Why Can’t I Hit A Golf Ball Far? (3 Checkpoints)

There is nothing more frustrating in golf than a lack of distance.

Your playing partners step up to the tee and hit a driver that flies long and far.

You step up to the tee and struggle to even hit the ball 200 yards.

Why is this?

This leads us to golfers often asking…

Why can’t I hit a golf ball far?

The number one reason for lack of distance in golf is swing speed which impacts the overall ball speed. This is a result of a lack of training and/or poor mechanics which can lead to slow swing speed, poor contact and a too high of a spin rate.

The bottom line is that in order to hit the ball further the golfer must increase his or her swing speed. Even the best struck ball with a low swing speed can only send the ball flying so far. The slow swing speed is the number one issue for most golfers.

The good news is that I have a solution to help you increase your swing speed below!

Checklist: Golfers should go through the following checklist

Swing Speed

Center Contact
Spin Rate

In each category below, we will dive into the issue and then provide some solutions to help you measure and improve.

Learn more about SuperSpeed Golf below! A true game changer!

Issue #1: Too Slow of A Swing Speed

A golfer with a swing speed below 85 miles per hour is going to struggle to carry the ball much further than 200 yards. While most golfers might not ever reach the tour average of 113 miles per hour with the driver, most golfers, with the proper training can get to around 95 miles per hour.

Studies have shown there is a direct correlation between driver swing speed and handicap in the game of golf. The slower your swing speed, the much lower chance of you ever getting to be a single digit golfer.

	Senior	Average	Low Handicap	Tour Pro

Driver Swing Speed	91 and Below	91-101	102-112	113-123
Driver Distance	210 and Below	210-235	235-275	275-300

If the average golfer can get the swing speed in that 91-101 miles per hour, they can shoot some respectable scores and occasionally break 80.

Solution: Train For Speed

For many years, golfers might have felt stuck with their current swing speed. Or they went to the gym in search of a few more yards with the driver. The good news is that there is a golf specific training system that can help you increase your swing speed by as much as 5-8%

Let’s face it, we all want to hit the ball further! The good news…there is a way to increase your driver distance that doesn’t include spending $500 on a new driver.

You can train for speed and get some amazing results with SuperSpeed Golf. It worked for me and I believe it can work for many (especially if you make a commitment and actually use it)

I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing.

Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.

SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.

The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.

My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!

Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!

Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!

Original Swing Speed	After 4-6 Weeks	New Carry Distance	Total Distance
95	102	245	265
100	108	259	279
105	113	271	291
110	118	283	303

Issue #2: Lack Of Center Face Contact

The good news with the SuperSpeed system above is that your swing mechanics will improve as you train with this system. This alone can help you start to find the center of the face more often. The center contact strikes are often measured by something known as the smash factor.

The higher the smash factor, the more you were able to hit the center of the face.

The smash factor is a calculation that shows the correlation between club head speed and ball speed. If your ball speed is relative to your club head speed your smash factor will be higher. If your ball speed is low compared to your club head speed your smash factor will be lower.

What can happen with some golfers is that as they try to swing faster, their ball speed will actually decrease because they struggle to hit the center of the driver.

Helpful Post: 3 Wood vs Driver: Distance Difference

Solution: Seek Feedback

There are several different ways to measure if you are striking the ball on the center of the face. There are stickers or sprays you can put on your driver club face as your are practicing at the driving range or even on the course.

You want to develop a center strike as often as possible. Ultimately, the golfer should seek the balance between enough speed and center strikes.

At least once a week you should hit drivers at 100% speed to help train for additional speed! This combined with the SuperSpeed Golf Training System and you are well on your way!

Issue #3: Spin Rate

This is something often overlooked by golfers. Have you ever hit the shot that just seems to fly forever? Or the shot where you swung fast, but the ball ballooned and didn’t fly very far?

This is a result of spin rate.

Spin rate is measured in RPMs and the optimum spin rate for most golfers is between 2000 and 3000 RPMs. For most golfers, once the RPMs exceed 3000 you are losing distance from the ball over spinning.

This is the shot that balloons and drops right out of the sky. The shot will often fly higher than normal and lack overall carry distance. It is also a difficult shot to hit into a head wind.

Too high or a spin rate can be a result of the wrong flexed shaft or a poor angle of attack. Too high of a spin rate can often be the problem with distance for the golfer that has enough swing speed, but just can’t seem to get the distance with the driver. They may hit their irons as far as they would expect, but struggle with the driver.

Helpful Post: Why is spin rate important in golf?

Solution: Use A Launch Monitor

Whether you purchase a launch monitor or head to your local golf pro or golf store, find a way to have an idea if your spin rate is too high or optimum. Too high of a spin rate can take away 20-30 yards from you on every driver that the ball spins too much.

I own the Skytrak Launch Monitor and monitor my spin rate frequently to ensure I have the right setup with my driver and that I am controlling my spin rate.

Overall, the Skytrak provides some key data for me in my journey to play my best golf possible. I have the following information at my fingertips as I play in my golf simulator space:

Carry and Total Distance

Ball Speed
Spin Rate
Spin Axis

Launch Angle

The set of data above is so helpful in training and developing my swing and monitoring my progress!

Helpful Post: Skytrak Launch Monitor: The ultimate game improvement tool!

Are you ready to finally take your golf swing and your game to new levels! Stop the frustration with your golf game and put in the time with some great options this winter or even during the season!

Rain or Shine Golf Packages

Final Thoughts: Take Action!

Are you ready to add some distance? Follow these steps below:

Measure your swing speed

Train for additional swing speed
Train to hit the ball on the center of the face
Know your numbers with a launch monitor

Take your new swing speed to the course and shoot lower scores!

Play the best courses in the world on a golf simulator! See links below for many of the frequently asked question!

Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better

What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:

1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:

Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:

2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:

Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:

3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:

We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.

4 – Practice Frequently

Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions: