# Lack of distance



## Enter Sandman (Apr 30, 2007)

I am 47 years old and started playing recently and have had lessons etc.

My accuracy is pretty good but my distance is rubbish such as:

6 iron 125 yrds max

3 wood (graphite shaft ) 160 - 175 yds

Any tips i have also studied the David Blair golf DVD and i am cocking my wrists etc

Any tips please.


----------



## golfermatt91 (Jul 14, 2006)

not everyone has the same distances but it does look like your hitting them a little short example im 16 hitting my pw about 125-130

how is your hip turn


----------



## Enter Sandman (Apr 30, 2007)

Not sure about hip speed but i guess its slowish as i am a newbie, will it make a huge difference to distance ?


----------



## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

Distance is a direct function of club head speed. 
Without seeing your swing it is hard to tell why you are not generating good speed.
Usually people uncock the wrist to early. Try this, hold a club by the head (not the handle) and swing it, where do you hear the "swoosh"? if it is to the right (assuming you are right handed) you are releasing to soon, not creating the lag, get the swooosh to occur after where the ball would be


----------



## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

I'd check your weight shift, and your hip rotation.


----------



## Enter Sandman (Apr 30, 2007)

I tried that and couldnt hear any swoosh at all !


----------



## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

As I stated, distance is a direct result of club head speed. Club head speed is a reslut of strength and technique.
Now I'm 54 yrs old, 5'5", 175 lb, and have an aversion to exercise. But I do work on my flexability. In the winter, I'm an avid indoorsman. But I can hit my drive 250 and carry it 220. I assure you it ain't strength. I hit my 7 iron about 155-160.
See if this helps you
Dr. Jim Suttie Golf Training Centers - Instruction Articles

Again, without seeing your swing, we can't really tell you what areas you need to work on


----------



## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

Another thing about distance, while it's the "holy grail" don't sacrafice accuracy for it. We have a guy on our league, who cant reacht he 200 yards par 3's with his driver, but carries an 11 index. Why? His only hazards are the sprinkler heads in the middle of the fairway and his divots from the previous rounds. And he can chip and putt


----------



## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

seems liek your new to the game therefore probably aren't timed in on your swing. But once you find your swing you should gain some distance. Distance isnt everything tho and since your an older gentleman i would suggest working on your swing and just enjoying the game. If you do that you will get better and hit it further and you'll have some of the greatest satisfactions of life on the course.


----------



## titaniummd (Sep 16, 2006)

Where is your divot and in what direction is it in related to where you aim?

Are you hitting it fat? That is the biggest reason that I hit short in the past.


----------



## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

Enter Sandman said:


> I tried that and couldnt hear any swoosh at all !


You should be hearing a swoosh, reguardless of how slow you swing. If your not hearing one, it can mean a few things:

1.)Your weight shift to the left is wrong.
2.)Your throwing your hands at the ball, instead of letting your hips lead the downswing.
3.)Your not holding your wrist cock long enough.

Try to "float" the club at the top. This means get your club up there, and them move your hips, but not your arms. Stay loose, and relaxed, and let your hips lead the downswing. Hold that lag angle in the wrists, as long as you can. With irons, you want to hit down on the ball, as opposed to sweeping it with your woods.

It should feel effortless. Think of the golf club, as a whip. You want to slowly build up momentum, until it comes time, then you want to snap the club through the ball. I have a great drill for you:

Get a piece of 1" rope(diameter), about 3 feet long, or until it touches the ground. Wrap some tape around the end, so that it has a little more weight. Hold the rope, like a golf club. Let it hang down loosely. Now, drag the rope a little forward.(about a foot), then slowly bring it back, into your backswing, and let it flop over your back. Be patient, wait til the rope is still, then start transferring your weight, starting with your feet, then knees, then hips, then let the rope "whip" through the target area. 

It may take you a few tries to get it right, but it really does work. The key here, is to be slow, patient, and relaxed.


----------



## mstram (Jul 11, 2007)

Enter Sandman said:


> I tried that and couldnt hear any swoosh at all !


Then you're probably :

a) Holding the club too tightly and possibly also have excessive tension in your arms and shoulders

and 

b) Not "releasing" the club through the ball.

Two great drills :

1) For your "swish" :

Hold a club with your left hand, but with the head of the club near your hand, i.e with the grip acting as the "clubhead". (or you can use an old shaft with just a grip on it or any short light stick). 

Use your normal left hand golf grip with your arm extended out in front of you at chest height. (No "golf stance", just stand normally erect). Hold the stick pointing to the right, i.e. with your palm down. Then just rotate your forearm as fast as possible, reversing your hand so that your palm is up. Practice that a few times, then put your right hand on the shaft as well, in a normal golf grip get both forearms rotating as fast as possible. You'll have to keep your hands and arms relaxed and "soft" to achieve that.

