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Normally, golfers drive the ball in a standing position. Anyone who’s ever taken up golf knows the incredibly difficult task of hitting the ball during the first few months into the sport. The ball’s diameter comes in about 1.68 inches and the sweet spot that would get the ball into to desired forward momentum is only a square inch from the center. The club itself is three to four-feet long and can travels at an average of 100 mph at the point of contact, which is only ¾ an inch. While these figures may not drive home the point (pardon the pun), it shows that the reason why the golfer’s stance is so important; from the hip placement to the head follow-through, an early turn or a misplaced wrist snap would lead the club to pummel the soil next to ball or else send the ball flying far left or right. Needless to say, if one can maintain the proper stance and strike the ball in the desired location while running, would it gain more distance than the standard standing swing?

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Not surprisingly, the answer is yes. First off, the running start would add extra mileage to the natural club swing. From a standing position and average of 100 mph club swing, the running start gives the body an additional acceleration of 4 to 6 miles per hour. The critical factor, though, is the ability of the running drive to stretch the shoulder and hips much farther than the standing drive, much like a javelin thrower would do a run before the throw in order to get an extra stretch in the shoulder. The extra stretch means more distance on the downswing, allowing more acceleration to build up before hitting the ball. Once the foot stops when it gets near the ball, the sudden deceleration transfers the running momentum into the club swing through recoil. An extra 20 to 40 yards would thus be gained from the swing.

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This extra distance would mean the difference between a win and a loss in professional tournaments, so why don’t golfers do the Happy drive in a competition? Simply because the accuracy required hitting a running shot is tremendously greater than one standing. Maintaining the stance while running requires more effort, and the tendency to misalign the club is high. Even a slight misalignment could send the ball way off the green. In the long run, a few extra yards in exchange for an increased risk of driving the ball off the desired location is too great a gamble.

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If it’s that hard to do, then why bother with it? Well, official golf rules do not prohibit any running start while driving, so if anyone can do the running drive correctly, the extra yards would be a great reward. There have also been contests devoted entirely to being able to hit the Happy Gilmore drive, the most recent one was hosted by Boston Bruins Foundation where the winner got an autographed Milan Lucic jersey and two tickets to the Boston Bruins Sixth Golf Tournament dinner, and the second placer gets a Boston Bruins hockey stick putter signed by Milan Lucic and Tim Thomas. Practicing this drive may not be such a bad idea after all.

A more indepth, scientific explanation can be found in the Sport Science coverage of the running drive, featuring Padraig Harrington:

Old Tom won 4 Opens in the 1860’s and his son Tommy Jr. won four titles in a row nearly forcing his Daddy to hang up his spikes.

Both Toms would’ve loved watching Young Tom Watson beat all but one of the snot-nosed PGA whipper snappers for the Claret Jug at the unbelievable age of 59. 59!

This was not the SENIOR British Open. This was THE OPEN. Tom wasn’t playing against AARP members in golf carts, he was competing against the best golfers in the world of ALL ages, including YOU KNOW WHO. A win for Watson would not only have smashed Old Tom’s record for the oldest player ever to win a major, but would have also tied Harry Vardon for the most British Opens is history with six.

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Watson became the adopted son of Scotland, Ireland and Great Britain back in the 1970’s when he started his march toward five British Open titles. His first victory came at CarNASTY in 1975, and he topped that with the “Duel In The Sun” thriller over Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977. He embodied everything the Scots loved even though he was an American – he became their Kilt Chamberlain, their Haggic Johnson and their Dolly Tartan all rolled into one.

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Watson, with his Opie Taylor grin and ability to play in the horrid wind and rain conditions in Scotland and England, soon became even more beloved by the locals, winning Open titles again in 1980, 1982 and 1983.  Sadly, Watson’s success at the Open waned after that – he never kissed the Claret Jug again.

