Again, the only thing I can verify for sure is the distances announced at the event (304, 301, 305).

however:

I went to Fairy Plaza (khon kaen thailand) last night out of curiosity and stepped into their launch monitor setup. I am now using the new Cleveland Hi-Bore (9 degree and 520cc). Very interesting results.

40 drives
Average swing speed: 119.5 mph
High swing speed: 120.5
Average distance: 309 yards
Max distance: 341 yards

I felt a huge difference between the lows and highs with my launch angle. The first 20 drives or so I felt myself "pressing" which appeared to shorten my swings and give my drives an arching trajectory. After relaxing and releasing my forearms through the target, the shape became far more tear drop shaped resulting in the big drives.

Also of interest is that all of my straight drives, were 20 yards shorter than the drives that were draw biased. I hit no drives that had a slice bias.

I cannot help but thnk that you are correct in saying that the swing speeds from the event were off slightly. I just dont see how 301-305 would have been possible with the announced speeds.

i used to have the exact same problem about a year ago and i could not hit further than 200 but after playing with a friend who plays off 3 he told me what i was doing wrong and i took his advice and saw my distance improve greatly and as time progressed i got longer and can now hit the ball about 270-280. so my advice is dont be scared to hit the ball as i was, just go for it

I also have a problem driving. I was hitting it fine for a while with a little slice, but now i slice everything and hit it sky high. Even with a 9.0 loft on my driver and shaft made to hit low. And advice would be great

Sounds like this too is a swing plane issue. One of the most common causes for a high weak slice is swinging the club on an outside-in swing plane or "coming over the top". This tends to add loft to the club and put a massive amount of sidespin on the ball. A couple of things you can try to correct this:
1) Concentrate on swinging the club on an inside-to square-to inside swing path. This will help you square the club face at impact. It will also help you gain yardage.
2) Make sure you are rotating your hands through the shot. Your hands should roll through impact as the club squares then travels down the target line.
There are many good post on the forum with drill to help with this common problem. For more help try typing "slice" in the search box. And of course a quick tune up with a good teaching pro never hurts. Good luck.

__________________
Whats in the Bag:
Driver: Nike Sasquatch 460T w/ Grafalloy Bimatrix X Prototype
Woods: Nike Ignite T60 3 wood 15*
Nike Slingshot Tour 21*
Irons: Nike Forged Blade w/ S400 Dynamic Gold
Wedges: Nike SV 54* & 60*
Putter: Scotty Cameron Circa 62
Ball: Nike One Platinum

are you scuffing some, just try and get tour rythm back.

If you are otherwise physically endowed with normal strength, I think you are suffering from a combination of lack of weight transfer,shoulder turn and wrist hinge/release.
Take your driver and just allow your hands to relax on the grip to where you are a 2 or 3 firmness on a scale of 10. I mean you may have to work on this because at first you will think the club will come loose.
Keeping this light grip, take the club back slow taking notice to turn the left shoulder under your chin while shifting your weight from your left foot to your back foot.Do all this without a ball and make sure you are finishing your backswing-it will feel strange but just allow it to happen.
Take at least a dozen swings this way and feel the energy and power you are producing without trying to; get a rhythm of doing this slowly at first then add a little-very little speed at a time.
When you can do this with balance, imagine the butt end of the club on downswing pointing down the ball to target line, this adds even more release to the swing.
When you can do this comfortably, add a ball and tee it high.

Hi jcdb,
Get that left shoulder under your chin. This can be achieved by taking a wide arc with your takeawy and keep those legs and hips still. If you combine all this you should be creating enough coil to get that ball going.
Regards,
Robert