Feeding the "Big Dog"

PGA.com technical advisor Tom Wishon points out the three things about a driver that can cause you to leave valuable yards in your bag.

Every time I watch a PGA Tour event I am blown away by how far most of those guys can hit the ball. If it weren't for the fact that the majority of the pros have driver swing speeds in excess of 115 mph (with Tiger Woods, John Daly and Hank Keuhne moving the club through the ball at 130 mph), I might actually have to stop and pay respect to the USGA's fear that the equipment designers, with their high-tech methods and materials, are ruining the game.

The reason I don't buy into the USGA's defense of their policy of handcuffing we clubhead designers is because in addition to 330-yard drives, I also see 240-yard 3-irons and 175-yard 8-irons from these gorillas off the grass. Let me tell you, there is nothing high-tech or "spring-faced" about the face of a forged, carbon steel iron head when it comes to hitting an 8-iron 175 yards. No, that's just the pure physics of human physiology at work as stronger and stronger athletes begin to choose golf over football.

But what about us mere mortals with our 50-to-90-something-mph swing speeds? The No. 1 thing that keeps all of us from hitting the ball farther is the physics of impact, otherwise translated to mean "if you ain't got the swing speed, you ain't gonna hit the ball to the screen at the end of the driving range." Yes, there is no question that if we all embark on a proper regimen of exercise, such as what you will find on Susan Hill's wonderful site at www.fitnessforgolf.com, it is possible to make the dog in all of us hunt a little harder when we pull out the "No. 1".

But alas, most of us don't do that (yet) so the swing speed we have is all we've got. And from that, the distance we hit it is the distance we're gonna hit it. Well, not really. There are three things in a driver that, if not matched and fit exactly to your swing, will cause you to leave 10-20 yards in your bag.

Critical Point No. 1 -- Driver Length

If you buy into the premise that the longer the driver, the longer the shot, you have just bought into a load of malarkey. There is one and only one exception to this rule -- if you have a swing tempo that is as smooth as silk, swing the driver on a normal-to-flat swing plane, and you have a good dose of athletic coordination and swing rhythm, you may get a few more yards with a longer driver. Unfortunately, in today's game golfers with all three of those provisos are rare.

On the other hand, a professional custom clubmaker knows from experience that the longer the length of the club, the harder it is to repeatedly hit the ball on the point of the face of the driver that generates the highest ball speed. To get the most distance from your swing speed, you need to meet the ball with that "sweet spot" as often as possible.

All drivers sold as men's standard length in pro shops and retail golf stores today are 45 inches or 45.5 inches. Now think about this -- the average driver length on the PGA Tour these days is 44.5 inches. If these guys could keep a 45-45.5-inch driver in play, believe me, they would be using that length because those pros who have a "paltry" 115-mph swing speed hate having to hit three clubs more into a green than the 125-plus-mph guys they compete against. So tip No. 1 for more distance is unless you are smooth as silk, neutral-to-flat on your swing plane and athletically gifted, get that driver length down to no more than 44 inches. The quicker your swing tempo and the more often you miss that sweet spot on your driver, the more reason to be at 43 inches or 43.5 inches with your big stick.

Caution: don't just head to the garage and pull out the hacksaw to shorten your existing driver. Shorter length drivers must be headweight balanced to that shorter length. So if you are contemplating better accuracy with your driver, head to your local clubmaker's shop to get it done right.

Critical Point No. 2 -- Loft Angle

If your swing speed is under 100 mph and your driver loft angle is less than 11 degrees, 90 percent of you have more distance that you're leaving in the bag every time you play. If your swing speed is 80-85 mph, which is the average driver swing speed of a male golfer today, you're giving up real distance increases of at least 10 yards or more if you are not using a driver with a loft angle of at least 12-13 degrees. And if you have a swing speed under 80 mph and you're not using a driver with at least 14-15 degrees of loft, well, you've got a lot more distance sitting in your bag too.

The exact loft that optimizes your swing speed into your maximum distance with a driver is also based on your swing angle of attack -- whether the driver head is traveling on a downward, level or upward angle when it contacts the ball. So to really know your best loft for most distance, you should take the time to find a custom clubmaker with a launch monitor. With that wonderful piece of fitting equipment, it will be possible to know what loft delivers your best flight trajectory for most distance. And the next time you head out to play, you will have a much bigger smile on your face as a result.

Take it to the bank -- 90 percent of you do indeed have more distance off the tee if you will accept that fact that a driver with a 9, 10 or even 11 degrees just isn't gonna get it done.

Critical Point No. 3 -- Swing Balance

In other words, we're talking about how much your driver weighs, and of that weight, how much of it is put into the head. Now this one is a little more tricky because this is definitely not a case of "one size fits all," which is how all of the standard-made drivers are constructed.

Physics says that the lighter the total weight of your driver, the faster you will swing the club. Physics also says that if you have more weight in the head, the ball speed will be higher too. But the tricky part of all this is that the total weight and the headweight of your driver has to be matched to your physical strength, your swing tempo and your golfing athletic ability. Serious clubmakers have a few "fitting credos" that they use to guide them in their assessment of fitting the golfer to the best total weight and swingweight of the driver.

First of all, the weight of the shaft controls the total weight of the club. And the weight of the driver head combined with the driver length and the shaft weight controls the swingweight. But let's make that even simpler -- the higher the swingweight of the driver, the more you feel the head when you swing it.

If you are not that strong and your swing tempo is smooth-to-pretty smooth, you'll be better off with a light shaft to make a light total weight and a swingweight of C9-D0 for men, or C5-C6 for ladies. If you are of average strength and have a slightly quick-to-quicker swing tempo, you can still go light in the shaft weight, but get that swingweight up there to at least D2-D4. Quicker swing tempos do a little better with a heavier headweight feel -- it gives that quicker tempo a little more "something" to help it not be so quick. If you are physically strong and have a quicker swing tempo, then you will be a little better off with a heavier shaft AND a higher swingweight to go along with it.

And one more thing -- because this requires some judgment -- it is always better to err on the side of a lighter shaft but a higher swingweight.

To finish this up, here's a little more help in the way of "diagnosis." If you really struggle with slowing down your swing, increase the weight in the head by at least 4 swingweight points. If you want to experiment, that's four strips of lead tape that are each 4 inches long and stuck on the head. If you tend to hit the ball on the heel with your driver, this too is symptomatic of the headweight being too low for your swing.

So if you are like so many golfers today who have bought a standard driver off the rack, addressing these three points is all that stands between your current driver results and 10 or more yards off the tee.

Copyright 2004 by PGA.com. All rights reserved.

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