Distance: How to get more of it!

Jamie Sadlowski - World Long Drive Champion

There are three factors that go into making a quality golf shot; the distance the ball travels, the accuracy of the ball flight and the quality of the strike on the ball.  Very often golfers are striking the ball well enough and hitting it straight enough, yet there is a definite lack of distance. In this case there is a need for speed.

Jamie Sadlowski is the current World Long Drive Champion. He weighs in at 165 pounds and his longest drive in competition is 419 yards.  He generates 140 mph of clubhead speed which equates to almost 200 mph of ball speed! I believe that hitting the golf ball further has very little to do with strength and everything to do with speed - and Jamie is certainly testament to that.

When running backs in the NFL train, they are often hooked up to wind resistance chutes behind them. They then  run as hard as they can in an effort to overcome the wind resistance. This exercise gets them to run "stronger" but not necessarily faster. Sprinters on the other hand are hooked up to a device on the track that actually tows them down the track at a faster rate than they are accustomed to, thus getting their limbs to move faster than they are used to.  This is the formula we need to apply to golfers who are in search of a few extra yards - and we all could do with that!

Try this drill consistently over the course of a month:

• During each practice session count out 12 balls (and only 12) to hit with your driver
• After warming up, hit each of the 12 balls at 110% speed.  Hit them as hard as you possibly can - there should be little to no regard for the ball flight or where they go.
• Execute this drill each time you practice for one month.  At the end of the month you will have found another gear in your swing that will allow you that extra 5-10 yards with the tee ball.  Give it a try.

With this exercise you are training your limbs to get accustomed to travelling faster than they normally do.  Once you are used to moving faster, the ball will move faster - and further.

For all the latest on the Tiger Woods saga Geoff Shackelford has done an amazing job in covering every angle.