300 yd drive new post

For all of you out there who can drive almost 300yds or more, to us mere mortals who only hit 200-220yd. Q What is the biggest fault you see that hinders ones abillity to hit it a long way. IE what one or more thing we should work on to give us the best chance of a long drive. hip turn, lag, weight transfer, follow through, backswing ? What are we missing ? Or there is no secret, you either have it or you dont. Dave CAC handed Geordie.

The key to more power is better shoulder turn and then release of hips. I still maintain that someone whose short game is good will always be a better golfer than someone who bombs it. We all need to spend more time on that.

I've hit 300yds at times but it's more with wind behind. I can't carry it 250 normally.

I used to carry it around 220 with maybe 5-10 yards roll...i now carry it 250+ with no wind and get a good 30 yards roll....no swing speed increase. i just learnt how to hit UP on the ball. I see the occasional 300 yard drive but its generally down to having a bit of wind behind.

if you don't already, you need to understand that hitting the driver with high launch and low spin will send the ball a heck of a lot further!! To achieve that, put 60% of your weight on your 'back' foot...and make sure you hit the ball ABOVE the equator line of your driver...that's physically the place that produces the lowest spin due to forces i can't explain and don't fully understand, i didn't believe it until i watched a mark crossfield video on youtube that i now can't find!

Have a search and try to find it, it'll explain it for you fully!

Good luck mate!

Cheers Mbachi and Andrew. I found that video on utube and am astounded. I always thought the "sweet " spot was plumb in the middle of the face. I will start the tee a bit higher and see the effects. He also said to hit slightly towards the toe of the driver head. So if the driver face was a dart board im trying to hit the ball at small section of the # 12. Dave CAC handed Geordie.

i think its closing the clubface so its open to target but closed to path. A slicer will never hit 300, i was astounded this year after a bout of lessons how i could hit it less hard and get further just by controlling the shape. many others i have seen have different swings and on some holes they struggle with a 180yd drive with a slice to a 220 with a little bit of hook. getting rid of the slice has got to be the key in my opinion.

I'd be interested in a link to that video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwd-4N6IaFc Dave CAC handed Geordie.

Thanks for the link, it's interesting. Currently I'm getting back to hitting my drives ok, ... the flights good so I'm happy with that. All I can put it down to is not trying to leather it and not ending up with a closed face so I'm a bit puzzled by AD's mention of a closed face and AP's weight on 'back foot' (isn't that reverse pivot?). It was messing about with the club face and stance that put me in the driving wilderness for so long.

Am I one of the only people who see a hole under 299yds as "should reach this one with ease", but add a yard (3ft, 36") and that becomes "may get on this one".

The most common fault I see is players being afraid of hitting the ball on an up swing. They tee the ball a bit too low and far back in the stance and aggressively attack the ball on a down "over the top" swing. This usually results in a high spin rising shot with a fade.

The common theme between longer hitters is the ability to release the club head through impact. By this I mean a natural un-cocking of the wrists starting before and continuing through impact. To do this, you have to learn to stay behind the ball. This is how the "seemingly" slow swinger is actually able to generate greater club head speed than the fast swinging "hitter".

@Dave - Drivers vary model to model, some have a sweet spot high center, some towards the toe, some nearer the heel. You don't need to focus on trying to hit with a specific part of the driver though, just continue to adjust the setup position and swing through consistently until you find the spot.

Yep, i didn't explain that too well Patrick. You don't want to 'shift' your weight onto your back foot while swinging as that will cause the reverse pivot you mentioned. It's about set up. Feeling your weight on your back foot during set up will naturally cause you to hit up on the ball...thats a feeling that 90% of amateurs need to get in order to realise how much distance they cost themselves by hitting down on the ball with their drivers. Chris has explained it pretty well in his first paragraph above! I'm one of the smaller guys in my group of players (i'm 5'10) but yet i drive the ball further than all but one of my buddies who is a bit of a lump! all down to my set up!

Ivan Cheers, informative and interesting as always. You are spot on, Im not looking for someone to say do this and you can drive 300yds, but rather you do this and you do that so you will never be able to drive 260yd unless you change. I can accept that. It just when I view my own swing, I am doing everything wrong. No backswing "180-190 deg ", No real lag, No core turn on back or forward stroke, No follow through to speak of. Apart from that I thing I am ok. Where do I start. I may if I get a spare weekend pay you a visit, whats the worst that can happen? Best regards Dave CAC handed geordie.

Hi Ivan, great to see you on here again!

Dave, I was lucky enough to spend a morning with Ivan a couple of years ago and it really helped my driving. Although I wasn't overly concerned with distance, I wanted to get more consistency off the tee. I purchased one of his drivers (I was using a shaft that was much too flexible) and that, along with a few tips he gave me have really made a difference.
Fast forward two years and I am definitely more consistent - I hardly ever miss fairways to the right, which was a problem before, so usually aim down the right with a slight draw. I sometimes tug one left, but can usually identify what caused it. Generally I am quite happy. All in all, a morning with Ivan and a custom driver cost me less than a new driver from one of the big chains. As others have said on this and other threads, a session with someone who know their stuff will bring much more improvement than simply buying more kit off the shelf.