Professional golfers are better than amateur golfers at literally everything – that’s why they’re professional golfers – but they are special good at distance control.
But how good exactly are they?
That’s what we wanted to know and served as inspiration for our new Golf Digest Grid, which we launched on YouTube this week. Over the coming months, we’ll be discussing some of the best players in the world, starting with 2024 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
The goal of the Golf Digest Grid Challenge is to hit a shot in each of the 10 sections in as few attempts as possible. You can see how Bryson did it by watching the video below – and keep scrolling for some helpful tips he offered along the way.
1. They don’t commit to going fast
In golf we rarely get perfect distances. We’re usually between clubs. If so, is it better to hit the smaller club and swing hard? Or do you take the too much bat and swing calmly? Every golfer has their own personal preference, but Bryson found that swinging harder with less club is often more reliable:
“I prefer to lean on clubs. I prefer to try to put as much energy as possible when I’m between clubs because I feel like no matter what happens, there’s a ceiling on how far it can go. I don’t want it trying to arrange things, I might accidentally hit it too hard and miss too short, or miss long.
2. They don’t check their stock numbers
Try to take stock of your distances a few times a year. Ideally this is done in a simulator, but you can also do it on a driving range: how far away are the flags on the range, and what club do you hit them with? It can be annoying, but really dialing in how far you hit your clubs will help more than you think. That’s why Bryson is so detailed about it.
“On tournament days, I go through my entire set and hit three or four balls each as hard as I can to see where my body is at that day. It can change a lot from week to week and day to day, so I want to I like to know which stocks I work with every day.”
3. They prioritize fast swing over center contact
How fast you swing the club matters, and yes, it can vary from swing to swing. Things like the length of your backswing also matter. But the *most important* quality when it comes to remote control is the quality of the contact. If swinging a little softer means more center contact, it’s probably worth the trade – and you might end up hitting it longer, too.
“The centeredness of the contact is huge. It’s so important, especially for amateur golfers. If you barely thin it or hit it barely high on the face, it can change 15 to 20 yards very easily. Learning how to hit it off center is priority one.”
4. They don’t understand the basics of spinning
Every time you hit a golf ball, it comes off the club face with backspin, but the amount varies depending on where you hit it on the club face (again, why center contact is such a high priority). Pros think about this a lot, and Bryson says amateur golfers should understand the basics:
- Shots hit on the toe or high on the face tend to spin less and can therefore travel further.
- Shots hit low on the face or on the heel tend to spin more, allowing the ball to travel higher and shorter.
“I hit one at 7,400 RPM (revolutions per minute), and then another at 8,000. So there were 600 RPMs responsible for those eight yards and it’s just a fraction of a distance from center. That’s the difference between a tap-in and a 40-footer.”
Please note, and again, you can watch the full video here:
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