July 13, 2019 8:57 am

Two of my most frequently asked questions are: “how can I hit the golf ball further?” or “why do all my shots go the same distance?”

This fixation with extra length is understandable, but my usual response is the following caution: accuracy and consistency always trump length

Let us look at what determines the distance that you will hit a golf ball. There are three contributing factors:

1. Centeredness of Contact
2. Angle of Attack
3. Club head Speed

This month let’s look at Centeredness of Contact. It is much like hitting a tennis ball off the rim of the racket or a cricket ball off the bottom of the bat. If you do not hit the centre of the golf club, you will not achieve maximum distance. There are many reasons for off centre hits, and it would take longer than just one article to cover those. I would suggest the more you practice, even if there are errors, you will improve your hand eye coordination which will lead to you hitting the centre of the club more often.

If you are not sure from the feel of the contact, there are a couple of very easy ways to check where you are hitting the ball on the clubface. You can purchase golf club impact tape on a roll of about 250 for £5. Place a strip on the club face and the impact marks will tell you straight away where you are hitting the ball. Alternatively, you could use Foot Spray and apply this to the club face.

After impact there will be a mark left on the club face showing exactly where the point of contact was. You now have fact rather than guesswork regarding the centredness of your contact. If you find that you are making a consistent error in the strike on the club face, then it may be time to book a golf lesson with one the PGA professionals at World of Golf London. They will soon have you connecting consistently on the centre of the club.  

For further advice on how to find the centre of the golf club more regularly, take a look at a short video from World of Golf London senior teaching professional, Brian Lee.

By Jon Woodroffe, World of Golf London Master Professional

Categorised in: Tip of the month, World of Golf London