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About Eddie Kilthau
Expertise
I am a PGA golf professional specializing in teaching the game.
Experience
I played collegiately at Arizona State University, then turned professional in 1981. I became the shortest player to ever play in the United States Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh & missed my PGA Tour card by 2 shots in 1986 at PGA West, La Quinta, California. I have been teaching for 26 years in Phoenix, Arizona & I am currently the Director of Instruction at the Vistal Club in Phoenix and owner of Victory Golfworks.
Business Administration, Arizona State University. PGA Business School I - 1986, PGA Business School II - 1992, PGA Advanced Business School III - 1995. Certified PING Clubfitter - 1999. PGA Teaching & Clubfitting Seminar - 1992. Numerous Southwest Section PGA educational seminars.
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You are here: Experts > Recreation/Outdoors > Golf > Golf > Driving distance
Expert: Eddie Kilthau
Date: 5/9/2008
Subject: Driving distance
Question
I am a 57 year old male who is 135 lbs and 5'8". Unfortunately my strong weight was 175 but that 40 lbs is long gone due to a bout with cancer. I have been able to increase my swing speed since I was sick from a low of 90 to about 100 mph by understanding extenstion, dropping the club into the hitting zone, and then I just let it loose with a form of baseball swing. Pretty accurate and longer but never will have my old distance back. I am a 9 handicap, I use a 10.5 Ping G10 with a regular shaft. I tend to draw. Realalisticaly am I getting about what I can out of a guy 57 and small. Should I just say "OK" and move on to other parts of the game. Also, how does speed relate to distance. Everything being equal what does 1 mile of increase bring in yardage
Thanks so much
Brian
Answer
Hi Brian:
Realistic questions. Sorry to hear about your bout with cancer. I hope you have beaten it. Let's see if I have this right Brian. You swing the club about 100 mph, are a 9 handicap, use a 10.5 degree Ping G10 with a regular shaft and you tend to draw it. The characteristics of distance are at least 90 mph, solid contact, speed and a draw. Your close to covering all of those. If you hit it solid Brian, and those numbers are accurate, you should be hitting it about 240-260 yards off the tee. Am I close? And if so, how much more do you want? Speed produces more spin, so that might not necessarily be a good thing. Speed with solid clubface contact reduces spin, which is good. Realistically, you are swinging it about as fast as you can without jeapordizing your balance. I would focus on your short game and your wedge game and start working on scoring. If you wanted to try to get more distance, I would do the following: get stronger in the hands and forearms, become more flexible and make absolutely sure you are professionally fitted for the perfect shaft for you. I am not so sure a regular shaft is good for a guy who swings it 100 mph. If it's too whippy, then you are leaving yardage on the table. The 10.5 is good, just make sure the shaft is strong enough to support 100 mph. Don't assume. As far as how much difference does 1 mph make, I do not know. I've never seen any tables of measurements or approximations.
Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member
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