Tom would finally get another chance – but it would be more than 25 years later when the tournament returned to Turnberry in 2009.  Turnberry was the site of Watson’s thrilling victory over Jack Nicklaus, when Tom fired a pair of 65’s on the weekend to beat Jack in his prime by one stroke.

The pubs in the UK were packed all week for the 2009 Open, full of MacTavishes, MacDuffers and McMulligans.  They sipped their Glen Livets and followed Watson as he left perfect Glen divots from Birnam Woods to Dunsinane.  I, along with millions of other Baby Boomers, was right there too in front of my HD quality big screen, quaffing cold pints of ale and hoping that Young Tom could somehow find a way to turn back time.

Tom came into the tournament with a history of bad hips and bad yips.   New hip replacement?  No problem.  The Tominator was even more daunting as part man and part machine.  The MANCHINE!  And what about the tightening of his collar over 4 footers for par?  A ghost from the past – and no longer feared.

Even the ever present bagpipes, reminiscent of cats wrestling with whoopee cushions were beautiful music to Tom’s ears.  The stage was set for something SPECIAL.

Watson started like a champion, shooting a mind boggling 65 that left him one shot from the lead.  He was tied for first after Friday’s round of 70.  A certain Mr. Tiger Woods didn’t even MAKE THE CUT.  Saturday’s round of 71 gave Tom a one shot lead going into the final round on Sunday.

The word got around quickly across the big pond – every putz who ever wore polyester pants was calling, texting or Twittering that Watson had a shot at the title.   Wake up calls were fired off all over America to make sure buddies did not miss the early tee off time.  Responsible adult men put their Braveheart face paint on, donned kilts (well…pajamas and fluffy slippers) and addressed their troops from horseback (or standing on their couches).  ”I AM William Wallace…” we cried to our dogs, “and you can’t take Tom’s FREEDOM!”

Weird Al Yankovic must’ve been in a studio somewhere working on another reimagining of Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” but this time it was for Watson.  ”He’s PLAID, he’s PLAID, you know he’s really PLAID!”

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Watson kept grinding all day, letting the lead slip away but then regaining a one shot advantage going into the 72nd hole.  He needed only one more PAR to win the title!  I got so excited that I fell off my ottoman and spilled my bowl of Turnberries and cream.

He hit a beautiful drive right in the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole and a solid approach shot, but the ball bounced over the hardened green, leaving him a tough up and down for par.  Watson’s next chip left him a difficult eight foot putt for the win…and Watson could not Cink the putt.  Stewart Cink could however, making his tricky 12 footer earlier at 18 to force a playoff.

The collective gasp heard across the world at that moment must have puckered the Pope.  Every red blooded male and female felt like they’d been gut shot.  All of us, including Watson, knew that it was over. The 4 hole playoff was a formality and Cink walked away easily with the Open title and the Jug.

Young Tom was gracious in defeat of course, stating “It would have been a hell of a story, wouldn’t it?”

It WAS a hell of a story Tom – and you made millions of us feel like teenagers again for those four wonderful days. Despite our American obsession with winning, second place is NOT first loser.  As Watson said to Nicklaus back in 1977 as they came down the stretch at Turnberry, “This is what it’s all about isn’t it?”  Damn right Tom.

Old Tom Morris has been gone for over a century, but had he been at Turnberry this year he would have described the joy Watson gave us with one single word.  It is elementary my dear Watson…you were simply…

BRILLIANT!

Not that he shouldn’t be favorite (no bookmaker would chance anything else) but there has to be a doubt that he’ll will his first major of the year a Hazeltine.  So far in 2009 his play in the majors has been way below the standard we’ve come to expect.  In the Masters he was never on the pace and finished tied for 6th.  The US Open saw a similar finish, but again, he was never really in the mix.  The Open was a disaster, missing just the 5th cut of his professional career and displaying some childish tantrums that garnered him no respect and arguably brought shame on the game.

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Before each of these majors Tiger won the last tournament he played in and showed the golfing world that he was ready to take the upcoming big one.  He’s yet to look close to his dominant best once play starts in the majors.

