golfrewind.com

how do pros hit it so far, especailly the long ball hitters, some of the shorter hitting pros dont it that far, but long ball hitters are insane, like 400 yards, thats crazy

Actually the top long ball pro's hit it around 340 (Daly, Keuhne, Tiger)

They hit it so far because they are athletes...they are able to swing the golf club 120mph and above. The average weekend golfer swings around 100mph and will hit the ball around 200-220 yards.

I'm no expert but I think its:

Tempo,
Technique,
Technology, and
The ability to hit everything on the sweet spot.

It also helps, as previously noted to be "athletic."

The AVERAGE male golfer's swing speed is around 80-85. Better amateurs are in the 90-95 range and good amateurs and professionals are above 100.

I was going to mention that swing speed fallacy, but deronsizemore is young and probably thinks everyone swings hard. 100 mph swing speeds are like 300 yard drives. They're out there, but rarer than claimed. ;)

Although I'm young, I've been playing for 18 years, I know what i'm talking about on most subject. A 100 mph swing hits about 200-230 yard drives not 300. to hit a 300 yard drive you have to have at least a 120 mph swing.

deronsizemore,

I was only referring to your statement about the average golfer's clubhead speed being 100 mph, not the clubhead speed it takes to hit a 300 yard drive.
My statement was my opinion that a lot of players think their swing speed is higher than it actually is. jcgolfpro can probably attest to that. My experience with average golfers that claim numerous 300 yard drives is that they rarely occur as often as claimed.

My mention of your youth was in no way meant to infer you're lacking golf knowledge. I assumed (which is always dangerous) that you play with mostly younger golfers who usually have higher swing speeds. There's a whole lot of average golfers over 50 that can't come near that claimed average swing speed of 100 mph. Why does it seem most of them play my home course? :(

Lots of club head speed generated by:

Shoulder turn, tempo, and lots of practice :D

Sorry to dissappoint deron but due to launch angles and spin rates, you cannot equate a swing speed with drive length. My normal swing speed (about 80% of max) is around 110-115 and I AVERAGE about 280 or so here on the coast and better than 300 when I travel to the midwest (due to roll and added carry). One of my cohorts is about 120-130 on the speed monitor and hits it the same distance I do because he hits it much higher with more spin. Our Head Professional has a swing speed slightly lower than mine but hits a lower screamer that actually rolls here on the island (if I could figure that out, I'd be a genius) but ends up the same distance as our Director of Golf and myself. Swing speed alone doesn't indicate distance.

As for my average weekend golfer, 80-85 mph is probably a little GENEROUS for his swing speed.

I think it has to do with swing speed, tempo, hip movment, shoulder turn, point of impact and wrist hinge. And a 100 mph swong can hit the ball 300 if you have the proper tecnique. My speed is around 105 and I hit the ball 310.Its not about how fast you swing the club but how well.

thoughts on this. 2 people with the same swing speed, but one has stronger forearms and hands. will his club keep accelerating thru the ball at impact vs. someone with the same swing speed but not as strong. can the stronger one just really smack it harder at impact cuz there's less give when ball says hello to the face. just wondering.

i spose the hand-eye cooridination helps the most by reaching your full swing speed at impact or after. as they say, timing is everything, lol.

stag

Faster club head speed relates to lever action around a number of fulcra.

The feet provide the first fulcrum on which the lever of the legs/lower body turn. This must be stable with very little lateral movement. When this turn on the downswing has gone as far as possible, the fulrcum for the body rotation is the inner left foot. The central body provides another fulcrum on which the lever of the upper body rotates. The left shoulder provides another fulcrum on which the lever of the left arm swings and the wrists provide another fulcrum on which the lever of the club swings. All of these must rotate in unison. Club head speed then relates to the amount of lag by the club head in relation to the hands coming into the central 'impact area' and the momentum set up by the body in its rotation. If the hands are close to the centre as the body has rotated through the wrists 'unhinge' automatically and the later this happens the faster the clubhead speed. Keeping control and club head speed is related to timing and remaining 'behind' the centre until the club head has travelled about 40 degrees beyond impact. The maximum accelaration for the best golfers actually occurs past the ball. Unless the clubhead is square on impact, no amount of speed will be useful Witness Ernie's drives in the PGA.

Hope this is not too technical, but it is accurate. Any attempt to hit the ball with the hands and arms is counterproductive to the relaxation needed to let the levers work in unison.

A flexible larger person with perfect timing will hit the ball further than a smaller flexible person with perfect timing but the larger person tends to want to use their 'bulk' and muscles more, which will result in slower clubhead speed.

leaguegolf,

I do agree with you there. I don't know how many times I hear people at the course say something about hitting that 300 yard drive and blah blah blah, and in actualality they are hitting it about 245, but they think they are hitting it alot farther.

14nsome,

I'm sorry, I beg to differ. There is no way you can get me to believe that a 100 mile an hour swing will hit a 300 yard drive. Its true that certain things hender a drive such as spin rate. With what you said, tempo, hip movement, shoulder turn and wrist hinge are all things that will help you achieve a good club head speed. What it boils down to is if you have a high club head speed you will hit the ball farther...I just cannot believe that a 100 mph club head speed will hit it 300 yards. I would just have to see it to believe it.

even looking at the pros, at the battle of the bridges. Tiger, and Phil had around the same swing speed which was 129 or so and was hitting it 300. So there is no way you can get me to believe that a 30 mph slower swing will hit it the same distance. Granted their sping rate was very high, someone could swing a little bit slower and have a lower spin rate and still hit it as far (IE: Hank Kheune at battle of bridges)

Deronsizemore your acculy right, I had my swing tested and its more around 110-115 and my average is about 280. I can hit 300 if I really crank it up but my feet slip and come off the ground because soft spiks dont much so I dont try often. Oh yeah and I dont really hit the fairway either.

The pro's are able to generate maximum power from there bodies and they spend countless hours with there club makers matching swing speed to shaft to loft to ball used.