Conference 7.286::golf

    hi,
    
    	What do you mean when you say to "move your feet" and "don't
    	let your feet ahead of your hands"?  Do you mean drop the heel
    	type of movement, etc?
    
    	Thanks,	
    	Eunhwa
    

    
    	After listening to a lot of long hitters, one tip they all agree
    on is a good full shoulder turn, placing your back squarely to the
    flag at the top of your backswing will yield good distance. 
    
    	An excercise I do that has generated good distance is to place
    a barbell behind your neck, and then simply rotate your shoulders
    (while standing upright) as far as you can comfortably, keeping
    your feet stationary. Rotate back and forth, increasing the pace....
    It's amazing how much this excercise will do to increase distance,
    after a few sets... you'll quickly feel how light and easy a trunk
    twist will be. As stated in .0  once you syncronize the shoulder turn
    with the hands/arms --------> 	BANG!     
    
    Walt
    
    Reply .1
    
    	I believe .0 means (as far as feet to hands etc.) not their
    physical location, but when their motion is to begin. "Hands in front
    of feet" meaning - hands start before feet begin motion.. etc. 
    
    But then again---????   Maybe not. ;)
    
    

    		-< GRIP IT & RIP IT! >-
    
    That's how to hit it long! 
    
    re: .2  > BANG!
    
         Might be better to do that barbell stuff sitting on a bench
         using a weight that it easily controlled.  Standing will put
         a tremendous load on your sacro joint which has little muscle
         structure to support it & the resulting BANG could very well
         be your back.
    
         Don't know if you've seen the Jack Hamm video on how to hit
         it long, but it does advocate some radical variations on the
         norm such a foot position & left elbow pointing down the 
         target line.  My favourite part is the GRUNT required to do
         it right!  He averages about 380-400 yds off the tee & as he
         says he does, GRIP IT & RIP IT!
    
         hank

    Hi Hank,
    
    	You are exactly right...  trunk twists should be done with low
    weight and while sitting. I have been lucky not to have been injured.
    An instructor at the health club pointed it out a while ago, saying I 
    should be sitting...   I forgot until you mentioned it. I have a 
    terrible memory.
    
    Thanks for pointing it out,
    
    
    	By the way
    
    	You are exactly right...  trunk twists should be done with low
    weight and while sitting. I have been lucky not to have been injured.
    An instructor at the health club pointed it out a while ago, saying I 
    should be sitting...   I forgot until you mentioned it. I have a 
    terrible memory.
    
    Thanks for pointing it out,
    
    	Walt
    
    Just joking ;)   , but it's almost that bad!

    
    Don't try what .2 is saying. The advice he gave can be dangerous.
    Anytime you put weight on your shoulders and then start to twist
    your back can lead to SEVERE back problems.
    
    To hit a ball stronger you want to increase the strength in your
    latorial muscles (upper back on each side). These muscles supply
    the strength you need to hit the ball a long ways. There are several
    good/safe exercises for these muscles. One of the best if you don't
    have access to a gym/spa/club is chinups. Otherwise I suggest you
    get to a club to get some training on how to work out you latorials.
    I could explain on how to do them here, but without showing you
    you may end up doing them wrong which can be worse.
    
    Mike

           <<< Note 873.5 by ALLVAX::DIAMOND "No brag, Just fact." >>>

    
>    To hit a ball stronger you want to increase the strength in your
>    latorial muscles (upper back on each side). These muscles supply
>    the strength you need to hit the ball a long ways. There are several
>    good/safe exercises for these muscles. One of the best if you don't
>    have access to a gym/spa/club is chinups. Otherwise I suggest you
>    get to a club to get some training on how to work out you latorials.

So there is a correlation between strength and hitting a longer ball.
Many times I've heard it said that you don't have to be strong to hit
a long ball. I tended not to believe this totally, hoping that if I
worked on strengthening the muscles in my upper body, I might be able
to get more distance out of my ball. Mike, your note is encouraging,
since I have just recently joined the wellness center. Now I will 
definitely concentrate on strengthening the muscles you mentioned here.

I'd be very interested to hear other opinions about which muscles I
might want to concentrate on strengthening that might help improve
my game.

Patti

    I would like to put in my two cents worth here in the hope that
    some will heed the warning "Drive for show and putt for dough."
    It is not necessarily the long ball hitter that will win the most.
    Last year I played in the Arizona Senior Olympics with a gentleman
    that was 82 years old who could never keep up with us off the tee,
    but was that sucker's short game incredible.  He blew around a 
    course with which he was unfamiliar in a 75.  Won his age group 
    hands down and didn't even work up a sweat.  (Said he had to ride
    a cart as his legs weren't what they used to be.)  He had also
    just started a job as the ranger at a course in the east valley.
    
    If a person will just work on the mechanics and try to keep the 
    ball in the short stuff and concentrate on the short game I feel 
    they will score much better than trying to drive all the greens
    on the course.
    