This time around Tiger is likely to go into a major having won two straight tournaments (I know, you can’t just concede the Bridgestone, but it’s hard to see him beaten around Firestone with he record he has) and perhaps that extra momentum will carry him to the major victory that will make his season a success.  Or maybe Tiger has to go into that major without the overhead of “needing” to win it and loosen up during the early rounds.

Tigers’ burning desire is to win majors, especially as he closes on Nicklaus’ record, and that desire may get the better of him on occasion.

More than once over the last few years I’ve felt that Tiger was too intent on not making mistakes in a major, rather than just going out and winning it.  He undoubtedly has the game to win anywhere, but when the majors come around he seems to spend too much time not playing himself out of the tournament early, and leaving too much to do.  The fact that this mindset (subconscious or not) may have backfired dramatically at Turnberry might make this years USPGA a bit special.

Woods shoots 30 on opening nine holes of second round of Buick Open.

Friday, July 31, 2009 By Tom Skinner
Grand Blanc, MI-After an opening round one under par 71, two-time Buick Open champion Tiger Woods, who last, won here in 2006, looked rather “toothless” at least around the greens with the putting aspect of his golf game. He called it one of his “worst putting days ever” … after completing his opening 18 holes of golf on Thursday at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, site of the Buick Open.

His 12:54 opening round Thursday tee-time meant that Tiger would be teeing off early with round two on Friday. It would not be a meatless Friday for Tiger as he extended his claws early and began taking birdie bites out of the course that has been the home of the tournament that became the very first corporate PGA sponsored event in 1958, which helped spring the sport into the big dollar stratosphere now seen here in the 21st century.

Tiger began Friday play on the back nine and promptly birdied the par four hole number 10 just as he did in round one. He followed that up with a birdie on the par three 11th hole and then his game roared with an eagle on the short par four 12th hole and the crowd roared right back in appreciation.

The world’s number one ranked golfer continued to feast on the backside at Warwick with a birdie on the next two holes, the par 5 13th hole and the short par four 14th to climb from the tie for 95th position that he began the day in to a tie for seventh on the leader board at seven under par.

“I can’t get it back in one round. I positioned myself so far back yesterday that it wasn’t going to happen,” said Woods. But if I birdie the holes you’re supposed to birdie, the two drivable par-4’s, the par-5 and sprinkle in a couple here and there, you’re going to come up with a round in the mid-60’s, and that would get me within touch with the leaders,” he added.

Getting  back in touch with the leaders took place very early in the round instead of having to wait until the end on Friday for Tiger who has tamed the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club with two victories here already in his career.

Tiger arrived in that seventh position 78 minutes after his tee shot on his first hole of the second round after spending most of his day yesterday just attempting to stay in visual contact with the middle of the field of golfers.

After a par on 15, a hole he bogeyed on Thursday, Tiger birdied the par 5 16th hole after missing on an eagle putt attempt.

The noise after Woods hit his tee shot on the par three 17th hole, which might have violated local noise ordinances in almost any other location around the Grand Blanc, Michigan area at that time of the morning on a normal day of the week. However during round two of the Buick Open it just let everyone know around Warwick Hills and the surrounding area who had arrived on the final par three of the back nine.

The shot came to rest nearly 22 feet from the cup and resulted in a two putt par.

The disappointment of a par for Tiger, hit harder on the fans who had been sitting in the grandstands and sky boxes throughout the morning, having to enjoy from a distance on the roars rolling from around the preceding seven holes while waiting for their turn to see Tiger create his birdie magic in front of their own eyes instead of their ears.

The par on 17 gave way to a bogey on 18 after Woods three putted from 61 feet away as he finished the first nine holes of his second round.

Woods did not let the bogey on 18, his ninth hole of round two, slow him down as he birdied his 10th hole of the day (#1) to move back to 8-under par. He added two more birdies to close out his round with a nine under par 63 and an overall 10-under par score through 36 holes, tied in fourth with five other players.

