Why can't I hit it very far?

[Tommygun16]

Hi - I'm trying to get more distance with my driver (most clubs from med-irons down are bad but focus is currently on the driver). I'm getting disheartened reading the supposed averages for men and women as even when I hit my driver really well (really well for me) it only carries about 150 yards (current winter conditions). I don't quite understand how the average bloke supposedly hits it ~208. I've been for a few lessons and he just seemed to encourage me swinging as hard as I can, but for me doing that just seems to lose any sense of accuracy and form. I've also read that apparently trying to hit harder isn't correct, but the truth is you can't generate club head speed without actually trying to swing faster. We also had a lesson in the simulator - I was apparently carrying the ball 200 by just hitting it as hard as I could but I didn't quite believe this, and sure enough as soon as I was outside in real conditions the ball wasn't going beyond 150 again.

I'm male, late-30s and in reasonably good health so nothing is holding me back like that. I'm not massively slicing or hooking it. I have a good newish driver. And when I hit it well I'm hitting the ball out of the middle. The ball just doesn't go anywhere.

So why can't I hit it very far?! Does anyone else have this weird problem of being 60yards under the average for men their age?!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I wouldn't worry. The GM average would appear to be somewhere near 300 yards if you believed everything on here. I would suggest going back to the teaching pro as hitting it as hard as you can with no thought on dispersion sounds "lazy". I know that is how juniors are taught these days and then dispersion is reigned in but as we get older we lack a degree of flexibility as we get older. If you are only hitting 150 yards you definitely have a swing flaw that needs looking at. My simple advice is go back to the pro for a lesson and ask for more info or even go to a different pro for a different view on your driver swing

 

[DanFST]

Don't get too disheartened, i imagine in summer you'll get a lot of roll. I'd bet you are hitting down on the big stick, focus on hitting up consistently. Hitting the middle on the up will increase your distance massively. Don't swing faster, thats crap advice.

 

[fundy]

The obvious answer is because you dont swing it fast enough, whats causing that who knows

Could pop a video of your swing up if you want a thousand amateur and a couple of pro opinions as to why. That or see your local friendly pro. Or both..................

 

[Crow]

This video explains a lot, it says for seniors but it covers the main points in getting a good release of the club which is where the most speed comes from.

 

[G1z1]

I know your saying 150 yards carry but what’s the total distance after roll out ? Reason I ask is I tend to have a low ball flight myself with the driver. So sometimes I’ll only hit it around 180 carry but I get a lot of roll out because I have a fast swing speed and total distance for me is usually around 230/250. If you have a low ball flight 150 yards isn’t something to worry about it will be hitting more up on the ball you want.

 

[bobmac]

A lack of clubhead speed can often be caused by a lack of wrist hinge.
This can be seen at the top of the backswing as the angle between your forearm and shaft as shown below in red



Film your swing and see if the angle is similar to Luke's.
If not, there's a loss of distance.

 

[Neilds]

Another thing to consider is whether you are hitting 150 on the course or on the range? Range balls are notoriously bad and will take a good 20-30 yards off a drive as they are rubbish

 

[jim8flog]

It's all about timing really.

If you are trying to smash it from the top of the swing you could actually be slower by the time the club head hits the ball.

Although I do not hit it as long as I used to I have often been asked how I manage to hit it so far with such a smooth slow swing. My answer has always been the same - "you might see a slow smooth swing overall but you do not see what happens in the final part of the downswing and just after impact with the ball".

 

[Doh]

The biggest killer of speed is muscle tension on a scale of 1-10 1 being floppy and 10 being so tense you can hardly move you should be somewhere between 4-5. If you turn your driver upside down and swing it will make a noise need to be loudest through the impact area.

 

[need_my_wedge]

This is nice, simple and fun. Maybe deserves an airing in the main lounge, but fits in this thread

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Do a little half swing with little or no manipulation of club and with no swing thoughts and simply hit the ball hard and see what happens. If I was a betting man I'd bet you hit it further than 150yds, and pretty straight into the bargain.

 

[Tryhardgolfer]

Hi - I'm trying to get more distance with my driver (most clubs from med-irons down are bad but focus is currently on the driver). I'm getting disheartened reading the supposed averages for men and women as even when I hit my driver really well (really well for me) it only carries about 150 yards (current winter conditions). I don't quite understand how the average bloke supposedly hits it ~208. I've been for a few lessons and he just seemed to encourage me swinging as hard as I can, but for me doing that just seems to lose any sense of accuracy and form. I've also read that apparently trying to hit harder isn't correct, but the truth is you can't generate club head speed without actually trying to swing faster. We also had a lesson in the simulator - I was apparently carrying the ball 200 by just hitting it as hard as I could but I didn't quite believe this, and sure enough as soon as I was outside in real conditions the ball wasn't going beyond 150 again.

I'm male, late-30s and in reasonably good health so nothing is holding me back like that. I'm not massively slicing or hooking it. I have a good newish driver. And when I hit it well I'm hitting the ball out of the middle. The ball just doesn't go anywhere.

