Royce, Whew! Tall task since everbody, and seniors in particular, have very individual swings. But, there are some generalities I learned in struggling to hit the long sticks and watching others. First, I'll run over the general club specs that seem to work best for me and my senior men or lady customers. Of course, they may change a bit depending on the player's swing, size and ability.
Head of 193-195 grams, closed 2°, shaft weighing 50-something grams and (for men) frequency of 225-235 cpm at 47"-48"depending on shaft and player. ( I like 236 cpm at 48".) A strong player could go to 245 cpm. Keep the shaft a smidgen on the softer side of what the player needs. Grip is light, perhaps a 43 gram Winn or Karakal, to help reduce total weight and keep it at 300 grams or less. Total weight is very important, because a long driver that weighs less than a short one is as easy, or easier to control. Swingweight at 47" should be about D6-D8, at 48" E0-E2. These light, long clubs are very accurate because they are easy to control and easy to time... you can feel the head location in your swing better than with a shorter, stiffer driver. I can work mine in either direction...fading is almost automatic for me, draws are a little harder to predict with my slightly outside-in swing plane. I went from 220 with a 43" driver at age 59 to 260 yards with a 48" driver at age 65, and from a 8 to a 1.5 handicap. You can expect to gain about 8-10 yards an inch, if you keep the total weight lighter than 300 grams. (On dialysis, I dropped back to 240 yards with a 47" SRV II/53 gram Graman FL-50R,/44 gram Sofwrap XT Oversize, darn it. Didn't have the endurance to hit a 48-incher. Hopefully strength is coming back with the new transplant...if the Prednisone doesn't screw me up.) The major problem in swinging a long driver is getting the head around and square. Most senior (men and women) players have much less flexibility in their mid-section and legs than when younger, so tend to power the upper body through the shot...a major mistake with a long driver. Big slices are the result. Their swings are shorter and faster, because they're desperately trying to hit the ball harder. Big mistake. Never get the club around doing that. Another problem is laying the club off at the top...swinging low and behind the right shoulder. Impossible to get it back from that position. Rolling the left hand open and opening the face is another mistake. Have to flip the head through from that position and timing has to be perfect to do that. So, here's what needs to happen, IMO. Backswing tempo must be slower than with a shorter club. Take-away must be straight back from the ball to the point the left arm extension forces the body to turn about 90° and puts most weight on the right leg. Back of left hand has to stay near vertical (almost feels like you're turning it under in take-away) throughout the backswing and all the way to the top. When the hands are about waist high in backswing, butt of club should still be aiming in the general direction of your belt buckle. That's a key point with the long driver. At that point, wrist cock is almost straight up, so club sets on top just in front of your right shoulder and club is pointing toward the target. That's not much different than a normal swing should be, but it is even more critical with a long driver that the club be high and centered on the upper body. If behind the right shoulder or wrapped around the upper body, there's no way the club will get square. With the hands centered on the body, it's much easier to get the club head square and follow through the shot. The other difference is slower tempo and a bit smoother weight shift. Right side of head and upper body must be behind the ball. Downswing starts with a solid push left with the hips. This starts the swing smoothly and pulls the right elbow in a little closer. The head MUST stay behind the ball and upper body turn behind the arm swing, as hips turn slightly and move forward out of the way. The heavy swingweight will release earlier than a normal swingweight...just let it go, swing the arms across the upper body, and kick in a little extra right hand to help keep the hands ahead of the head and body. Downswing starts smoothly, but near release you can gun it through the shot. Some of my best drives have been ones I really ripped into after a smooth start. After practicing a smooth swing for awhile, you get a feeling how and when to rip into it. Again, the heavier swingweight and long more flexible shaft helps your feel for the timing, I think. Most younger and better players with a late release and fast hand action don't adapt to the long driver's high swingweight release very well. (These guys usually hit the ball so far that they don't need a long driver anyway.) A late release just won't get the club face back to square. I had a somewhat late release and ended up with two swings...one for the long driver and one with a later release for my irons. But after a little practice, I switch gears without even thinking about it. Typically at first, every shot goes high and right. Then, as you begin to slow down and concentrate on swinging higher and staying behind the ball, you are suddenlly hitting pull-draws. Slowing the upper body turn usually corrects this. But too much slowing (inside-out) results in a blocked shot...right but straight. An over-the-top swing and strong right hand usually results in a big pull-hook. These are all typical of swing mistakes with any length driver, but magnified with a long one. The advantage with a long driver is one of feel...a much better feel for head position, I think, so mistakes are easier to correct and less likely to happen once you've got the feel of a good shot. Time the swing right and a long driver is just as accurate as any other club. And, since I can feel the swing timing better with a long driver, I am more accurate with it. The only accuracy problem I have is the result of "old man" tiredness about the 15th hole on a hot day and not controlling my hand position because of heavy swingweight, or dead legs getting body out of sync and coming over the top. The former results in a banana that gets away from me and the latter is a pull hook. Very seldom happens if I swing under control, though. This is why swingweight needs to be matched with the player's ability to control it (strong wrists)...and of course, length is the principal cause of high swingweight. In general, I find only players with a reasonably decent swing can handle the E0+ of 48 inch drivers, while most 60s guys can handle the D8 of a 47" driver. Funny thing happens over 75 years of age...there's neither the swing speed or the wrist flexibility in these players to make swingweight matter much at all. Only some strength is needed. I have a stronger 78 year-old playing a 48" driver that swingweights at E6 and he's hitting the ball with it better than any club he's had in the last 10 years...but still only 215 yards or less. (Of course, he couldn't get beyond 170 with a 45" club.) Some over-70s are so weak and locked in to a short driver swing that they just can't make the switch. Senior women are fun to fit...some have really slow swing speeds, but most have some sort of natural long driver timing. With little wrist strength, they just let the release happen with any club they play. They also tend to swing the club higher than an old man. All I generally have to do is show them how to keep the upper body behind the swing. The yardage these ladies pick up with a longer driver (mostly 46-inchers) is amazing..often over 10 yards an inch. I have one 5'1" lady hitting a D4, 47" really light driver (around 280-something grams, I think) right down the middle. Her husband told me jokingly that she now sleeps with that driver instead of him...and he ordered one just like it. Most do better with a 46" driver, however, especially some of the younger 50-somethings, who can still take a good rip at the ball. I like 44" lengths for beginner senior women, C8-D2 depending on the lady, then when they get so they can hit the ball consistently, they can go to 46". Hope I covered what you were looking for. Left out the youngsters, because they are a mixed bag for me and I don't do very many... have a lot to learn in that area. Some just want to kill the ball and don't care where it goes. One young friend of my son told me he loves the club because now he can bounce his ball off the roofs of the condos on such-and-such a hole. Geez, what an attitude. One young guy was almost good enough to make the Long Drive events, but couldn't get his swing speed over 125 and gave up. Making clubs for him was kind of fun. Most of these guys don't need long drivers anyway, so I tend to go more by the book for them...maybe cheat an inch or so if I can get a light enough total weight. Guess I better get to my house husband duties...and have a Killer Bee to repair for a friend's wife. Bernie Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Royce Engler" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 3:03 PM Subject: RE: ShopTalk: Long Drive swing...was Selling it > Bernie...could you summarize your advice for swing modifications for folks > switching to long drivers? I saw you mention that once before, but forgot > to ask you about it. > > Thanks!!! > Royce > > > >