“I thought it was more of a process to get myself back in the tournament. And you know I am just trying to make a dent each and every day, and shoot something in the mid-60’s today,” said Woods. “I’m in touch (with the leaders) where if I play a good round tomorrow, I should be near the lead, and you gotta look at it as a process. I was so far back, but I had three more rounds to go,” he added.

And now it is two more rounds. 

The number one ranked player in the world and the leading money winner on tour is clearly back in position to make a run at his third Buick Open title in the nine appearances he has made at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club. His wins have come in 2002 and 2006.

John Senden, at -14, one of the Australians in the field, leads after 36 holes by four shots in front of Woods and two in front of Michael Letzig. Vaughn Taylor and Bill Lunde share third three shots from the mid-way pace setter Senden.

Woods stands among a cluster of six players tied in 4th place.

If the Buick Open committee and the fans could have written the script for the first two rounds, it would have to read very closely to what has played out so far. For golf fans and Eldrick Woods fans in particular Saturday, moving day, awaits the field and a prowling Tiger.

One of the most attractive aspects of the game is that anyone with a Frisbee and some time to kill can play. Those of us that play seriously have sport discs that are very aerodynamically efficient and specialized, but if you and your buddy or child both dig an old Frisbee out of the closet and go out to play, it is an even match, equipment-wise. A round usually take about two hours, at the outside, and takes you up and down hills (depending upon the local terrain), and through the woods, with plenty of time for conversation and communing with nature while you search for errant throws in the aforementioned woods. And you will throw it into the woods.

The reason I say this with such cynical certainty is that a flying disc is a wing, and flies like one. Various sports that involve using a ball as a propelled object do take aerodynamics into account, but a ball is a projectile, like a bullet. A thrown disc is subject to the same considerations as any wing, plus a few extra that involve a gyroscope. Force, spin, wind direction and speed, angle of the disc, and choice of disc all come into play. With this many factors, even the best players have the occasional errant throw.

The Golf Disc

The discs used by disc golfers are similar to the old Frisbees you used to throw at the lake the way that a Piper Cub is similar to an F-16 Fighter Jet. The Cub is user friendly and more forgiving to beginners, but of limited range and capabilities. The golf disc is fast, long range, and difficult to control. Thrown properly, they can fly a great distance, fly a curved path either right, left, or in an “S” curve, be skipped, slid (when thrown upside-down) under overhanging foliage, or rolled for even greater distances than most people can throw one.

There are many types of discs, but they break down into three basic types: long-range drivers, mid-range driver/long approach discs, and putters. Drivers are thin on the edge and cut the air very efficiently, enabling you to throw them for long distance, sometimes even in the appropriate direction. They are harder to control because of this thin edge, and the angle of the disc coming out of your hand and amount of spin are crucial to proper control.

The mid-range drivers have a higher profile (read: thicker lip) that makes them easier to control, but reduces the distance that they can be thrown. An experienced Disc Golfer can still throw one far enough to reach most holes. If they were restricted to only one disc for a round of play, a disc of this type would be most golfer’s choice.

Putters most clearly resemble what most people think of as a flying disc. They are shaped like a Frisbee on steroids; the same basic profile, but thicker and made of heavier plastic. They are easy to throw and to control, but cannot be thrown for great distance. They are mainly used for short approach shots, situations where a great deal of accuracy is called for, and, of course, putting. This is the best disc for most beginners to learn the game with.

The various types of discs and their differences in flight characteristics are one of the main appeals of disc golf. Even within drivers, there are many different types. One disc will hold a straight line longer than another will before going left, or another may be more effective against a head wind. Since everyone throws a little differently, the discs react a little differently to various throwing styles. The merits of different models of discs are debated among disc golfers the way that oversized drivers, for instance, are debated about by ball golfers.

