Golf Instruction from The Golf Channel

Consistent Distance

This instructional deals with getting consistent distance with your woods and irons.

Distance comes from club head speed, not power and not effort, and comes very much from center face hits. Many times we think in terms of power and our effort level makes us lose control of the club head.

Getting distance revolves around getting the club head to come at the right angle of shallowness.

A drill that might help is to hit golf balls on your right foot and left toe. This will help you approach the ball on a more shallow angle to hit up on your golf ball.

In other words your right foot is on the ground and your left heel is off the ground. Take a regular swing and strike your golf ball. You will feel like you're hitting up on your golf ball and you will get a better angle of approach.

Conversely, with an iron, now you want to do the opposite. You want to put your weight on your left leg and bring your right toe a little bit off the ground so your angle of approach is more severely downward.

The distance you're trying to create should not be through effort, but should be through controlling the angle of approach and getting your ball and club to meet right in the center of the club face. You will get a lot more distance without a lot of effort.