Then try the same thing hitting short irons. Make a lazy half-paced swing but make the same fast rotation with the hands and arms as the club approaches the ball. 

You want the "L" shape (made by your left arm / cocked left wrist and club) to go from pointing upwards and the right ...(just before impact), to upwards and pointing to the left .. just after impact as quickly as possible. As Bob Toski said in his book "The Touch System" .. "It's like striking a match, a quick burst of speed" ..not a "dragging" slow "hit"

Then try the same thing with a short iron, while hitting balls. Start with a ball teed up low .. i.e just off the grass for a "perfect" lie, then gradually get rid of the tee.

You should find a real "pop" / "crack" of the ball happening compared to a possible "blocking", "dead hands" impact that you may have had to a degree.

----
Drill #2 "Throw the club"

This is from Fred Shoemakers great book "Extraodinary Golf" 

Forget "golf swing" and just make a motion like you were going to throw the club as far as possible sidearm / underhand. .. or make a vigorous "baseball swing" i.e. on a horizontal plane.

Don't think of moving any particular body part, just make the most powerful motion that you can, something that usually comes naturally when most people throw a ball or a rock.

When you do that, your "big" muscles will automatically get "tied in" to the motion, making a strong swing motion feel "effortless".

----

A great book that you can probably still find is Bob Toski's "Touch System", his whole philosophy on the golf swing was on eliminating excess tension and learning to feel *speed* and not *force*. Dean Reinmuth was a student of Toski's and has carried on with that core idea. His "Tension Free" series are great, I highly recommend it. 

I can personally vouch for the simple almost instant results that appear from reducing tension and promoting *motion* in the swing. I've taken video of my swing and with two seemingly identical swings on video, just by "holding on " through impact distance with a long club can vary by 30 yards or more vs a proper release / forearm rotation.

Mike


----------



## RingerPro (Apr 5, 2007)

Undoubtedly most people who lack distance do no release the club properly.

YouTube - Golf Tips, Lessons, & Drills - The Release and Followthrough


----------



## Golfbum (Oct 14, 2006)

Some of the previous posts offered good advice. This is the best advice.......Look up a certified PGA or CPGA (if in Canada) and take some lessons. :thumbsup:


----------



## U Grooves (Feb 13, 2007)

golfermatt91 said:


> not everyone has the same distances but it does look like your hitting them a little short example im 16 hitting my pw about 125-130
> 
> how is your hip turn



why would you want to hit your PW that far?:dunno: Im 16 aswell, playing off 1.3, and i hit my PW regularly 105-115. I doubt i could even make 125 with it, unless playing a punch.

In regards to the loss of distance, try to slow down your swing until you make consistant contact with the 'sweet spot'. When you can, speed it up and work yourself into a comfortable tempo. With the distinguished base of controlled speed, you can gradually introduce harder or more powerful swing mechanics.


----------



## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

You can't get 125 with your PW? That loft is it? I can hit 125 pretty easy with my PW. But I agree, hitting one that far is quite unnecessary, and I often only want mine to go 100-110 yards or so..


----------



## mstram (Jul 11, 2007)

The only way I could hit a PW 125-130 is if I swing it like a driver ... which seems to be the common thing these days in golf.

For the young bucks who are hitting their wedges 100+ .. how often are you getting it inside 10 .. 5 feet .. "leaners" "kick ins" ? 

Along the same lines, I don't know exactly when a 5 iron became the "200 yard" club, again I could only hit one that far if I swing "out of my shoes". 

With todays "power game", I generally see a lack of accuracy even at the tour level. It's very rare when you see any pro "knocking down flags" these days. 

Quite the oppposite, where 20-30 ..50 feet away with short irons is not uncommon .. which would be considered a terrible shot by most "purists" 

Oh, for the days of persimmon and forged irons, and accuracy over brute power 

Mike


----------



## U Grooves (Feb 13, 2007)

300Yards said:


> You can't get 125 with your PW? That loft is it? I can hit 125 pretty easy with my PW. But I agree, hitting one that far is quite unnecessary, and I often only want mine to go 100-110 yards or so..



It was a figure of speech. But on the same token, i dont want/need it to go that far.

My SW goes about 90-100 because of its strong loft.


----------



## golfmonke (Jul 16, 2007)

Can you tell us more about your ball flight? 

Does it go left of target, straight, right? 

Does it curve in either direction? (slice, hook)

Do you hit the ball high, or low?


----------



## beachbuzzard (Jun 14, 2007)

mstram said:


> The only way I could hit a PW 125-130 is if I swing it like a driver ... which seems to be the common thing these days in golf.


I find the EASIER I full-swing my wedge, the further it goes. With just a nice smooth, easy backswing, my PW goes between 115-125. I don't swing it like a driver at all.


----------