    I can stay up with most off the tee but my irons are my weakness.
    When that shot to the green is coming close I find the score improves
    tremendously.
    
    Too many people feel that it is necessary to be a gorilla off the tee.
    Take what has been given to you and work on that.

    re: all concerning strength
    
    All this talk of strength is good and fine but should be taken with a
    grain of salt. It should be noted that building muscles and golf do not
    mix. A good swing requires a great deal of flexibility and building
    only tightens things up. If you are going to fool with weights then you
    must go for tone (multiple reps with light weight) and end up with
    better shape of your natural physique. ;^)
    
    great white north golf fanatic

    
>>    All this talk of strength is good and fine but should be taken with a
>>    grain of salt. It should be noted that building muscles and golf do not
>>    mix. A good swing requires a great deal of flexibility and building
>>    only tightens things up. If you are going to fool with weights then you
>>    must go for tone (multiple reps with light weight) and end up with
>>    better shape of your natural physique. ;^)
    
   Wrong!!!!!!!

   You can work for strength and still have flexibility. The main problem
   with body builders is that they just work on the strength and don't do
   a thing for flexibility. I work out 3 days a week with heavy weights and
   I'm still very flexible. Also building muscles and building strength 
   arn't always the same. When I weight train I'm not trying to put on any
   size. I'm just increasing my strength. If I wanted to put on bulk then 
   I'd have to change my workout.


   Don't try to think that just because you work out that you will be able
   to hit a ball a mile. Technique is what is really needed to hit a ball
   a long ways. However if you've already got a good technique then adding
   strength will give you even more distance.

   Mike

    rep .9
    
    mind running thru your workout here? Just so an old f**t can see what
    you do?  what would you recommend to a semi out of shape 50 year old to
    build strenth and flexibility.
    
    thanks
    jj

      I think that concerns about distance off the tee really depends on
    what your goal is for scoring and the length of the courses that you
    play on.
     If your goal is to shoot lower than 80, distance off the tee is a
    major issue. Why ? Because the second shot is easier from 150yds out
    than 175yds for par 4's. Yes, there are those golfers that have great,
    great short games which can allows them to score despite their
    "shortness" off the tee. If your goal is to score between 80-90, then
    distance becomes less important.
    
     This discussion prompted me to look at my cards from last year and I
    noticed that my scoring on par 4's that were 400+ yards was much higher
    than on those that were less than 400 yards. Interestingly, I played
    par 5's about as well as par 4's that were under 400 yards. One
    possible reason could be shortness off the tee which leaves me with an
    approach shot of 200-230 yards.
    
    
    
    
                         Ke 

    Hit it longer......
    
    Visit with big Mike Dunaway and SYBERVISION>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    
    
    
    Rick

    My theory is the guy that said"you drive for show and putt for
    dough" was a tennis player!
    Being inside that 150 yd marker is what really sets up the birds,
    and getting on or close in 2 on par 5's is the play that eventually
    will give you eagles and birds, the putting is just the "close"
    on the "sale". I'm not long,and it's not fun trying to hit
    3 or 4 iron to along 4 when others are hitting 8 or 9.Puts a lot
    of strain on the short game that shouldn't be there.
    I think Ben Hogan said"if you can't hit a driver over 240 you can
    NEVER eagle a 445 par 4" . Your options are limited by
    distance. Distance is the great equalizer when you DB or TB a hole,
    you know you can make it up on the next few holes with a bird.
    I ought to know, because I live off my short game.And it bites!
                        Ang
    

    Ang,
    
    I've showed you and showed you. All you have to do is go WAY past
    paralel in the back swing, have the wrists break down completely
    and get your body in a total panic. The trick is to have quick wrists
    to get everything square again. Easy. Right?? :-)
    
    Ted, one of your animals.

    
    RE: .13
    
    Ang,
    
    You might want to think about lightening up the swingweight in your 
    clubs in an attempt to get some more distance. D3 is pretty hefty.
    Have you tried lighter swingweight clubs before?
    
    Just a thought...
    Gene

    Ted.
    watching you hit a golf ball is like watching 200 pounds
    of rubber bands unwind all at the same time!
    
      WE need to harness that energy,as they say at Seabrook!!
                   See you at the driving range,Ang
    

    
    I was watching Inside the PGA tour yesterday morning on ESPN and was 
    about exercise and flexibility, etc. It was interesting that they
    showed Tom Kite doing the twisting exercise as mentioned in ealier
    replies (with the barbell on his shoulders). BTW, he was standing..!
    
    Gene

       Finally someone has the right idea!  The key to hitting the long
    ball is not muscle strength but muscle flexability.  I am 14 years
    old, weigh 135 pounds at 5 ft. 10 in., and do not lift weights.
    Yet, I hit the ball 270-280 yards, dead straight, off the tee.