Our fitness expert and personal trainer Shawn O’Neil on why hitting the golf ball further is such a big deal
Distance has become a huge part of golf – not just on tour. Strokes Gained data tells us that adding 20 yards off the tee will save you around four strokes per round (I covered how this model works in more detail in a previous column, which you can find here).
In a recent example from professional golf, Francesco Molinari added a considerable amount of speed before his stellar 2018 season – which included winning The Open. You could argue he went too far, but Bryson DeChambeau has won two US Opens after focusing on gaining more speed and distance. Meanwhile, Xander Schauffele and Tyrell Hatton have both added about 10mph of speed recently – the former winning two majors in 2024 and the latter cementing himself in the top-10 players in the world while mostly playing on LIV and not earning ranking points in those events.
The benefits of greater speed and distance are undeniable, but how do you do it? You might be surprised, but I’d always start with making the most of what you already have. Smash Factor is how much ball speed you get from your clubhead speed. The highest score you can achieve with a driver is 1.51 (1.51mph ball speed from every 1mph clubhead speed). By improving your ball striking and increasing Smash Factor, you’ll gain distance. After that, optimising launch and spin will allow you get the most distance from where you are physically.
With a pure strike, and correct launch and spin, you are only limited by how fast you can move that clubhead.
For a player with a clubhead speed of 85mph, a Smash Factor of 1.5 will give you a ball speed of 127.5mph. We know 1mph of ball speed delivers around 1.75 yards of carry distance, so with ideal launch and spin, and on a calm day, you’ll carry the ball an absolute maximum of 223 yards. Once you factor in ball striking, variations in speed and everything else, you’re probably averaging 200-220 yards off the tee. If we are on a 420-yard par four, you’ll be left with more than 200 yards into the green for your second shot. From the Stokes Gained data, we know a 15-handicapper is expected to take 4.22 strokes to get the ball into the hole from here (and therefore make bogey or worse).
From 50, 100 and 150 yards in the fairway a 10-handicap player takes 3.15, 3.39 and 3.61 strokes respectively to reach the hole. That’s a difference of 0.25 for every 50 yards. That’s not a big deal on its own but multiply it over 14 approaches per round and you can see the benefit of being closer to the green.
If you are interested getting faster, please make sure your body can do so. Getting assessed and identifying any limitations is essential, and even this step can lead to small gains while ensuring you do not get injured. From there, there’s potential to get stronger, longer and greatly improve your scores.
