Guinness World Records recognized Mike Austin as the golfer who hit the ball furthest at 515 yards in 1974 at the US Senior National Open Qualifier. Additionally, Card Cooper has a record of 787 yards at the 1992 Texas Open, the longest ball distance in PGA Tour history.
How can they do it?
All golfers know the importance of driving a golf ball further and more accurately. You shouldn’t need to drive your ball as far as both of them, but you know it’s important and better for you to drive the golf ball further.
Many techniques can be used to improve your game, but today we will focus on 7 secrets that can help you drive a golf ball further that rely on our experience and analytics. Read on to learn how to maximize your distance off the tee!
Consistent Center Contact
To drive your golf ball further, it is important to make sure that you have a consistent center contact club with the ball.
Why do we discuss consistent center contact between the club and the ball?
There are two wrong ways that golfers commonly get:
- First, when you contact the ball on many spots on the club, it’s not consistent and stable.
- The second is when the hit contact is in a spot but not the center. This has two cases: off the toe and off the heel of the ball.
When the club hits the ball too near the toe, the ball intends to drive to the left and vice versa; if the contact spot is too far, that means the ball is near the club’s heel, and the ball intends to drive to the right more.
That’s why a center spot is so important. It allows a straight ball to travel further than a curved ball line. Also, hitting the ball at the center of the club gives you more accuracy.
Understanding how the clubface works is key to achieving good center contact.
The face of your club should be angled slightly outward when swinging through impact. This will ensure that your club strikes the ball in the middle, resulting in a longer distance traveled.
You can practice this by using two alignments, such as two golf club shafts or any long shaft strings that put the ball into the center of them.
After that, when you set up your stance with the ball, you should put your club between two alignments. The distance between the heel with one side of alignment and the distance between the toe with the other alignment should be equal.
And the last step, when you hit the ball, trying not to touch either of the alignments, that means you hit in the center of the club.
Swing Faster
Increasing your swing speed is a great way to increase the distance of your drives. Faster swings generate more club head speed, translating into more ball speed and overall distance.
To optimize your swing speed, it’s important to understand the mechanics of how your body works during a golf swing.
First, you should focus on working on your stance at the address and when starting your downswing. Keep a good stance throughout the entire process because this will eliminate any unnecessary movement that can slow down your swing.
Make sure you keep your arms close to your body throughout the backswing so that they store potential energy as you build up speed heading towards impact.
During the downswing, try to remain relaxed and use your core muscles to drive your arms toward the ball.
It is also important to swing with a wide arc, as this will help you maintain club head speed throughout impact.
Adjust Your Force Transmission and Swing Sequence
We have just mentioned the core muscles and the wide arc when you speed up your clubhead.
One thing you need to notice is that it is not only adding more power into your arm to get more speed, but the important thing is also we know how to utilize our core power and the rotation when swinging.
That’s why in this next part, you want to adjust the force transmission that can help you utilize your body power, and the next part will talk about the rotation from a wide arc for maxing your distance.
Many golfers just stop at the previous part to increase their ball distance and simply use their arms to create more power.
But if you want to enhance your skill and utilize what you actually have, you need to know how to use power from all your body parts. That’s when we give you one more tip: swing sequence.
Normally, if you just swing as strongly and quickly as you can following your natural instinct, though the power you create is strong, it doesn’t use all to transmit to your ball. It means you waste your power.
To address this habit, you should know the right sequence:
- when you downswing, move your leg first
- open your knees and follow your downswing
- turn your hips
- turn your torso after that
- then turn your shoulder
- and last is let the arm turn and let the club catch the ball
Now, let’s imagine the sequence. Be slow and patient; you don’t swing just as you have just set up your stance. Don’t turn your arms straight away; remember the sequence and practice smoothly.
That’s when you realize that there is a power from the ground transmitted through your leg to your knees, hips, torso, shoulder, arms to the club, and Boom, the ball is like a rocket with that power.
Easier, isn’t it?
When you practice this better, you know how to use your body to create more power than just from your arms. And the result is your ball travels further.
Set Up a Wide Stance to Create a Wide Rotation
In addition to knowing the right sequence and how to transmit your power bottom up, setting up a wide stance to create wide rotation also enhances your skill in maxing the distance.
Some people say that they can hit a long distance without a wide stance; we suppose that they do a very good job taking full advantage of their bodies to create power.
But if you feel uncomfortable liberating your force when swinging, believe me, just set up a wider stance and take a look; you will feel more relaxed and easy to control your club as well as your swing.
Put your foot wider, comfortable as much as you feel and swing with a wide rotation.
Rotation is extremely important when it comes to club head speed which directly leads to a long ball distance.
Combining with the previous tips, especially the swing sequence, a wide rotation permits you to liberate your power from your body.
If you set up with a narrow stance and small rotation, you may feel it’s hard to use all of your body, and the power remains there, not transmitted to the club and the ball.
Another thing is that if you set up a too narrow stance with the distance between your feet being small, it’s hard for you to swing the strongest and keep your balance on the ground.
That’s why you should put your feet wide enough to facilitate a wide rotation and utilize the body with balance and consistency.
Lift Your Club Direction to Utilize the Vertical Force
Another tip is about the ball direction. Besides using your body power to hit far, you can also boost up the distance with vertical force.
That doesn’t mean that you hit straight up and expect a long way, but we’d like to emphasize here that when you swing the club up at an angle instead of just horizontally on the ground, the ball will fly at an angle.
That means you can take advantage of the vertical force to create a longer distance.
To do this, when you swing up your club, try to lift it along with a wide rotation. This way helps you increase the vertical force and add more power to your swing.
Also, remember that when you hit the ball at an angle, it will fly in a higher curve.
So, it’s important to practice your swing technique and find out what kind of angle is suitable for your power and the environment you’re playing in.
Improve Your Fitness
Though it depends on your skill and how you apply the technique, your natural strength is indispensable to hitting a long distance.
That’s why you should exercise regularly to increase your strength and improve your fitness.
The upper body is the most important part when it comes to golfing, also including the arms, back muscles and core muscles.
Those muscles need to be trained properly in order to hit a long ball distance.
Focusing on exercises such as arm curls, shoulder lifts and chest presses will help increase strength in your arms and upper body.
Doing crunches, planks, and other core exercises will also help you develop more power in your swing.
Choose the Right Club
The last thing to consider is club selection.
It’s not always about picking the most expensive club but the one that fits your playing style and physical attributes.
Your driver should match your swing speed and have a shaft length that is comfortable for you to handle.
If you are unable to hit your driver on target with any consistency, then switching to a shorter-shafted club may help improve accuracy.
FAQs
How Do You Drive A Golf Ball Straight And Far?
The key to hitting a straight ball is making center contact between your ball with the club. A straight ball travels longer than a curved line. Besides, trying tips, such as wide rotation, swing sequence, and power from your body…also helps you improve the ball distance.
How Do You Hit A Golf Ball Further With A Shorter Swing?
To hit a golf ball further with a shorter swing, you need to create more power in your swing. You can do this by focusing on the right sequence of elements in your downswing: start with your legs, then open up your knees and hips, turn the torso, and finish with the shoulder and arms turn.
What Muscles Do You Need To Hit A Golf Ball Further?
To hit a golf ball further, you need to use the muscles in your body, such as legs, hips, shoulders, arms, and core muscles. Strengthening these muscles will help increase your power and distance when hitting the ball.
Conclusion
Now that you know the seven secrets of how to drive a golf ball further, it’s time to get out on the course and practice! Make sure to focus on these areas to take your game to the next level. With dedication and a little bit of work, you’ll be driving the ball farther than ever before.
