You're Correct!

Hitting long drives comes from swinging the club fast through good technical ability. Whenever golfers are told to hit the ball harder, to enable them to hit it further they tend to hit the ball with their upper body which actually causes their lower body to remain static in comparison to normal causing their swing speed to slow down and hit the ball less distance!

Although the player will feel they have sped up their swing, they have actually slowed down the one key element of the swing which provides the biggest change of speed and velocity into the ball - the hips.

Amateurs always comment when watching the tour pros that their swing speeds do not seem too fast. On average, they are 20 miles per hour faster with the driver, which is testament to how good their core stability and swing mechanics are. To make this difference look so seamless to the naked eyes is impressive especially when the most common tip from your playing partners is “slow your swing down”.

Tour pros swing fast due to their down swing transition and this starts with the hips transferring the weight to the left side. Then the rotation of the hips pull down the arms, sometimes helping to decrease the wrist angle at the top of the swing, making the release through impact faster still. The movement is overlooked because they make it look so effortless but when a tour pros swing is slowed down, you can see the hips almost pointing straight at the target as the club reaches impact. How many amateurs can say the same?

Amateurs may really feel like they have hit the ball hard. Players need to work on their transition from the top of the back swing to the down swing in order to create more power and hit the ball longer.

The best drill for this is a three piece drill whereby the player swings to the top of the swing, pauses, pushes the hip to the target to transfer the weight. The player should then rotate through impact, feeling as though the club has been left behind and making sure the club is last to reach the ball so the whole body can help increase club head speed.

A huge advantage the tour pros have on amateurs is the time to train their bodies and then practise. They hire the best personal trainers and nutritionists to work with them on a daily basis to help work the correct areas of the body for golf. Their dedication is rewarded. Amateurs can also work hard on their athleticizm and nutrition in order to help the bodys core cope better with the swings movement and make them more powerful.

A tour pros swing speed is well publicized and can easily be found via social media so when an amateur sees this and tries to replicate it, they will do so by swinging their arms faster rather than increasing the speed of their hip turn, which in fact would help the swing. Look more at swing mechanics and see what aspects could be strengthened, such as wrist hinge, leg drive and length of back swing.

A strong grip will help a player draw the ball and a draw can encourage the ball to progress further due to the roll it has once it lands. Players that fade the ball can also hit it very long which shows that technical ability, timing and speed will have a greater impact than adjusting your grip.