I equate golf with baseball. The guys who can get paid start getting it as earlier as they can.. though even Tiger played college ball.
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Very amateur here... I hit some balls at the range last night and couldn't drive more than 200 yards. I'm going to blame it on my $50 garage sale clubs. I was shooting most balls straight. What's the key to getting more distance?
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Vast majority of guys who try to not do college don’t make it

Pretty much everyone does it that way
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Swing harder:-)
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Hit the weight room.






Or find save some cash, wait to see when a local club is doing a demo day with a pro on site to see your swing mechanics so he can recommend the club characteristics which are best for you.
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Remember Ty Tryon?

Michelle Wie didn't really make it either.

Reaffirms what you are saying.
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I think being swole can definitely help but it isn't the end all be all. I think being tall is the biggest determining factor of being long. One of the shortest hitters on my college golf team was the strongest, but he was just 5 ft 8. He spent and still does spend all of his time on golf specific work outs too. Hes now a PGA Teaching Pro specializing on fitness and I hit further than him while being barely above avg.

The longest kid on our golf team was a twig and couldn't bench the bar....but was 6'3''.
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That too. Taller person, more distance between the clubhead at the apex of their swing and the ball on the ground -> higher club velocity.
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How do you explain Ian Woosnam then? He was like 5'4 hitting the ball 300 yards. One of the longest hitters of his time eve fat Jack probably not even 6' could bomb with real wood drivers.
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I’m no golfer but I think that is a bit of a stretch and over simplification. One of he longest and most consistent drivers of the ball I have known was this tiny Canadian guy I went to grad school with. 5’ 6” at most maybe 150, likely less but damn could he crush. 300+ dead straight time after time. He grew up playing hockey, was a scratch golfer and course pro for some years during undergrad.
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An outlier.
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If you don't use your body and motion more than just your arms, you'll never be a long hitter.
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There's a reason why there are very few middle class kids on tour--their parents had the money to get them lessons, memberships, and tournaments that cost 10's of thousands of dollars. My in-laws used to run a junior golf tour and almost all of those kids came from a lot of money, and it only gets more concentrated from there. There aren't a lot of stories like Tiger and Phil. The guys who do claw their way up often have wealthy locals buy stakes in them wherein they take a certain percentage of prize money for X number of years. In turn, this allows them to cover travel, room, and board.

Everything matters. Flexibility, strength, swing arc--they all contribute to speed. The most important thing is a proper sequence so that you aren't wasting speed. Take me, for example: I'm 6'1 with long arms and I'm extremely flexible. I can turn my shoulders 135 degrees even now, and could put my legs behind my head into my 30s. For years I had a very wide swing arc and fairly strong legs, but I rarely hit the ball more than 260 yards. Now, that's farther than the vast majority of weekend golfers, but it's not very far for good amateurs at all. My brother-in-law is 3 inches shorter than me, has never touched a weight in his life, and couldn't touch his toes, but hit the ball 30 yards past me.

Why? First, he played golf day after day for years and built up a very specific strength, but most importantly, his swing sequencing was much bette than mine.

My shoulder turn was far too flat and I didn't rotate my forearms properly. As a result, I would spin out on the downswing, wipe across the ball, and couldn't release the club with my arms (because a lack of forearm rotation would cause a hook off the Earth if I did).

As I've worked on fixing that, my 7-iron distance has gone from 155 to 175, despite the fact that I haven't lifted seriously in a decade.

Watch this video for more explanation: Ground forces also make a big difference, but that's too difficult for a new golfer to attempt


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Dart posts in the golf thread...


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How are you liking them? Never tried Callaway irons before but hit their drivers pretty well.

What are those other woods, Taylor Made? I've been looking at the Sim irons as possibly buying this winter.
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