Article #28
To meet this week's teacher, or to purchase a copy of MUNIE ~ The Jitterbug Collection, go to www.bobbysteiner.com
Dear Jitterbug Gang:
What physical attributes do long hitters most have in common?
Dave Snell
Jitterbug Gang Fan
Mr. Vaughn:
First of all, let's accept that distance is all about clubhead speed. Now, before all you tech experts beat me to my knees, I admit there are also launch angle and spin rate considerations. That agreed upon, one's potential for creating distance boils down to one's ability to make the club travel fast.
Back to your question: On a physical level, what do the long hitters have that short hitters don't?
If there is one thing that leaps to mind, above everything else, it has to be hand and forearm strength.
Don't get me wrong, with poor mechanics, you can have the strongest lobster claws in the world, and still hit the ball nowhere. But, you show me someone with meat-hook hands and Popeye-like forearms, and I'll give 'em a grip and wrist-cock that will provide plenty of speed to hit the ball a long way.
Jitterbug:
I salute what Mr. Vaughn says about hand and forearm strength, but would like to add one point to it.
There are older golfers out there who used to hit the ball a mile, but in recent years, have lost some of their pop. Most of these people are nearly as strong as they ever were-as far as how much weight their flexed muscles can support-but simply can't generate the clubhead speed they once could.
This is because, although they haven't lost much strength, they have lost range of motion.
How does range of motion affect distance?
To answer that, I need you to pick up a golf magazine and find a swing sequence of any one of the following players: Michelle Wie, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Natalie Gulbis, Grace Park, Greg Norman, Annika Sorenstam, or Adam Scott.
I'd like you to examine the configuration of their bodies-more particularly, their right hip and arms- just after impact, when the club is parallel to the ground. Notice how every part of their body is chasing the ball down the line? Notice that both arms are absolutely straight until their hands are well above their head?
My friends, this kind of post-impact extension requires flexibility, because without a body that will continue to turn in this manner, your arms are sure to buckle up, and as a result, become shorter and slower.
So yes, we'd all like as much wrist and forearm strength as possible, but without a flexible, free-moving body to keep the swing arc wide after impact, you're always gonna be limited in the amount of clubhead speed you can sustain.