Another interesting characteristic of golf discs is that, as discs incur damage due to use and the hitting of trees, rocks, etc., their flight characteristics change. Most new discs are what we refer to as “stable.” This means that the flight path of a disc will turn toward the left when thrown with clockwise spin, and right when thrown with counter-clockwise spin. For example: A disc thrown in the traditional “backhand” manner will go left at the end of its flight. A disc thrown in the same manner with the left hand will go right. Even when the throw is angled to go in the other direction, a new disc will try to turn to its stable side. But as the discs get minor nicks and dents on the edge of the flight plane, they start to lose that stable tendency. We call this condition “beat;” meaning that you can turn the disc and it will hold a line without coming back to its native direction.

Once a disc starts to get “beat,” you can make it go from left to right with a backhand throw. Since some holes are straight, some are left to right, and some are right to left, this is a valuable quality. It means that you can get close to the pin with your strongest throw, even if the design of the hole goes against that throw’s natural (stable) direction. Make a disc golfer choose between his brand new driver and his best turnover disc, and he will usually take the latter, because it is harder to replace.

The other way to reach a pin that turns in the opposite direction of your native throw is to throw sidearm (similar in motion to a sidearm baseball throw), which spins the opposite direction of a backhand. This throw is harder for most people to master than the backhand, but a very handy skill to have, both because of the change of direction of the flight, and to escape from a bad lie in the woods, where your backhand may be blocked by trees and other obstacles.

The first time that you throw a golf disc, regardless of how well you are coached otherwise, it is going to veer left and hit the ground about fifty feet in front and twenty feet to the left of you (assuming that you are right handed). This is because we were raised throwing Frisbees. This is easily corrected, and soon you will be able to get the disc in the general direction you desire. Next you will try to throw further, and in doing so will aim the disc higher, now ending up seventy-five feet away and fifty feet to the right. This is also easily corrected. To throw a golf disc further, you throw a little higher and a lot harder. It is a wing, remember? With some decent instruction and a little patience, you will be throwing for reasonable distance and accuracy fairly quickly, and much faster than it takes to get the hang of driving a golf ball.

I play with about fifteen discs in my bag. Most pros carry from ten to sixteen, but there is no maximum number. You are limited only by your ability to transport them around the course. A reasonably good round can be played with one disc, and beginners should probably start with no more than three or four. I have a slightly “beat” midrange driver that I carry in my briefcase on one-day business trips when there is little likelihood of playing, but the possibility still exists. I have found that I can play to within about four or five strokes of my average on most courses with it, and closer than that on older, shorter courses. A golf disc usually costs about seven to twelve dollars, and can be purchased at better sporting goods stores, through local clubs, from one of several mail-order distributors, and at some courses and recreational centers or park offices.

Many ball golfers go their whole life without a hole-in-one. Almost every serious amateur and virtually every professional disc golfer has at least one hole-in-one, or “ace,” to their credit. The odds of hitting a basket thirty inches wide with chains around it from three hundred feet away are statistically much higher than hitting a ball with a club into a three inch hole from 180 yards. One of our local pros is striving to match his age with his total number of aces. The count is at thirty-six and thirty-four currently.

The Course

Disc golf courses are found nationwide. There are over eleven hundred courses in about forty-five states. Most are in public parks and free to play, some require a few dollars for a parking or green fee, but none are prohibitively expensive. Because of the grassroots nature of course development, there is tremendous variation in style, length, and layout of the courses. Course designers are often competing with other sports and activities for space, and do not have the financial backing that a ball golf course commands, so creativity and adaptability are essential. The up side of this is that there are some very picturesque and unusual holes out there.

Holes on a typical disc golf course usually run about 100 to 150 yards, but this varies greatly from course to course. They may be a short as 50 yards, and longer than 300. The configuration, or “shape” of a hole may involve right turns, “S” curves, or narrow windows through trees or other obstacles through which the disc must be thrown to get near the pin in a reasonable number of strokes. Elevation plays an important part on some courses, as does water and other out-of-bounds areas. A good disc golfer can throw 100 yards with reasonable accuracy, while bringing the disc toward the pin from right or left. Many professionals can throw 150 yards or more with consistent accuracy. Think of standing on the last line of the end-zone of a football field and throwing a field goal on the other end, and it will give you some idea of the power and skill these players possess.

