Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Distance by Maximizing Launch Characteristics

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Understand how launch angle and spin affect your distance.
  • Identify key adjustments to improve your ball flight for added distance.
  • Learn practical tips to maximize your distance without needing a launch monitor.

Learn how to enhance your golf ball distance by focusing on your launch characteristics rather than just increasing club head speed. This approach can help you gain significant yardage quickly and effectively.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200
This video is the easiest way to gain distance.

2
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:07.600
So many golfers come to the site, obviously, wanting to hit the ball further,

3
00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:07.800
because the

4
00:00:07.800 --> 00:00:10.160
long ball is a whole lot of fun.

5
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.540
The challenge is most golfers that come to the site say that they want to hit

6
00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:14.200
it further,

7
00:00:14.200 --> 00:00:16.520
so they need to pick up some club head speed.

8
00:00:16.520 --> 00:00:23.040
Now the standard math shows that for every mile per hour of speed gain you get,

9
00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:23.560
you can

10
00:00:23.560 --> 00:00:29.280
gain up to about 2.8 yards, somewhere around there.

11
00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.900
In order to gain, let's say, 30 yards, that means that I'm going to gain 10

12
00:00:33.900 --> 00:00:34.520
miles per

13
00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:35.520
hour.

14
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.810
And while we've had students going through this program pick up 5, 6, 7, even 8

15
00:00:39.810 --> 00:00:40.220
miles

16
00:00:40.220 --> 00:00:46.570
per hour in club head speed, gaining 10 miles per hour is actually quite a bit

17
00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:48.000
challenging.

18
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.400
What's easier to do is to maximize your launch characteristics.

19
00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:57.920
So a lot of the movements that we teach in the program will help you improve

20
00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:58.720
your spin

21
00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:02.800
loft or your compression and get more out of the speed.

22
00:01:02.800 --> 00:01:09.190
So the times when golfers rapidly gain 40 yards, 50 yards, 60 yards, that

23
00:01:09.190 --> 00:01:10.200
happens more

24
00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:15.050
from improving your launch characteristics, not from gaining 20 miles per hour

25
00:01:15.050 --> 00:01:15.520
in club

26
00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:16.840
head speed like that.

27
00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:22.050
It's pretty unrealistic to imagine that you could gain 20 miles per hour in

28
00:01:22.050 --> 00:01:23.440
club head speed

29
00:01:23.440 --> 00:01:27.430
just from one quick tip, but it's possible to change your launch

30
00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:28.800
characteristics and

31
00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:32.120
actually hit it that much further pretty much overnight.

32
00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:36.400
So if you're working on trying to find the easiest ways to maximize your

33
00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.320
distance and

34
00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:41.660
you don't have access to a launch monitor, you want to try to look for a ball

35
00:01:41.660 --> 00:01:42.160
flight

36
00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:47.880
that's going to be tending to launch higher but flatter so it'll kind of come

37
00:01:47.880 --> 00:01:48.480
off more

38
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:53.480
like this as opposed to launching lower and then spinning up.

39
00:01:53.480 --> 00:02:00.160
When you start getting that launch low high spin shot, you're losing a lot of

40
00:02:00.160 --> 00:02:01.080
distance

41
00:02:01.080 --> 00:02:02.320
to the field.

42
00:02:02.320 --> 00:02:04.990
The other way to look at it is if you play with a lot of people and you hit

43
00:02:04.990 --> 00:02:05.600
your irons

44
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:09.980
about the same distance but then they hit their drivers significantly further

45
00:02:09.980 --> 00:02:10.440
and you

46
00:02:10.440 --> 00:02:15.310
notice that trend, their driver is a little bit flatter, yours is a little bit

47
00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:16.080
more spinny

48
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:17.800
kind of like that.

49
00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.860
You know that your angle of attack is probably a little bit too steep and your

50
00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:22.600
face to path

51
00:02:22.600 --> 00:02:25.520
relationship is probably a little bit too open.

52
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:31.240
Those two will produce that low launch high spin combination where in order to

53
00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:31.840
produce

54
00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.970
the high launch low spin combination, you need to have your upper body working

55
00:02:35.970 --> 00:02:36.560
away from

56
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:41.680
the target or behind the golf ball and you need to deloft the club to the path

57
00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:42.280
so that

58
00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:47.860
even though the path is going up, the club face is closing compared to that

59
00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:48.520
path and

60
00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:54.160
so it hits this higher launching ball but has a lower spin profile.

61
00:02:54.160 --> 00:02:58.640
To visualize that, we can take a look at something called spin loft where the

62
00:02:58.640 --> 00:02:59.480
amount of spin

63
00:02:59.480 --> 00:03:04.600
is roughly the difference between this angle, the loft of the club at impact

64
00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:05.560
and the angle

65
00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:06.560
of attack.

66
00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.710
So if this driver stays the same, this is going to have a lot of spin and that

67
00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:11.320
's going

68
00:03:11.320 --> 00:03:14.080
to have virtually no spin.

