![]() ![]() That’s going to be the best and easiest way to kind of grow that clubhead speed and with more clubhead speed, obviously more ball speed. If you get those hands extended, you can kind of just grow that circle so that you have more time to gain clubhead speed. They have those hands real close to their body, they have the arm shortened. That’s the big thing that I see amateurs do. ![]() So what I teach and what I do is get those hands high in the backswing and you’ll see that in my swing. ![]() So being 5’5, if I stand up tall, I just don’t have that much time to gain that kind of speed. The longer the arc, the longer the arc the more time you have to gain clubhead speed. And so in getting those hands high, separating the hand and the body – it almost cheats physics a little bit. The other big thing that I have to do is in the back of my swing, I have my hands really high. You see Kyle Berkshire do it pre-shot because he’s training his body to use the ground and to use the weight transfer. That’s the big thing that you saw, that rocking back and forth. So can you divulge the secrets of what you and your competitors are doing out there on that range? Because it looks phenomenal.Īlex Phillips: The biggest thing that long drivers work on is their weight transfer. I know it looks like you just kind of get up there you rock back and forth, and you whammy the ball. You have to figure out what works for you and works for your swing. Some of them are very, very small, compact individuals, both female and male. SH: We see that a lot that even in pro golfers that hit the ball a long way, they don’t all look like Bryson. But if you’re not hitting the ball centered, and you’re not being efficient with your golf swing, you don’t have a chance. Yes, with the longer shaft you have the longer arc, you have more time to gain clubhead speed. If I go over 47, if I go to the 48, it starts becoming inefficient for me. For me, I only go to a 47 Because I am short. That’s kind of been a big talk in the USGA lately, especially with Bryson going to a big shaft. In long drive, you can go up to 48 inches. Getting equipment that’s fit for you is huge. I have to have an efficient golf swing, right? I have to be efficient because I’m never going to be the fastest or the strongest or the biggest. So pound for pound, I have to be really long. I’m very efficient I am the smallest competitor in the top 10. SH: What’s your magic formula for blasting the ball? Is it club speed? Is it lower body training?Īlex Phillips: I am very lucky that I have a very good golf swing. Because Heather Lemaster said I could do this. She talked me into competing later that year. We started talking and she became a really good friend. I turn around and on her badge, it says “2013 World Champion.” But I noticed that I could kind of keep up with her. I was standing there thinking, “dang, who’s that?” But I was at the PGA Show, and there was this girl behind me out hitting me. I mean, I now have the resume of “Top 10 in the World,” but even back then, I had to go long. Demo day at Orange County National is an awesome experience, with the 360-degree driving range, and I’m long. I wasn’t super stoked on my golf game at the time, so I wasn’t really playing, I was coaching.īecause I was coaching, I went to The PGA Show. Phillips: So after I graduated from college I had knee surgery, and it took me a little longer to recover than I had originally expected. At some point, you just decided you were done with the short game and instead you just wanted to be a long ball hitter? How did that work, and why did you just decide to switch gears? And it was in Thackerville, Oklahoma, which is a place. SH: Did you know the history of long drive coming in?Īlex: I didn’t know the full history, no, but it was pretty cool that 2015 was my first year, and that was the first time it was really big and televised. Alex finished top four in her first world long drive championship appearance in 2015 and has held on to a top 10 ranking ever since. But it wasn’t until after graduation that Alex got her start in long drive. She played four years on the team at Cal Poly, having some success as a player and later as a coach. Alex Phillips grew up around athletics in Reno, Nevada, learned to play golf at a young age, which helped her earn a scholarship to play at the division one level in college. ![]()
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