So why can't I hit it very far?! Does anyone else have this weird problem of being 60yards under the average for men their age?!

Hi I'm a female player but I feel exactly the same. My last lesson the pro just said just your swing and hit it as hard as you can. I tried that and it was a total nightmare on the course ? I was filled with shame and came away having lost my tempo (such as it is). I'm so interested to hear any replies. ?

 

[Region3]

I’m not a pro so not qualified at all, but I think the “hit it as hard as you can” advice should be kept to range and lesson time so the teacher can see how it changes your normal swing and tweak as necessary.

Also, some people just have naturally slow swing speeds. If that’s the case don’t be afraid to go for more loft and/or a softer shaft. It’s amazing how much difference a higher launch and more spin makes.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Hi I'm a female player but I feel exactly the same. My last lesson the pro just said just your swing and hit it as hard as you can. I tried that and it was a total nightmare on the course ? I was filled with shame and came away having lost my tempo (such as it is). I'm so interested to hear any replies. ?

I am not a teacher but my opinion is to learn to swing as hard and fast as you can. Which will probably go against what many on here would advise.

I was taught to be steady and that hitting fairways was the most important thing, so I developed a slow deliberate swing which I realise now held me back once I reached a certain level.

Learning or increasing speed is much harder once have a reasonably ingrained swing.

It’s easier to dial it back than ramp it up.

 

[SocketRocket]

Swinging as hard as you can won't create better results if the fast bit is before you strike the ball. Throw some balls as far as you can and then consider what you did with your body to generate the distance. Then work at incorporating the same sequence into your golf swing. Our brain and bodies know how to generate distance, we have to listen to it and not work against it.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I am not a teacher but my opinion is to learn to swing as hard and fast as you can. Which will probably go against what many on here would advise.

I was taught to be steady and that hitting fairways was the most important thing, so I developed a slow deliberate swing which I realise now held me back once I reached a certain level.

Learning or increasing speed is much harder once have a reasonably ingrained swing.

It’s easier to dial it back than ramp it up.

That’s me. I used to play a very controlled game with short backswing; in2out swing path, and fast hands. Hit me a lovely low draw a decent distance but lack of hip turn that resulted made me prone to the occasional shank and serious mid hit shot.

Got down to 6 but that occasional shank really messed up good rounds and so likewise my swing limited me and stopped me going lower. I am changing it now and part of that is seriously increasing ball contact speed (not swing speed as such) to move me away from the gentle control of the past, getting my hips out of the way and slamming the ball with passive hands.

Well that’s what I am trying to do.

 

[MadAdey]

There are a lot of things to consider when looking at what is costing you distance. Are you getting crazy backspin? Launching it too high? Have you got a nice wide swing? Are you hitting up on the ball? Are you transferring your weight at the right time? So many things can cause distance loss. If you are in your mid 30's, in good shape I would expect you to be easily carrying it in the 200's.

Normally I would not be someone to tell you that hitting it further will help you shoot lower, but in your case it would. Get a video of your swing up and let us have a look, we might be able to see something obvious.

 

[Tommygun16]

Hi I'm a female player but I feel exactly the same. My last lesson the pro just said just your swing and hit it as hard as you can. I tried that and it was a total nightmare on the course ? I was filled with shame and came away having lost my tempo (such as it is). I'm so interested to hear any replies. ?

How's it going for you? I managed to improve quite a bit by doing one specific thing, although the improvement was during summer so will be interesting to see how it goes in the winter. But interesting to hear if you managed to improve.

 

[Swango1980]

Caveat: I'm not a golf professional, so only commenting based on my experiences, which includes lessons with many pros over my time, and trying different things which have / haven't worked in my own swing.

I guess it depends on your individual ability, including strength and flexibility. We don't know whether your issues are related to bad technique, or limitations in strength and flexibility, or both. Another factor to consider is whether your golf club is suited for your swing. If you have issues with your technique, there could be many many reasons for that.

So, a decent professional should be able to help. If you are lucky, you'll see a good pro. But, professionals can be very different, and some may be great in some areas, but not necessarily give the best advice in other areas. So, you could try and see 2 or 3 professionals, just to see if they are giving some consistent advice. Hopefully one of them will give you some good thoughts to work on, and you will see improvements. They will hopefully give you good advice that takes into account any of your physical limitations.

Some very generic advice is to make sure you are feeling that you are swing through with your body, rather than just swinging your arms. Another decent thought, which I recently heard, was to fully focus on your target, not the ball. If you focus on the ball, you tend to swing down at it, but really struggle to fire your hips. Whereas, if you think of the target, you subconsciously find it much easier to fire your hips towards the target, and allow the club to fire through the ball. Whether that works for you or not, I've no idea. But, could be worth a try.

I'd have thought swinging as hard as you can is only good advice for those that have pretty good swing mechanics. However, pretty bad advice for someone who has poor swing mechanics (e.g. if someone just swings with their arms, there does not seem to be any point in asking them to do that harder), especially if that worsens contact. A pretty slow swing with great contact should generally go further than a fast swing with terrible contact. Great contact will increase the smash factor (effectively the difference between club head speed and ball speed)