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I've always thought I was long enough. My smooth swing is about 270, if I really go for it I can get 285 or so with no wind, etc. I was contacted by a gentleman in Knoxville with a long driving program that he wanted me to try. I agreed to seriously do it for as month. He sent me a meter to measure my MPH and I bought his ebook, which is focused on increasing fast-twitch contraction in your swing muscles. I'm also stretching and working out (plyometrics). I have gained 10 MPH in 10 days! I gained 4 MPH the first day from doing the speed drills and using the meter to figure out what was working and what wasn't. I had little tricks that I would do to gain a few extra yards over the years, and I found out many of them didn't really work. Trying to muscle the ball doesn't work. When I took my new swing to the course I was hitting sometimes 4 clubs less into long holes. I'm only 2 weeks into the program and I'm in shock.

Has anyone else ever tried to maximize their driving distance?

Please use this thread for max distance comments. I accidentally doubled up the topic.

Great vids, Christo!!
I'm interested in the long drive program using the Doppler. Who's program is it and where where can we get it?
I love your downswing transition, great lag angles. To get more swing speed are you using more rotation speed or hand action? The drills with headless club look great.

Trevor

I'm using more rotation and more hand action. My swing is much longer, but I have not lost all control. It's pretty awesome. I worked on speed today and hit 123 mph. I'm kind of in shock I have had this much "left in the tank" all these years and never tried to tap it.

Today's work again yielded another 4 mph of swing speed. It's pretty crazy.

120 mph range WOW..

diz

Swing looks much better, in addition to the added speed. Looks like you are doing it the right way. Swinging the headless club is great...you have to learn what speed feels like. Your in much better physical condition than me so this may not help you, but I recently discovered zercher squats. They are great because they take all of the compression of the spine away, and put stress on the core. So the exercise works the core, quads and gluts. I like to do them at speed...doing moderate weigh and really exploding up from the squat.

Diz, I hope I can catch up to you soon! Honestly, I don't think I was too short before but I've added crazy distance in 2 weeks. I'm in a state of shock.

Zercher Squats look crazy. I'll have to try them. I'm doing squat jumps (depth jumps) with bodyweight. I'm working on speed and explosiveness.

Christo, Other than swing changes which aspect of your training gave you the biggest gains distance wise?

The focus of my work is intended to engage my fast-twitch muscles. Swinging the headless shaft as fast as I can has greatly increased my speed. You can't "muscle" a headless shaft. You don't want to swing hard, you want to swing FAST.

Christo, So are you basically saying make fast left and right arm swings and full swings with a headless light shaft and you pick up distance?

"Christo, So are you basically saying make fast left and right arm swings and full swings with a headless light shaft and you pick up distance?"

Yes. That is what I'm saying. It makes you use your fast-twitch muscle fibers. And, it teaches you what it feels like to go lightning fast. I have now reached full swings of 151 mph with the shaft only and that's bled over into my driver swing at 123 mph (on the SSR).

Christo, It will be interesting to see if you keep your distance gains if you stop doing the speed training. Now that you have shocked your system to go faster is that it's new norm or will it go back to where it was before you started your distance training if you quit the training..

Christo Garcia wrote:


Christo, couldn't agree more - put your hard-hat on and go post that in the Hogans Secret thread

christo,
thanks for including others on your journey. I really enjoy your videos. Is there a reason for what appear to be oversized grips on your headless driver or is that what you had around to use?
Bart

The large grip just happened to be on a shaft I had laying around, but I think it's worked out nicely. I'm getting a Momentus Speed Swoosh to see how that does. The baseball work that I'm basing this on uses bats that are 10% lighter and the Swoosh is close to that.

Here's my latest episode...

Great job!!

I'll take a extra 50 yards off the tee anytime. Your driver swing looks efficient and balanced, and you are oviously killing it. Keep it up. I am struggling off the tee right now. Hitting some hooks and pulls. I have made changes to a more pivot driven swing. I am trying keep my hands more dead as I fight a closing club face from a stalling pivot.

Great vids. You will always attract egolfers with lame opinions while you are putting your swing evolution out for critique.

Don't lose your tempo Christo it's pure.

Trevor

I have a hard time believing gains of what is it 50 yards in less than a month UNLESS you never swung hard before OR you had major mechanical deficiency before.
I helped a guy gain about 30 in 2 weeks because he was so focused on smoothness before that he simply didn't apply all his power.
Fast twitch vs slow twitch muscles are what they are to an extent. Through training you can train slow to fast but it takes quite a long time you don't just wake up the fast ones thats a fallacy.
At any rate congratulations and good luck! Golf is what you make it and its best to do what you enjoy.

Christo do work son!

How major is it to understand Martin's counterbalancing? Once that concept is understood you can just load as much as you want into the swing and let it rip.

I practiced some whoosh drills with a shaft today, it certainly helps teach the tempo of speed. I'm a recovering "fire everything from the top" guy who is getting a lot of great help from this thread so thanks a bunch bro.

I never said I gained 50 yards, but I would say I'm hitting it 30 yards farther than I have been. I have not been aggressive on the tee box for over a year and I noticed I haven't been making as many birdies. Now, I'm honestly hitting it the farthest I ever have and I'm making more birdies.

Christo,
If I were to just take a gripped headless shaft, how many times and how often would you recommend? If this were the only thing I did to increase speed, how much could i add? currently prob around 100 with driver now.
Thanks

The first day I did the shaft/speed drill I gained 4 mph, that's about 12 yards. I would do swings with each hand alone, and then together. Feel the whip through the impact zone and focus on fast not hard swinging.

GREAT WORK CHRISTO KEEP IT UP DUDE

Thanks for sharing the concepts behind your maximum driving distance training. For about 6 months I've been just concentrating on hitting more fairways so my average driving distance dropped down to 275 - 280 yards. So I lost my ability to hit the long ball. After I used the swing techniques I tried hitting with my regular driver and I'm back to up to the 300 yard range after measuring with my lazar finder.

How often during the week do you use the training techniques? I did notice a little stiffness the day after even though I had stretched out.