The 5° Secret to 25 More Yards is Your Attack Angle

The 5° Secret to 25 More Yards is Your Attack Angle

Hitting up on the ball at the correct angle improves your launch for big-time extra distance

By Bruce Patterson
GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher
Published: February 01, 2009

Conventional wisdom holds that long drives are mainly a product of your swing speed. The faster you swing the club, the farther your drives fly. But I watched PGA Tour player Jeff Sluman add 22 yards to his tee shots without an increase in swing speed. How do you explain that? Or why J.B. Holmes' average drive in 2008 (310 yards) was 16 yards longer than Tiger Woods' (294 yards) when they produce the same amount of clubhead and ball speed?

The Attack Angle: How It Works
To maximize your drives, you need to hit the ball on the upswing, because this increases your launch angle without adding clubhead loft. You'll also produce less spin while increasing the force with which you hit the ball. "I had been a low-launch, low-trajectory player, and when I changed to a positive angle of attack, I picked up 20-plus yards," PGA Tour pro Jeff Sluman said. "You'll be taken aback by how simple this change is."

Descending Hit

When you hit down on the ball, even as little as 5 degrees, you have virtually no chance with a standard driver to achieve the launch angle and spin rate required for max distance, which for a 90 mph swing is 10 degrees of launch and 3,100 rpm of spin. (To get these numbers with a minus-5-degree swing, you'd need a 15-degree driver!)

Credit: Schecter Lee

The Attack Angle: How To Get It
Minor tweaks to your setup and swing make hitting up easy

STEP 1
Change Your Address

Move the ball forward in your stance and tee the ball higher. Try to find the bottom of your old swing and then tee the ball 3-4 inches in front of that old position. This will force you to make a more inside-out swing. Follow the setup changes at right to hit the ball with an ascending blow.

OLD BODY TILT Upper body only slightly tilted back, with your hands even with your zipper.
OLD BALL POSITION Opposite your left armpit. This encourages an outside-in swing.
KEY MOVE Your right shoulder should be noticeably lower than your left.
NEW BODY TILT Your body tilt is more pronounced leaning back.
NEW HAND POSITION Your hands should be farther forward, in front of your left thigh.
NEW BALL POSITION Find the bottom of your swing and tee the ball 3-4 inches in front of it. This will encourage an inside-out swing.

Credit: Don Penny

From : Golf.com