69
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:19.060
These are some exaggerated angle of attack numbers but if you have more of a

70
00:03:19.060 --> 00:03:19.720
downward

71
00:03:19.720 --> 00:03:24.590
strike kind of like so, the goal is to get to an upward strike kind of like

72
00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:25.280
that to help

73
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.280
maximize your speed.

74
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:32.650
That's a whole lot easier than trying to find a way to pick up 10 miles per

75
00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:33.560
hour in actual

76
00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:34.920
club head speed.

77
00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:41.520
So maximize your launch characteristics first and then if you need a secondary

78
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:42.380
approach,

79
00:03:42.380 --> 00:03:44.520
I would work on face contact.

80
00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:49.200
It's only after I maximize those two that I would then start looking at trying

81
00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:49.840
to develop

82
00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:54.790
either bigger swing, faster swing, more explosive trying to actually gain club

83
00:03:54.790 --> 00:03:55.720
head speed.

84
00:03:55.720 --> 00:03:59.040
The second point that I mentioned is looking at contact point.

85
00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:03.250
So using something like the Dr. Scholl's foot spray to be able to look at

86
00:04:03.250 --> 00:04:04.360
contact location

87
00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:08.780
because if you're contacting it three quarters of an inch and inch off the

88
00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:09.880
sweet spot, you

89
00:04:09.880 --> 00:04:15.940
can easily be losing 30, 40 yards just from contact, obviously depending on

90
00:04:15.940 --> 00:04:16.720
your club

91
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:17.720
head speed.

92
00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:22.290
So maximize your launch characteristics, maximize center face contact and those

93
00:04:22.290 --> 00:04:22.480
two

94
00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.240
combination will help give you the easiest speed gains.

95
00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:30.440
If you gain some distance from working on your sequencing and working on your

96
00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:30.920
energy

97
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:36.160
transfer, that's great but it's rarely going to be more than 10 to 15 yards.

98
00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:39.250
When you're looking for those 30 to 50 yard gains, it's going to come from

99
00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:39.760
those first

100
00:04:39.760 --> 00:04:42.400
two characteristics of just maximizing your physics.

Have questions?

Ask Mulligan for help
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Your Distance by Maximizing Launch Characteristics

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Understand how launch angle and spin affect your distance.
  • Identify key adjustments to improve your ball flight for added distance.
  • Learn practical tips to maximize your distance without needing a launch monitor.

Learn how to enhance your golf ball distance by focusing on your launch characteristics rather than just increasing club head speed. This approach can help you gain significant yardage quickly and effectively.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200
This video is the easiest way to gain distance.

2
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:07.600
So many golfers come to the site, obviously, wanting to hit the ball further,

3
00:00:07.600 --> 00:00:07.800
because the

4
00:00:07.800 --> 00:00:10.160
long ball is a whole lot of fun.

5
00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.540
The challenge is most golfers that come to the site say that they want to hit

6
00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:14.200
it further,

7
00:00:14.200 --> 00:00:16.520
so they need to pick up some club head speed.

8
00:00:16.520 --> 00:00:23.040
Now the standard math shows that for every mile per hour of speed gain you get,

9
00:00:23.040 --> 00:00:23.560
you can

10
00:00:23.560 --> 00:00:29.280
gain up to about 2.8 yards, somewhere around there.

11
00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.900
In order to gain, let's say, 30 yards, that means that I'm going to gain 10

12
00:00:33.900 --> 00:00:34.520
miles per

13
00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:35.520
hour.

14
00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:39.810
And while we've had students going through this program pick up 5, 6, 7, even 8

15
00:00:39.810 --> 00:00:40.220
miles

16
00:00:40.220 --> 00:00:46.570
per hour in club head speed, gaining 10 miles per hour is actually quite a bit

17
00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:48.000
challenging.

18
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.400
What's easier to do is to maximize your launch characteristics.

19
00:00:52.400 --> 00:00:57.920
So a lot of the movements that we teach in the program will help you improve

20
00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:58.720
your spin

21
00:00:58.720 --> 00:01:02.800
loft or your compression and get more out of the speed.

22
00:01:02.800 --> 00:01:09.190
So the times when golfers rapidly gain 40 yards, 50 yards, 60 yards, that

23
00:01:09.190 --> 00:01:10.200
happens more

24
00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:15.050
from improving your launch characteristics, not from gaining 20 miles per hour

25
00:01:15.050 --> 00:01:15.520
in club

26
00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:16.840
head speed like that.

27
00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:22.050
It's pretty unrealistic to imagine that you could gain 20 miles per hour in

28
00:01:22.050 --> 00:01:23.440
club head speed

29
00:01:23.440 --> 00:01:27.430
just from one quick tip, but it's possible to change your launch

30
00:01:27.430 --> 00:01:28.800
characteristics and

31
00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:32.120
actually hit it that much further pretty much overnight.

