Longer Drives
What Factors Lead to Longer Drives?
What factors lead to longer drives?
There are roughly four factors that affect distance:
Swing Speed
Strike Quality
Launch Angle
Spin
Some of these factors are connected, but improving any of these four factors will generally lead to longer drives.
The PING chart above perfectly visualizes the relationship between these various factors.
On the Y axis, you have Driver/Ball Speed; on the X axis, you have Angle of Attack*.
The chart shows two things:
Faster swing speed = more distance
Positive your angle of attack = less spin and more distance
If you look at the top right of the chart (the best possible scenario for distance), you see a combination of higher club speed, higher angle of attack, and low spin.
*Angle of attack is the angle at which the club moves at impact. A negative angle of attack would be hitting down on the ball more like an iron shot. A positive angle of attack would be hitting up on the ball, which is desirable for the driver. (See below)
Swing Speed
Speed is the most obvious factor in gaining distance. There are tradeoffs, but the relationship between speed and distance is straightforward.
A faster swing = Faster ball speed = More distance
The rough calculation is for every 1 mph of additional swing speed; you gain 2.5 yards of distance. This means an increase of 4 mph to your swing will add 10 yards to your drive. 10 mph gain = 25 yards, and so on.
Bonus Tips:
In a future post, I’ll dig deeper into the How-to’s of gaining distance, but for now, I’ll briefly touch on some things that help increase speed.
The Stack
I’m a big fan of The Stack system developed by Sasho MacKenzie. It’s a loadable weighted rod paired with various training programs on the Stack App. I highly recommend this if you are looking to gain swing speed. It simply works, and the app makes everything extremely easy to follow.
Exercise Training
You can do core exercises and golf-specific training to improve strength, flexibility, and swing speed. If you are interested, the best bet is to follow Mike Carroll at Fit for Golf (@Fit_For_Golf), who has a ton of golf-focused exercises and programs.
Swing Efficiency
This is where you’ll probably want a coach’s help, but there are ways to gain speed by having a more efficient swing. Maybe it’s a bigger turn, higher hands, or simply intentionally trying to swing harder. But it is possible to unlock swing speed with a more efficient swing.
Fitting
Getting correctly fitted with the right shaft can make a huge difference in speed. Also, having the proper loft, lie angle, and length can all add distance.
Strike Quality
Have you ever taken a nice easy swing, and the ball seemed to jump off the club?
Why did the ball go further despite swinging slower? All that happened was we hit the sweet spot.
The technical term for this is Smash Factor. Smash Factor is a ratio that measures how cleanly you struck the ball. It’s a good feedback loop for strike quality, and anything close to a 1.5 smash factor is excellent.
Hitting the center of the face consistently is another story. I’ll let you know when I figure that one out.
This is the main case for shortening your driver. Even though your swing speed will drop slightly, the shorter shaft will lead to more quality strikes on the sweet spot, and your distance should increase on average (and increase accuracy). A rare win-win.
*Check out Newsletter #2 for more on cutting your driver down
Bonus Tip
Bring a can of deodorant or athlete's foot spray to find out where your strike is on the driver face. Spray down the face and hit a few balls, then check after each swing to see any strike tendencies.
If you're on the heel, that will lead to weak fades with high spin. If you’re off the toe, it might cause you to hit pull hooks. Either way, the feedback is immediate.
Launch Angle
Launch angle or angle of attack? Whatever. Don’t worry about the technicalities. Simply said, you want to swing slightly up on the ball with your driver for more distance.
Hitting with a positive angle of attack or launch angle does two things:
Optimizes ball flight
Reduces spin
When you have a negative angle of attack, it increases spin; when you have a positive AoA, it reduces spin.
What launch angle is optimal?* Most experts say somewhere around 12 to 16 degrees.
*You can get your average launch angle by going to a simulator to get an idea of your launch angle. If you’re under 10 degrees, you're probably leaving some distance on the table.
Spin
Lower spin = More distance
Higher spin = Less distance
Last year, my spin rate was consistently creeping up to 3000 rpms, considerably reducing my optimal distance.
The ideal spin rate (depending on who you ask) is in the high 1000s to mid-2000s. Rory tends to be in the low 2000’s.
My fitter, Kevin Kraft, brought my spin rate down to the low 2000’s through some simple club adjustments. I immediately saw an extra 10-15 yards in carry distance and roughly 20 to 25 yards in total distance just by reducing spin.
High spin could stem from various issues that I’m not smart enough to diagnose. Maybe it’s a path issue, maybe it’s a strike issue, maybe it’s an angle of attack issue, maybe it’s a club issue. I don’t know. But if you’re spinning it too high, you are losing distance.
Wrap Up
I highly recommend using a Trackman simulator and getting reliable data to properly diagnose areas primed for adding distance. Look at your spin rate, launch angle, smash factor, swing speed, and distance.
Is your spin rate high? Is your launch angle too low? Maybe your strike quality isn’t great. Perhaps all three are fine, and you need to increase swing speed. Narrowing it down to the specific issue can help you get a step closer to hitting bombs.
Also, with all of these factors, it’s much easier to diagnose and improve with the help of a coach.
That’s it for today.
Summary:
More Speed = More Distance
Less Spin = More Distance
Higher Launch Angle = Lower Spin = More Distance
Spin rate: 1800 - 2500 rpms
Launch angle: 12 - 16 degrees
Smash Factor: 1.45 - 1.5
If you have any questions regarding anything in this post, please don’t hesitate to email me or comment below.
Have a great weekend.
