7 Ways To Add 30+ Yards With Your Driver

METHOD #1 - INCREASE YOUR MOBILITY

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 5 to 15+ YARDS

While it does take some time, working on your mobility is a great way to gain extra distance on the course. However, like many of our distance gaining methods, you'll see benefits off the course as well.

Let's be real, a LOT of golfers have mobility limitations. I would go as far as to say 95% of us do. One of the big reasons is the modern lifestyle. Lot's of sitting, lot's of hunching, less movement. So, most of us have some mobility issues we can address.

Whether your issues are in the shoulders, back area, hips or somewhere else, these limitations usually lead to a shortened backswing and inefficient movement. Improving your mobility and lengthening your backswing can add significant distance to all of your clubs by way of increasing your swing speed, your ability to separate the lower and upper body (creating more elastic energy), and ultimately ball speed.

On top of the length of the swing, mobility limitations can also lead to mechanical inefficiencies , they are swing "necessities". If you didn't make them, you'd probably miss the ball altogether. Many of these compensations come from golfers trying to move past their current range of motion. This results in poor sequencing and/or balance issues, both leading to poor ball striking.

There's a wealth of information out there on improving your mobility. You can go it alone or find a professional to help.  Whether you search YouTube or end up connecting with a professional, it's important to make sure you document your journey.  This will help to ensure you can see if progress is being made.  There are a lot of assessments out there. Some of the best we've found online that you can do at home are from Par4Success.  Watch the video and complete the assessment.  Of course, if you want something more in depth, find a professional in your area.

Mobility Assessment

Here are some of our favorite resources to find programming and professionals:
YouTube - search for "golf mobility" and you'll find 1000's of videos.
Titleist Performance Institute has a great search tool to find a qualified professional in your area if you want to work with someone in person.

You may need some tools as well. Here are some of our favorites:
The Booyah Stick (amazon)
The Chirp Wheel (amazon)
Roller Bundle (amazon)    
Massage Gun (amazon)
Resistance Bands (amazon)

METHOD #2 - INCREASE YOUR STRENGTH

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 5 to 15+ YARDS

It may seem obvious, but for those of you who do not currently lift weights, there are some really easy gains to be had when it comes to speed. Part of this is due to building muscle and working on your fast twitch muscle fibers.

However, in the beginning a good part of this is from a neuromuscular adaptation that those new to lifting receive. Neuromuscular adaptation has to do with how the brain interacts with the muscles and lifting heavy stuff can improve that interaction speed.

When you first begin strength training, the signals from the brain to your muscles is weak. As you train, this signal from the brain to the muscles begins to change and adapt. The more you train, the more the signal improves and the better the brain and muscles communicate and work together. As you start to train more, this communication allows your muscle fibers to begin to work more as a team. This synchronization leads to quick strength and speed gains at the beginning of your fitness journey, even if you do not build any new muscle, which takes many weeks to do.

Strength training will also help with fatigue on the course. So, not only will you swing faster, you'll take that speed with you farther into the round.  Lack of endurance is a common issue for many golfers, improving it can have a huge effect on your distance and score.
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Here are some of our favorite resources:
YouTube - search for "golf strength" and you'll find 1000's of videos.
Titleist Performance Institute has a great search tool to find a qualified professional in your area if you want to work with someone in person.

You may need some tools as well. Here are some of our favorites:
The Fit Life Resistance Band Bundle (amazon)
Flex Fix Home Workout Kit (amazon)
FLYBIRD Adjustable Dumbbells (amazon)
Yes4All Kettlebells (amazon)

METHOD #3 - DO A PRE-ROUND WARMUP

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 4 to 6 YARDS

Golf is an explosive sport in which the body moves very quickly in a short period of time. We need our muscles and central nervous system warmed up and ready to go so we can use it more efficiently and prevent injury.

When most golfers think of a warmup, they think of what is known as static stretching. As a visual, think of static stretching as the bend and hold type of stretching, like a hamstring stretch. Studies have shown that this type of stretching has a negative effect on your power input, even hours after stretching.

When warming up, we want to go through what is known as a “dynamic” warmup. This type of warmup involves movement through normal ranges of motion and the “warming up” of the muscles. As an example, think of arm circles and lunges or squats as parts of a dynamic warmup. While body weight alone is great in a dynamic warmup, you can increase the results even further by adding a little bit of resistance in the form of bands. A dynamic warmup does not have to be super long either, five minutes is all you really need.

This article from TPI details the results of a study comparing golfers who didn't warmup, with golfers who warmed up doing a dynamic routine and golfers who utilized resistance bands as part of their dynamic warmup routine.  The results weren't too surprising.

Here are some of our favorite resistance bands.  Grab a set for home and one for your bag.
Fit Simply Resistance Bands (amazon)

METHOD #4 - GET FITTED OR RETROFITTED

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 5 to 20+ YARDS

It is amazing how many people just buy clubs off the rack and do not get fitted. Most golf shops and fitters include the price or almost eliminate the fitting fee completely if you buy whatever you get fitted for, so there really is zero reason not to get fit anytime you buy a new club(s). With over 100 driver shaft options alone, do you really think you should guess?

One fitting spec most golfers constantly misjudge is driver loft. Unless you know your angle of attack, you are playing a guessing game at best trying to figure out what loft to play. Most amateur golfers tend to think that playing a driver with more loft is the way to go, as it gets the ball in the air. The truth is, it may be costing you distance, not adding it. The same holds true for irons.

