Have you ever been in a situation where you need just 15 more yards to reach a par 5 in two? Or you need those 15 yards to clear a hazard? Or you are trying to squeeze out 15 yards to put a better club in your hands for an approach shot? Trying to squeeze out an additional 15 yards in golf is equivalent to other sports having that extra gear for a short period of time. At the more elite levels of sports, most athletes have this extra gear, but as amateurs it is not always available on demand. Personally, I can rarely squeeze out extra distance from my clubs and when I try it usually ends up in disaster.

The first question I always ask whenever I want to push the limits of m golf swing is: how? How do I change what I am currently doing to add those 15 yards? That is a great question (in my opinion) because if I knew, I would do it now and keep those extra yards, but I don’t. Okay, before you start thinking I have lost what little bit of my mind I have left I know that there is some basic facts about my above statements that require clarification.

For ease of discussions, I am going to focus on my driver because the number of variables for discussing all my clubs would be a dissertation not a blog article. The reality is that I could from time to time try and squeeze out some extra distance on my drive. I as this because my current swing does not have me swinging out of my shoes and that leaves room for attempts to stretch my drive distance.

The challenge I have is I am not sure how to do this consistently. If I try to increase my swing speed, I have to try and increase the club head speed. To to this, I will need to change my tempo and that generally does not work for my game.

Believe me I have tried to gain driver distance, especially during scrambles, but, it usually ends up with me pulling my shot to the left because I engage my left side too quickly. My attempts to increase swing speed take me out of balance as well. There is one aspect of my swing I know helps and that is keeping my head still. If I can do this during my increased swing speed, I can occasionally garner some success. Unfortunately, this is a fleeting thing and not something I can sustain.

As you read the above paragraphs, you saw words like occasionally, consistently and generally. These are not words that instill confidence to make the attempts that have a high risk/reward ratio. So, I stick to my above statement that I rarely try to squeeze out more yardage because I am not normally successful. This does not mean I will not continue to try in the future, but I know my limitations and will stick to what I do best.

Can you squeeze out extra yardage with your driver on demand?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!