Drive for Show...and Dough! A simple five-step process to bomb it deep By Justin Williams, PGA Poppy Hills Head Professional


Every golfer has heard the cliché, “Drive for show, putt for dough.” It means you can hit your tee shots a mile down the fairway, but the strokes you make on the green are what count the most. I’ve never been a long hitter, and as a player I agree with the quotation. I put emphasis on hitting the fairway and forget about how far it goes. My rounds of golf are filled with putts for par while throwing in the occasional birdie attempt from 20 feet. I watch helplessly as my golf shop assistants continually bomb it 25 yards by me off the tee. Well, no more! They are not making courses any shorter, and we are not getting any younger. This article is dedicated to helping you (and me) hit it farther.


Step 1: It starts with a


great warm-up. Creating more distance starts well before you arrive on the first tee. Fitness is an in- tegral part of the golf swing, yet often over- looked. Golf instructors, trainers and even golf club manufacturers have taken the lead and created golf-specific exercises for you to get in shape. Titleist has a website


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called www.mytpi.com where players will find golf- specific health and fitness information from leading experts on the game. Mobil- ity, stability, balance and power training are just a few of the key points discussed in detail on this site and a player can even create a custom workout program. Taking great care of your body is the first step to more distance off the tee.


Step 2: You have to


hit it solid. Next time you head to the driving range, ask the golf shop staff if they have a driver fitting cart. In that cart you will find face tape and a yard stick.


56 / NCGA.ORG / WINTER 2011 Grab the yard stick


and check out where your driver measures up. Stan- dard length for a driver is 45 inches. How- ever, most club manufactur- ers fluctuate between 45-47 inches as standard


e length. You may benefit from some


extra club length, but the added length will make the driver harder to control. You must decide how much control you are willing to sacrifice in order to hit it farther. Next, grab a piece of face tape and apply it to your cur- rent driver and hit five shots. The shot pattern will show up on the tape, giving you an idea of where you are hitting the ball in relation to the sweet spot. For maximum distance, the key is squaring the clubface and hitting it directly on the sweet spot. Look at your face tape. If your shot pattern is toward the toe or heel, you are giving up distance. If your pattern is in line with the center of the club, you are on the right track to longer shots off the tee.


Step 3: Where are you aiming? Tour Sticks are training aids that have recently gained popularity. These thin, brightly colored fiberglass rods can be found in the bags of many PGA Tour pros, and are great for checking alignment during practice sessions. Lay the two sticks down parallel to the intended target line, simulat- ing the image of a railroad


track. You can use them to create a visualization of the golf ball’s intended path, line up your body parallel to the target and help with club takeaway at address. If you are aimed incor-


rectly, valuable yardage is being thrown out the win- dow. Using alignment aids will help create the repeti- tion needed to train your brain exactly where to aim.


Alignment aids help to create a


visualization of the golf ball’s intended path


E-mail Justin at justin@ncga.org


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