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> C L I C K H E R E T O C O N TA C T J A S O N S M I T H A B O U T C L A S S I C C L U B ' S P R O F E S S I O N A L G O L F I N S T R U C T I O N
W
e hear all the time
that you drive for
show and putt for
dough. And that is true. But,
really, is there anything more
enjoyable and satisfying in
golf than standing on
the tee, squaring up
and crushing a ball
into the stratosphere?
Of course not.
With that, we
asked Classic Club
PGA Professional
Jason Smith to share
his thoughts when it
comes to getting more dis-
tance off the tee…
who are some of the all-
time best drivers on the pgA
Tour? There are so many –
from Jack Nicklaus's power
fades to David Toms' pin-
point accuracy. You'd also
have to include Ben Hogan,
Sam Snead, Fred Funk, Greg
Norman, Davis Love III, and
Fred Couples on that list.
••••
what swing traits do they
have in common? Strong legs
that allowed them to rotate
with a lot of club head speed
through the golf ball and fin-
ish the swing in balance.
••••
what's more important,
distance or accuracy? I would
choose distance because a
good long drive (in the fair-
way) might get a wedge in
my hand for my approach
shot. My chances of getting
the ball closer to the pin with
a wedge are greater than hit-
ting a 6 or 7 iron. The only
downside to distance is prob-
ably a couple of erratic drives
that could lead to bogeys. But
I believe distance produces
more birdies than accuracy.
••••
what's the no. 1 mistake
amateurs make when trying
to hit the ball far? Many ama-
teurs don't use their legs for
stability and try to "hit" the
golf ball with their hands and
arms rather than striking the
ball with their body rotation.
••••
what should the average
golfer look for in a new
driver? Bigger heads – the
sweet spot is bigger, which
means more forgiveness.
Also, drivers with more loft;
the extra loft will help with
distance. Finally, find a driver
that has a shaft that fits your
swing speed. If you have a
swing speed of 80 mph, you
don't want to feel like you're
swinging a telephone pole.
A LEngThy TOpIc
Learn some of the keys to adding more distance
3 SWING THOUGHTS
TO ADD EXTRA YARDS
H
ere are Jason Smith's top
tips for golfers who are
looking for more distance…
>>
Add spine tilt to your
address position and main-
tain that spine tilt during the
swing to help strike the golf
ball on the upswing. This will
help with contact and take
spin off of the ball.
>>
Turn your back to-
ward the target during the
backswing. This will help with
your coil, which is where the
power in the golf swing
comes from at impact.
>>
Finish the swing with
a balanced follow-through.
This will ensure that you are
rotating through the ball and
getting to your left side (for
the right-handed golfer).
GOLF
TIPS
jAsOn
sMITh,
PGA
Hit a driver that fits your
swing for more distance.
