Most golfers are influenced by certain myths in playing golf. One such myth would be to slow down their swing. Thinking like that is exactly why golfers can not hit the ball as far as they want. Let's do some reasoning with club head speed. Take any club you want with everything being the same. Same impact on the face, same loft at impact, the following is going to be true. Swing the club slower and the ball will not go longer,  it will go shorter.

There is only one way to increase the distance you hit your metal woods or irons. A combination of increased club head speed and how solid you hit the ball on the center of percussion, a.k.a. "sweet spot".

If each golfer focused on learning to hit the ball solid and in the "sweet spot" they would be amazed at how much distance would be picked up. Now, most golfers are influenced by certain myths in playing golf.

The average golfer’s problem is not so much a lack of ability as it is a lack of knowing what he should do.” Ben Hogan

What is the problem? The problem is simple, poor impact. Golfers practice the wrong thing and get good at doing it wrong. The contact with the golf ball and golf club face at moment of impact is not consistent. Why is this important? Impact controls trajectory, distance, and direction of each shot. These three things are affected each time the club face and ball collide. A golfer’s only feedback is the flight of the ball. Every fifth or sixth shot most golfers make good contact by accident. As a result, the golfer does not know what they have done differently to make the good contact happen.

Finding the Sweet Spot
The Moment of Impact

Test results provided the following information. Missing the middle of the club at impact (also known as the sweet spot) by one fourth (1/4") of an inch in any direction reduces the distance the ball will travel by ten percent. Missing the middle of the club at impact by one half (1/2") an inch in any direction reduces the distance the ball will travel by twenty percent. Please observe example in the picture below.

I personally conducted a study of fifty of my students with a handicap of ten and above. The findings were very interesting. I found the average miss of the sweet spot was three fourths (3/4") of an inch. Not only were the misses by three fourths of an inch, but on the toe of the club also. No wonder “consistency” is the number one request in a student’s first interview when beginning to take lessons.

Let's use the example of being able to hit the ball 175 yards in the air with contact on the face of the club being 1/2" off the center each time. By increasing the miss of a center hit by only 1/4", the ball will gain ten percent in air yardage of 17.5 yards with the same club head speed or 193 yards in the air.

I believe the first place to start work on distance is by getting into a program of hitting the ball in the center of the club face. If the golfer hits the ball square in the middle most of the time this golfer needs to learn how to swing the club faster without losing square impact.

Studies show that for each mile an hour gained in club head speed results in the ball going 2.3 yards longer. A 5 mph increase will result in 11+ yards increase in distance. That is a huge difference on the golf course.

A student's goal should be to increase club head speed and square impact to reach their personal goals in gaining distance. These two factors produce great results for golfers wanting to improve personal goals.