Not looking to purchase new clubs? Get retrofitted. You might find that a different shaft or some easy adjustments, like loft and lie angle, might make a huge difference. With so many brands and numerous options, get the data and make an informed decision!

Here's a great article and study done by PluggedInGolf.  They found the average golfer was missing out on 16 yards off the tee due to not being fitted or fitted incorrectly.

Article: How Much Distance Does Club Fitting Add?

Where should you get fitted?  Well, there's a ton of places out there.  Thankfully, Golf Digest puts out a top list of club fitters by state every year.  Here's the most recent list from 2021.

List: Golf Digest List of America's 100 Best Clubfitters

METHOD #5 - GET FITTED FOR YOUR GOLF BALL

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 0 to 18+ YARDS

Think the ball you play does not matter much when it comes to distance? A 2021 MYGOLFSPY study (find it HERE) proved that it does.

In their study, they found there were large distance gaps between the shortest and longest balls. These distance gaps went up to 10 yards in slower swing speeds (85 mph) and close to 30 yards in higher swing speeds (115 mph). That is one to three clubs more!  One thing to keep in mind, do not judge a ball by its marketing. All that really matters are the numbers.

Want to try out the top balls from the test? Here are the top three distance balls for each swing speed category.

Fast Swing Speed (115 mph)
Titleist ProV1x Left Dash
Titleist Tour Speed
Bridgestone Tour B RX

Mid Swing Speed (100 mph)
Maxfli Tour
Taylormade Tour Response
Bridgestone Tour B XS

Slow Swing Speed (85 mph)
Titleist ProV1x Left Dash
Titleist AVX
Vice Pro Plus

One other thing to note: don't be scared of used golf balls. A study done by Practical Golf's Jon Sherman (study is HERE)showed virtually zero change in ball speeds and other performance factors. So, save some money AND play the ball that's right for you.

Looking for great used balls?  There are a ton of great options on Amazon. HERE is a list of some AAA condition golf balls.

METHOD #6 - CHECK YOUR GOLF SHOES

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 2 to 10+ YARDS

A not so obvious one here, but your golf shoes can make a huge difference in not only swing speed, but smash factor and accuracy. There is a good chance you are not only in the wrong size shoe, but the wrong type of shoe.

One of the key’s to being able to generate swing speed is stability. FootJoy conducted a study a few years back and found that 70% of golfers were in the wrong size shoe (more on that HERE). Whether it was a shoe that was too narrow, too wide, or to long or short, what we know is that the right fit gives you more stability and the ability to use the ground in a more efficient way.

There's also the spiked versus spikeless debate. In a study conducted three years ago by PrideSports at the Pinehurst Resort (info on the results HERE), they looked at the effect of spiked and spikeless golf shoes on a few different stats.

This study found that swing speeds mostly stayed the same, regardless of the type of shoe. However, they did find that spiked shoes resulted in a higher smash factor. Which means a better quality of strike. The Pinehurst study found that on average, lower handicap golfers picked up 4.5 yards with their driver.

If you're looking for a great golf shoe to gain distance here are some of the best options around as concluded from MYGOLFSPY's 2022 "Best Spiked Golf Shoe" awards. Click the shoe name to learn more.

BEST OVERALL AND BEST TRACTION
FOOTJOY Tour Alpha (amazon)

MOST STABLE
SQAIRZ Golf Shoes (free carry bag and socks with purchase)

MOST COMFORTABLE
FOOTJOY Hyperflex BOA

BEST FOR THE ELEMENTS
ECCO Biom 3G

METHOD #7 - OVERSPEED TRAINING

POTENTIAL DISTANCE GAINS: 12 to 25+ YARDS

One of the fastest ways to gain swing speed and distance is with overspeed training. Overspeed training relies on challenging and resetting the neuromuscular reaction speed of a given motor pattern, in this case, the golf swing.

By training with a club at a weight less than that of a standard driver, you train yourself to swing faster. Just think, the heavier something is, the slower your body will move when trying to move it. Likewise, the lighter something is, the faster your body will be able to move it. By doing a set amount of reps paired with specific exercises, you can reset the reaction speed of your golf swing and train yourself to swing faster permanently.

Overspeed training is great because it only takes 15 minutes a twice a week. Most golfers can expect to gain anywhere from 5-10 mph of swing speed with their driver and about half that or a little less with their irons. This equates to anywhere from 12-25 yards of added carry distance with your driver.

We are certainly biased, but our LAUNCH CODE® Overspeed Trainer is the best on the market. You can learn more about our product and how it can change your golf game HERE.

Here's a comparison of our overspeed product alongside our top competitors.

NOW IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION!

So, where are we at after all of this?

Well, if you took all these distance keys and put them into action, you could possibly gain anywhere from 38 to 75 yards on your driver on top of adding some distance to your irons as well. All without touching your golf swing! I know, it sounds crazy, but read through each one of these actions again. They are all supported by research.

Now, will your gains be within the averages? Who knows, but they very well might be. Many of these you may already be doing and some you may have never thought of. So, where should you start? Well, really that is up to you.

- Investing in your strength and mobility is always a great ideal and will have impacts on your overall health outside of golf as well.

- Overspeed training is easy to implement into your golf training as it does not take a lot of time to complete.

- When it comes to clubs and shoes, just wait until your ready for some new ones. Or get your current clubs retrofitted.

- The easiest one to implement right of the bat is a pre-golf warmup. Whether practice or play, it will pay immediate dividends.

Take your time and implement some or all of these over the next year or two. Track your speed gains and scores as you go. You WILL see improvement as you increase your speed and distance.