32
00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:36.400
So if you're working on trying to find the easiest ways to maximize your

33
00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.320
distance and

34
00:01:37.320 --> 00:01:41.660
you don't have access to a launch monitor, you want to try to look for a ball

35
00:01:41.660 --> 00:01:42.160
flight

36
00:01:42.160 --> 00:01:47.880
that's going to be tending to launch higher but flatter so it'll kind of come

37
00:01:47.880 --> 00:01:48.480
off more

38
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:53.480
like this as opposed to launching lower and then spinning up.

39
00:01:53.480 --> 00:02:00.160
When you start getting that launch low high spin shot, you're losing a lot of

40
00:02:00.160 --> 00:02:01.080
distance

41
00:02:01.080 --> 00:02:02.320
to the field.

42
00:02:02.320 --> 00:02:04.990
The other way to look at it is if you play with a lot of people and you hit

43
00:02:04.990 --> 00:02:05.600
your irons

44
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:09.980
about the same distance but then they hit their drivers significantly further

45
00:02:09.980 --> 00:02:10.440
and you

46
00:02:10.440 --> 00:02:15.310
notice that trend, their driver is a little bit flatter, yours is a little bit

47
00:02:15.310 --> 00:02:16.080
more spinny

48
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:17.800
kind of like that.

49
00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.860
You know that your angle of attack is probably a little bit too steep and your

50
00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:22.600
face to path

51
00:02:22.600 --> 00:02:25.520
relationship is probably a little bit too open.

52
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:31.240
Those two will produce that low launch high spin combination where in order to

53
00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:31.840
produce

54
00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:35.970
the high launch low spin combination, you need to have your upper body working

55
00:02:35.970 --> 00:02:36.560
away from

56
00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:41.680
the target or behind the golf ball and you need to deloft the club to the path

57
00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:42.280
so that

58
00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:47.860
even though the path is going up, the club face is closing compared to that

59
00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:48.520
path and

60
00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:54.160
so it hits this higher launching ball but has a lower spin profile.

61
00:02:54.160 --> 00:02:58.640
To visualize that, we can take a look at something called spin loft where the

62
00:02:58.640 --> 00:02:59.480
amount of spin

63
00:02:59.480 --> 00:03:04.600
is roughly the difference between this angle, the loft of the club at impact

64
00:03:04.600 --> 00:03:05.560
and the angle

65
00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:06.560
of attack.

66
00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:10.710
So if this driver stays the same, this is going to have a lot of spin and that

67
00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:11.320
's going

68
00:03:11.320 --> 00:03:14.080
to have virtually no spin.

69
00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:19.060
These are some exaggerated angle of attack numbers but if you have more of a

70
00:03:19.060 --> 00:03:19.720
downward

71
00:03:19.720 --> 00:03:24.590
strike kind of like so, the goal is to get to an upward strike kind of like

72
00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:25.280
that to help

73
00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:27.280
maximize your speed.

74
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:32.650
That's a whole lot easier than trying to find a way to pick up 10 miles per

75
00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:33.560
hour in actual

76
00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:34.920
club head speed.

77
00:03:34.920 --> 00:03:41.520
So maximize your launch characteristics first and then if you need a secondary

78
00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:42.380
approach,

79
00:03:42.380 --> 00:03:44.520
I would work on face contact.

80
00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:49.200
It's only after I maximize those two that I would then start looking at trying

81
00:03:49.200 --> 00:03:49.840
to develop

82
00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:54.790
either bigger swing, faster swing, more explosive trying to actually gain club

83
00:03:54.790 --> 00:03:55.720
head speed.

84
00:03:55.720 --> 00:03:59.040
The second point that I mentioned is looking at contact point.

85
00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:03.250
So using something like the Dr. Scholl's foot spray to be able to look at

86
00:04:03.250 --> 00:04:04.360
contact location

87
00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:08.780
because if you're contacting it three quarters of an inch and inch off the

88
00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:09.880
sweet spot, you

89
00:04:09.880 --> 00:04:15.940
can easily be losing 30, 40 yards just from contact, obviously depending on

90
00:04:15.940 --> 00:04:16.720
your club

91
00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:17.720
head speed.

92
00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:22.290
So maximize your launch characteristics, maximize center face contact and those

93
00:04:22.290 --> 00:04:22.480
two

94
00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.240
combination will help give you the easiest speed gains.

95
00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:30.440
If you gain some distance from working on your sequencing and working on your

96
00:04:30.440 --> 00:04:30.920
energy

97
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:36.160
transfer, that's great but it's rarely going to be more than 10 to 15 yards.

98
00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:39.250
When you're looking for those 30 to 50 yard gains, it's going to come from

99
00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:39.760
those first

100
00:04:39.760 --> 00:04:42.400
two characteristics of just maximizing your physics.

Have questions about this video?

Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.

Ask Mulligan
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
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