Let’s talk about distance for a minute.
It seems that anybody and everybody in the world who stands at the end of a club is obsessed about how far they can hit the ball.
Club manufacturers are falling over themselves to sell you more kit on the back of increased distance, swing gurus are trying to teach the next “power move” and you’re definitely not a man unless you can fly it 300 yards through the air.
Trouble is you see, distance is like cocaine.
You have a taste of it, it gives you a buzz and you want more.
Big disclaimer – I don’t take drugs and never have, the above is purely observational.
Onwards.
Now don’t get me wrong, hitting the ball long comes in mighty handy and if you’re naturally blessed with length off the tee I would never discourage someone from using it to their advantage.
But if you’re not, if you’re just an average hitter and you feel the world is stacked against you, trying to get you to hit the ball longer and further than you ever have, then stop.
Take it from me distance is overrated.
At least at the amateur and club level.
Yes once you go up the ranks you need to hit the ball longer on a consistent basis to compete, but even then I think people make too much out of it.
As the good ol boy Peter Alliss always says, you can’t beat a bit of straight hitting and good putting.
And he’s right. Hit the ball straight, concentrate on that. There isn’t any trouble waiting for you in the middle of the fairway.
It doesn’t look as sexy as bombing it a long ways off the tee, but when you’re sitting pretty in the middle of the fairway the game becomes a whole lot more easier.
Trust me, I’ve inhabited more woods than Bear Grylls.
If you look back through history, it’s no coincidence that some of the greatest players throughout the history of the game were also the straightest or made accuracy a large priority in their game.
And it’s something that you should do as well, stop pining after that extra twenty yards off the tee, it aint going to make a difference believe me.
Stick to the short grass, a better class of people congregate there.
Now with the above said, and what some may consider a slight oxymoron, I do know for an absolute fact, that the majority of golfers are being robbed of distance off the tee.
You’re probably one of them.
As above it, ain’t everything, even slightly overrated, but it can help. If you think you may be losing a few yards and have no idea why, then this is probably the answer. Click HERE to find out more.
Bob James PGA