Increase Your Odds   by Dan Boever, Pinnacle Long Drive Team Elite Member

Increase Your Odds

Have you ever caught yourself in front of a television yelling at some chain smoking, sunglass wearing, up all night gambler competing in the World Series of Poker? He has been dealt two queens and he is going to bet the farm. You also see his opponent has two kings and that is why you are calling him an idiot for betting on the queens. In recent years ESPN has been kind enough to show the viewers all the cards around the table and the subsequent odds of each player winning the hand. Although not real good at math in high school I figure two kings has an advantage over two queens. Master of the obvious huh?

If you can answer the next three questions correctly then this article may make some sense to you.

1. Would you rather:

A-Hit your driver towards a 100 yard wide fairway?
B-Hit your driver towards a 20 yard wide fairway

2. Would you prefer a:

A-Have a 2 foot putt?
B-Have a 20 foot putt?

3. What sounds more appetizing?

A-Eat pizza and hot wings?
B-Eat celery and carrots?

OK, so I got a little side tracked on the third question but the first two better be pretty obvious. Give me a wide fairway and a short putt every day of the week. Why? Stop reading here if you don’t know why? We all want to tip the odds in our favor. Isn’t that why we practice, pay for lessons or buy some goofy gadget at 2 AM off the Golf Channel that promises to cure your slice, get more distance, hit closer wedges, roll your putts smoother and cut your grass all at the same time. Here are three simple tips to help you increase your odds for longer drives and lower scores.

1. Tee the ball higher

After being part of nearly 600 corporate and charity golf tournaments I can tell you this is a major distance killer for most players. I have seen thousands of well meaning men and women walk to the tee box and instantly decrease their odds for more distance simply by teeing the ball too low. Over the past 10 years club head size has dramatically increased. This has made the problem even worse. The new Cobra 460cc is an awesome weapon. Its size though, means you need to tee the ball higher off the ground. The standard 1 ¾ or 2 inch tees will not cut it anymore. This tee height means you have to hit “down” on the ball to make solid contact. All and I repeat all, of the top long drivers in the world tee the ball high so they can hit slightly up on it through impact. Balls that you tee an inch (after you stick it in the ground) above the grass will not allow you to have that ascending blow. You will have a descending blow that causes lots of spin and usually a slice.

Go find some 3” or 4” tees and have a crack it at. Get to the point where you feel comfortable having the center of the ball at the top of your club face at address. Your first few swings may produce some “pop-ups” but don’t worry it. That generally is a result of years of hitting down on the ball with a driver when you should be hitting slightly up on it. Please note, “divots” with a driver are strictly forbidden. This just should never happen. I once joked at an exhibition that it is a sin to make a divot with your driver. After several moments of silence some big ole drunk in the back mumbled, “Well then I’m going straight to hell.” It got a laugh but if you want to increase your odds you need to tee the ball higher.

2. Slow down your take away

Why do you want it to be slow? We all know that maximum power comes when all our individual parts work together as one. When we rush our take away, we tend to rush our down swing. When we rush, we seldom make a full and complete turn away from the ball. This full turn stores energy like a bow string ready to shoot an arrow.

Picture if you will, a heavyweight boxer as he coils his body and fist, all parts working as one before a massive release of power and pain directed towards his target. If you want to inflict pain on that little white object staring up at you then allow your energy to build. Many PGA Tour players almost look like they stop at the top of the back swing. That slight hesitation allows them to store energy and use all their parts as one.

If you have ever heard announcers say, “Oh he got a little quick on that swing”, you can know the results will not be pretty. It usually translates into, low hooks or high blocked shots. Neither of the two is anything you want. Don’t be in such a rush to hit it. Let the power build and then watch as your little dimpled buddy screams in pain as it streaks across the sky.

3. Don’t try and kill it

I know this may seem absurd coming from someone who makes his living pounding golf balls as hard as possible. Here is another visual you may have encountered.

As a kid did you ever step into the batters box and take two mighty swings only to miss both pitches? Oh boy, now you have two strikes and you definitely don’t want to strike out. What are the next comments you hear from the bleachers and dugout? Choke up. Don’t swing so hard. Just make contact you loser. Did your strategy change at that point? If you were any good, you may have backed off the dreams of a Babe Ruth upper deck shot and just tried to make good solid contact. Your focus changed from “kill it” to “just hit it solid”. If you stunk, it may have been, “maybe the pitcher will bean me and I can get on base that way.”

So we swing a little easier and presto, middle of the ball meets middle of the bat and the two produce a long shot that goes out of the park. As we sit in the dugout we comment that we didn’t even swing hard and barely felt the contact. That is what happens when you flush one and hit it pure. You barely seem to feel it.

We go to the first tee now and because we did not hit any practice balls we decide to take an easy swing. We are getting older and the limbs are not so supple. We decide to swing at about 80% so as to not break any bones or tear any inner organs. We put the center of the club face on the center of the ball it rockets toward the middle of the fairway, well beyond where we thought it would go. Here is the never ending battle. As we come to our ball in the fairway and look back to the tee box we think, “Man, if I hit it that far swinging easy….just think how far it will go if I swing hard!” And the cycle of frustration continues.

Ask any tour player about swing speed and no one will tell you to crank it as hard as you can. Well, maybe John Daly would. Most other players will tell you to swing at 80-85% of your maximum. They realize an easier swing allows you better control and more solid contact. These all stack the odds in your favor and that’s what we are looking for.

Playing golf is like going to Las Vegas. Every time you tee it up the odds favor the house. Remember these three simple tips and you can increase your odds.

1.Tee the ball higher.
2.Slow down your take away.
3.Don’t try and kill it.

Lastly, if you answered celery and carrots then all the rest of this article won’t mean a thing to you.

Read more from Dan Boever!