Most golfers when they reach a certain age notice that their swing speed starts to diminish and as that starts to happen the ball does not travel as far.

If this is of concern to you there are different approaches you can take to try and improve your distance.

The first and most obvious is that you can try to increase your swing speed to bring it back up to where it once was.  Some golfers try to achieve this using strength building exercises and an increase in flexibility, two things we tend to lose as we get older.

The problem faced by many, however, is that due to a lifetime of accumulated injuries and ailments increasing one’s strength and flexibility many no longer be a viable option.

The good news is that there are other things you can do to increase the distance you hit the ball without swinging faster.  You can increase the efficiency of your swing in terms of energy transfer to the ball and increasing the ball speed as it leaves the club face.

Smash factor is a measurement of the efficiency of club to ball contact.

The speed of your golf swing is an important factor in terms of distance but how far the ball travels is determined by how fast the ball is moving when it leaves the club face.  Ball speed is not determined solely by the speed of your swing.

As a general rule the closer you hit the ball to the center of the face the more efficient the energy transfer will be.  As well, modern driver faces flex on contact with the ball and in order to take full advantage of the ‘trampoline effect’, contact with the center of the club face is crucial.  Off center hits can reduce ball speed and distance by as much as 20 percent.

If you do not have access to a launch monitor to measure your swing speed, ball speed, and smash factor,  here are some simple steps you can take to determine how solid your club to ball contact is.

1. Spray some foot powder on your club face (Dr. Scholl’s works well) and hit a shot. This will provide instant feedback.  If your contact is towards the heel or toe or low or high off the face of the club, you can make an adjustment to bring contact closer to the middle of the face.  You may simply be able to mover a little closer to or further away from the ball or tee it a little higher or lower to improve the point of contact.

2. Modern 460cc titanium drivers work best when you launch the ball high with low spin. If you tee the ball low and swing down on the ball like you would with an iron you will achieve high launch but you will also impart a lot of backspin on the ball which will result in a high balloon shot that climbs quickly but lacks distance.   Tee the ball a little higher which facilitates an upward or ascending blow.  This will help you to achieve the desired high launch but with much lower spin and will increase distance.
3. If your tendency is to hit down on the ball with your driver, widen your stance a bit. A wider stance moves a little weight back in your stance and promotes an ascending clubhead at impact.