"15 Minutes of Body Action Drills Are More
Important Than Hitting 200 Balls"
Tom's Featured Tip: Driver Tip - Let It Rip!
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
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2021 BCC Junior Golf Camp
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2022 BCC Junior Golf Camp The Junior Golf Camp sold out quickly in 2021, so get your junior golfer registered soon. Call BCC at (585) 343-7600
Driver Tip - Let It Rip!
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
Two Great Training Aids For Indoor or Outdoor Practice
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
Click here ImpactSnap.com to buy now. Start using the ImpactSnap training aid indoors or outdoors to make you instantly aware of proper hand and wrist action, which is second only to low point awareness for great ball striking.
Driver Tip - Let It Rip!
I'm just finishing up the third week of a four week swing speed training session today with some hard working students. Serendipitously, MyGolfSpy just published the results of testing they did to see of there is any benefit to swinging your driver at maximum speed.
The results provide positive reinforcement for any students taking this training, as well as for any other golfer working on increasing their swing speed.
For more information on my swing speed training sessions click here: Swing Speed Training
The only negative that I saw in the MyGolfSpy testing was a small sample size - 15 golfers, and not a lot of information on the handicaps of the players going through the testing.. Having said that, the results were very interesting to me since I've never seen this exact type of comparison in any of my swing speed training research.
SPOILER ALERT - Grip It and Rip It with max speed for your driver!
Here's the article that supports my thoughts on the subject, enjoy!
Should you grip it and rip it with your driver? What if you could gain up to 34 yards on your drives?
Yes, you read that correctly: You could gain as many as 34 more yards just by swinging faster.
Now, every golfer swings his or her driver differently. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are both phenomenal drivers of the golf ball yet they deliver the club to the ball differently. They do have something in common though. They swing their drivers with maximum speed.
We’ve all heard these familiar refrains: "You want a smooth tempo", "Swing with tempo", "Swing nice and controlled", "Don’t swing out of your shoes".
Well, it’s time to reconsider these old sayings and you are about to find out why.
FOUR KEY TAKEAWAYS
Data is always at the forefront of our testing. For this test, we recruited 15 testers each of whom used his or her current driver.
Testers hit 12 shots in three different scenarios:
- "Fairway-finder" driver swing
- Normal driver swing
- Fast driver swing
If our 66-year-old 14-handicap tester can increase his carry distance by 34 yards by swinging faster, there are distances gains out there for you too.
Every single one of our testers saw an increase in carry distance.
How?
Swinging with maximum effort.
2. Speed Benefits
Throughout this lab, the harder our testers swung, the faster their swing speed, resulting in increased distance. This is evident in total yards, club head speed and ball speed off tee shots.
3.Accuracy
When adding speed, the common thought is that accuracy will diminish. Thus, it is critical to note the accuracy performance for each of the three scenarios.
But here is a refresher as to how we analyze accuracy during a driver test.
According to golf stats expert Lou Stagner, "for amateurs, keeping the ball in play is the top priority. Penalty strokes are scorecard killers." The purpose of our Accuracy metric is to identify clubs that fly straight, helping you avoid penalty strokes.
"Straight Shot Percentage" Long-time MyGolfSpy readers may remember our TruAccuracy metric. Straight Shot Percentage is the evolution of TruAccuracy. This new metric leverages Stagner’s Adjusted Accuracy formula. It’s similar to Fairway Percentage but it doesn’t punish shots for missing the fairway just because they were a few yards longer. A good visual is a shotput grid. The straight-shot target area gets wider as shots travel farther.
Playable Shot Percentage - As the name suggests, the Playable Shot Percentage is a measure of the percentage of shots that will likely be good enough for average golfers. We define that as in or within 10 yards of the edge of a 35-yard-wide fairway.
As you can see with both graphics, the "Fairway Finder Driver Swing" did result in the highest Straight Shot Percentage and Playable Shot Percentage. But you run the risk of being significantly shorter off the tee in the name of accuracy. Pick your poison.
4. Strokes Gained
Generally speaking, Strokes Gained is confusing for most consumers. Having said that, in this lab, it sheds light on the benefits of swinging your driver faster.
In most scenarios, hitting the ball further is going to benefit you, especially when it comes to Strokes Gained. Sure, you may hit more fairways when swinging with control or even with your normal swing. However, the likelihood of you shooting higher scores is definitely in play. Earlier, you saw the "Fast Driver Swing" have a 82-percent Playable Shot Percentage.
If you’re hitting it further, have a high Playable Shot Percentage and a better Strokes Gained potential, why wouldn’t you swing with maximum effort?
BOTTOM LINE: SHOULD YOU GRIP IT AND RIP IT?
From our perspective, yes!
There is a lot of evidence (albeit in this small sample size) that it is truly beneficial to swing your driver faster. Sure, there will be cases where there is little gain but that shouldn’t stop you from experimenting yourself. All of our testers saw carry distance gains when swinging faster than their normal swing.
This isn’t to say that dispersion won’t increase. With speed, dispersion increases are most likely, which we witnessed. You can see that in the Playable and Straight Shot Percentages.
However, with Strokes Gained being a compelling and reliable statistic, we can confidently say don’t worry about dispersion.
Give it a go and swing faster with your driver. Or, as the old adage goes, "GRIP IT AND RIP IT."
Try it, you'll love it.
Email Comments: to TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,
Tom
Golf Lessons
I am now conducting lessons at The Batavia Country Club
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates
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Indoor Lessons Details and Rates
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Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY.
Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.
Tee times online or by phone in season.
FISH FRYS AT BCC and other delicious dinner specials with soup and salad bar - Fridays, 4pm - 9pm
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
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Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
Click here to buy your Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve1.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through the newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($50 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Train with the Impact Snap training aid to improve your hand and wrist coordination for a powerful strike. A Golf Digest 2021 Editors Choice Training Aid
Click here ImpactSnap.com to buy now and start using a great training aid that can be used indoors or outdoors.
Click here SuperSpeedGolf.com to buy this swing speed training aid and increase your distance off the tee.
SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today1 Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Professional, Batavia Country Club
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection1"
~ Ben Hogan