Disc golf is a sport for any age or gender; it provides a reasonable amount of exercise, a disproportionate amount of fun, and can be played with your children without having to hear all those insipid references to Tiger Woods. More serious play and competition is easily found, and there is tournament play for both amateurs and professionals on a local, regional, and national level. Disc Golf is a great day in the park, you don’t have to be six-foot six and two-forty to play it well, and it can be played in cut-offs and tee shirts. It is relatively inexpensive, amazingly addictive, and easy to get reasonably good at. What more could you ask?

In the Augusta area we have four excellent disc golf courses; at Pendleton King Park, at Lake Olmstead, and Riverview Park in North Augusta. There is also a course in Columbia county at Patriot’s Park. The courses in a given area may be found by using the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) Course Guide. The Augusta Disc Golf Club may also be helpful. We welcome questions, new members, and traveling disc golfers. We also host an annual tournament whose proceeds go to Special Olympics, and welcome sponsorship from businesses or individuals.

True seekers of knowledge who thirst for the ancient secret of the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing may receive the startling answer by inquiring at my email address or by prostrating themselves at my door.

Meanwhile, here are the 20 most useless tips I ever got on how to hit a golf ball. The 800-Pound-Gorilla system ignores all of them.

1. Hit down at the ball. (What’d you think, I was gonna hit up at it?)
2. Pull down with the left hand. (I prefer to lunge at the ball with both cheeks.)
3. Move your left hip smartly at the hole. (Did you think I was gonna move my left hip dumbly at the hole?)
4. Don’t move your head. (This sage advice is for you stop-motion movie freaks.)
5. Brace your right leg. (How’d they know I was in that skiing accident?)
6. Imagine you’re swinging a silk stocking with a rock in it. (Oh no. I’m not taking off my socks!)
7. Imagine you’re turning in a barrel. (Oh no, it’s somebody else’s turn in the barrel.)
8. Imagine you’re throwing a ball underhand (you know, like in girls’ Little League).
9. Visualize the flight of the ball before you swing. (I always visualized it dribbling off to the left., and sure as shooting that’s what it always did.)
10. Move both knees at the hole. (What happened to moving my hips smartly at the hole? If I move anything else I’ll be out of town)
11. Pause at the top. (No way. The golf pro always gets after me for holding up play.)
12. Swing easy. (Oh no, I’m swinging for the fences!)
13. Turn your shoulders away, then turn them back. (I prefer to turn away in disgust AFTER I dribble all those shots off to the left.)
14. Imagine you’re holding a tray in your right hand. (Imagine, hell! I AM holding a tray in my hand!)
15. Load up at the top. (Good! My tray was getting low on hors d’oeurvres anyway.)
16. At the top of the swing, point the club at the hole. (Which one? There’s 18 of “em.)
17. Swing, don”t hit. (I thought that was the whole cotton-picking point!)
18. Coil, don’t sway (Look out! I am a dirty snake in the grass!)
19. Tape the word “KILL” on your driver. (I used to have “BE NICE” taped on mine.)
20. Take the club away low and slow. (Oh no. I prefer to jerk it back with a lurch, sway around, do a little dipsy doo, collapse my left hand and THEN jump in the barrel.)

Not one of those dumb tips ever worked for me.

But the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing does. When I show up on the first tee, even golfers of great renown scatter like leaves in a high wind.

To receive the secret of the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing right away, email me and I will email you the secret right away!

P.S. Just so you will know what to expect when you start using the 800-Pound-Gorilla Swing, I’ll tell you right now what warnings the PGA made me print on my club covers.

• Driver: Death!
• Three Wood: Doom!
• Tight Lie Wood: Destruction!
• Utility-Wood: Despair!
• Snake Wood: Jump in the barrel!

Once again, the sage of auburn has spoken.