For several years I have started my golf trick shot show with a very serious, “Today, we are going to cover the 57 Keys to Distance." That is usually followed by dead quiet, as people pray I am surely not serious. The blank stares are well worth the 20 seconds of uncomfortable silence. The silence is usually followed by laughter and relief. I got this information from a February, 1996, article in Golf Digest entitled 57 Keys to Distance. I have it laminated and stuck inside my golf bag. We are all looking for the keys to longer, more powerful drives.
As of January 31st, 2007, more than a thousand people will have asked me, “what is the key for hitting it longer?” When a 68-year-old woman weighing in at 78 pounds asks you about “the key to hitting it longer", you know it is an epidemic of sizable proportion. Are the answers that tough to find? Don’t people know that daily on the Golf Channel and monthly in scores of golf magazines they can find the answers they are looking for? Not to mention the thousands of qualified PGA golf professionals spread out across the land.
My contention is that most of us already know the answers, in the same way we really know what it takes to lose weight. Yeah sure, I know all about diet and exercise, but what can I do to lose fifty pounds by next week!
For the most part, we know what long hitters do. We know what we do when we catch it on the sweet spot and the ball disappears before our eyes. We all need to be reminded from time to time (daily) of what it takes to perform at our very best. We want to hit it longer more often. Longer is good, but longer and straighter, more often, is better.
So, 57 keys to distance, what are they? The article consisted of 57 PGA, LPGA and SR PGA touring pros giving their advice for more distance. There were not really 57 keys, because so many said the same thing over and over. It was a broken record of advice – take it back slower, finish your back swing, relax your arms and shoulders, don’t try to kill it, hit it solid, tee it higher, widen your stance, blah, blah, blah.
Wow, ten plus years later nothing has changed. I’ll bet 57 new players would say much the same today. Here are a few simple reminders that will be just as effective years from now.
- Tee it higher
- Widen your stance
- Take it back slower
- Finish your back swing
- Relax your arms and shoulders
- Don’t try and kill the ball
- Make solid contact
Try these seven simple ideas and you will find success off the tee box. No one can handle 57 keys (ideas) floating around in their head when they are trying to make a good swing. People may be different in many areas of life, but we all need to do some basics if we are going to increase our yardage off the tee box. Our 78 pound grandmother will even be hitting it longer if she follows these simple tips.
Dan Boever is a golf entertainer and world class long drive competitor who has traveled the country for the past 10 years performing power trick shot shows for some of America's largest companies and charities. Dan has been featured on CBS, ESPN, The Golf Channel and has been in 8 National televsion commercials for Pinnacle Golf. Dan also appeared in the New Line Cinema movie "Hoot", released last May. For more information about Dan and how you can enhance your next golf event with Dan's one of a kind golf exhibition go to http://www.danboever.com
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