15 tour pros were asked how to gain 10 more yards. It didn’t disappoint
Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on Thursday on the 1st hole at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
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Tommy Fleetwood? He answered as if he wanted to know too.
“I can’t do it,” he said, “so I’m at a speed, and that’s about it.”
Tyrrell Hatton? Well, here was Tyrrell Hatton’s response:
“Play the previous hole like a complete piece of [bleep],” he said. “And stand on the next tee [bleep] raging.
“And then just fire the cannon.”
Hell yeah, man.
As for the question? It’s an oldie but goodie. And the DP World Tour asked it of 15 pros ahead of the DP World Tour Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
“What’s a tip for hitting your driver 10 yards farther?”
Yeah, how do you? It’s something we’ve all likely wondered about, and something that we’d be curious to hear the answer to, especially from a pro. Or 15 pros.
Below, then, are the responses, captured by the DP World Tour’s social media team. They did not disappoint.
The useful
— Min Woo Lee: “Stand a little wider so you have a bit more of a wider takeaway, get more speed.”
In the video, he then carried one 308 yards.
“Like that.”
— Rory McIlroy: “I mean, hit it harder, use the ground more. Feel like you’re jumping out of your shoes.”
In the video, he then carried his ball 305.
“Yup. That works.”
— Matthieu Pavon: “So for me, it’s about how to use the ground. I will just make sure that I will shift my weight to the right side and lift a little bit of that left side. Then when I’m on the downswing, I will just use it as a push to jump, and for me, this is how you create the release and the shallow of the club, and it will create more speed, for sure.”
In the video, he then carried his ball 308.
“How about that? Pretty good.”
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— Tom Kim: “Instead of swinging hard, it’s almost more important to get center contact, I think. Because when your smash factor goes up, you’re actually gaining your maximum ball speed out of it. So I just think that really focusing on hitting it in the center of the face is going to help you kind of get 10 more yards.”
In the video, he then hit left.
He asked for a redo.
— Dan Bradbury: “Hit down on the ball. If you’re hitting up on the ball, you get less spin. So then your launch is better and you should hit it farther.”
In the video, he then carried his ball 290.
“Oh yeah.”
— Ryan Fox: “Tee it higher. Get more carry out of it, and give it a rip.”
He carried his ball 290.
— Matt Fitzpatrick: “Hit the ball 10 yards farther, I would say, lift your left heel.”
He carried his ball 295.
— Antone Rozner: “Well, first of all, you got to swing it a bit faster, so maybe in your practice swing just try to swing it a little bit faster, create some speed. And the second tip is I would squeeze your hands a little bit harder on the grip. Because if you swing it faster, the clubhead is going to tend to maybe flip a little faster as well so I usually tend to squeeze my hands a little bit stronger than normal.”
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In the video, he then carried his ball 285.
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
— Nicolai Hojgaard: “Try and launch the driver a little bit more. And in the setup, that could be, you feel like your left knee is a little lower than there; your right knee is lower than your left knee a little bit. So when you set up, you’re staying a little better behind the ball, and then from there, you can kind of hit more up on the ball. That’s when you get a little bit more yardage.”
He carried his ball 286.
— Robert MacIntyre: “I’ll make my stance a little bit wider, but standing taller. And then for me, I have a shift off the ball to get my hands as far away from the ground as I can. Just smash it.”
He carried his ball 294.
The obvious
— Joost Luiten: “Hit it harder.”
In the video, he then carried his ball 278.
“Something like that. I should hit it like that every time.”
— Jon Rahm: “I mean, not to be condescending or anything, but swing a little harder. Of course, if you don’t hit it in the center of the face, it’s not going to go any farther.”
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— Victor Perez: “To hit it 10 yards farther? Start from the box in front of us.”
In the video, Perez hit — then swing coach Pete Cowen walked by.
“Anyway, why you asking the players how to hit it farther?” he said. “They haven’t got a clue. There’s no point in asking them. They’ve got nothing up here.”
The unknown
— Fleetwood: “I can’t do it so I’m at a speed, and that’s about it.”
He carried his ball 293.
The Hatton
— Hatton: “Play the previous hole like a complete piece of [bleep]. And stand on the next tee [bleep] raging. And then just fire the cannon.”
In the video, he then hit. It was good.
“You raging now?” a voice in the background asked.
“No, just surprised myself there,” Hatton said. “It’s actually quite nice.”
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