Impact of height/limb length on distance?

[dlow206]

Do you think that height and limb length has an impact on distance potential? I know Rory and Rickie are on the shorter side, but they are still about the average height of a male in the US.

Are any of you that are on the shorter side long hitters? I am 5'5" with shoes on with short legs. For me, if I catch one, i can get a ball out to 260 to 270 with roll.

[cnosil]

All things being equal except for the length of limbs the answer is yes.   Longer limbs make for longer levers and potential for getting the head to move faster.   That doesn't mean all short limbed players will be shorter than long limbed players;  you still have to swing the clubs and generate the speed.   

[dlow206]

9 minutes ago, cnosil said:

All things being equal except for the length of limbs the answer is yes.   Longer limbs make for longer levers and potential for getting the head to move faster.   That doesn't mean all short limbed players will be shorter than long limbed players;  you still have to swing the clubs and generate the speed.   

Makes sense. I feel like I am at a disadvantage, but then also use that as the "chip on my shoulder" to try to hit the ball farther.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

5’7” here and I’m in the 280-300 depending on conditions and roll. I’m one of the shorter guys in my group of buddies but I am one of the longest. 

[Firebird]

Yes and no, all depends on how much body weight you transfer to the club. I have a mate Steve who is 6' and one Rob that is 5.5'. Steve has a controlled swing where Rob puts everything in to it, almost all his weight is on his front foot when he makes contact and he usually out drives Steve. Interestingly, there swing speeds are similar.

[TeeBrain]

In general, definitely yes.

There's a reason most pitchers in pro baseball are tall. And I think you'd generally find a positive correlation between height and club distances on Tour (or just golfers in general.) Sort of like how a driver at 45" has potentially more club head speed than one at 43", longer arms can have a similar effect.

But like you said, there are exceptions like Rory and Rickie - so it's not a hard and fast truth. They're gifted and probably have a lot of speed due to coordination, training, talent, and likely a healthy proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers. Your own distance sounds quite respectable, for sure. I'm also on the shorter side, and can honestly say I'm longer than average, but by no means would I consider myself "long".

[cnosil]

Yes and no, all depends on how much body weight you transfer to the club. I have a mate Steve who is 6' and one Rob that is 5.5'. Steve has a controlled swing where Rob puts everything in to it, almost all his weight is on his front foot when he makes contact and he usually out drives Steve. Interestingly, there swing speeds are similar.

Sorry, but this doesn’t make much sense to me; explain more in this. The both swing differently to achieve the same swing speed. Have never seen “body weight” as a variable to increase distance other than referencing ground forces and how much you are pushing off the ground. That gets them to the same speed; Their difference in distance would be the result of things like angle of attack, spin, launch angle, swing path.

[Kanoito]

I've played with 14 y.o. juniors who are 2/3 my weight and about half a head shorter (I'm 180cm) and they still bomb it 40 yards past my ball.

All things being equal, yes, physique will provide a slight edge, but technique will still beat the bigger guys.

Isn't JT the longest hitter pound for pound?

[RickyBobby_PR]

52 minutes ago, Kanoito said:

I've played with 14 y.o. juniors who are 2/3 my weight and about half a head shorter (I'm 180cm) and they still bomb it 40 yards past my ball.

All things being equal, yes, physique will provide a slight edge, but technique will still beat the bigger guys.

Isn't JT the longest hitter pound for pound?

JT might be but Ricky and Rory are probably close.  I don’t know if I trust the pga tour bio since they have rickie listed at 5’9”. I stood next to him at Congressional with his golf shoes on and he barely hit 5’8”. They have jt listed as 10 lbs heavier than rickie there. They have 4” difference between them and only 7 yard difference in driving avg. Rory listed as 5’10 160 and he’s about 11 yards longer than JT  

[ZenGolfer]

Being taller and having longer limbs should be an advantage because it gives you more of a mechanical advantage with the club and being bigger means that you can pack on more muscle without it effecting your flexibility.  Thats why you see some players like DJ who arent all that big muscle wise but are long and lean and hit the ball a mile.

[Firebird]

10 hours ago, cnosil said:

Sorry, but this doesn’t make much sense to me; explain more in this. The both swing differently to achieve the same swing speed. Have never seen “body weight” as a variable to increase distance other than referencing ground forces and how much you are pushing off the ground. That gets them to the same speed; Their difference in distance would be the result of things like angle of attack, spin, launch angle, swing path.

I have always been taught that body weight transfer is how you get distance. For example Steve swing is allot more upright - his clubs are 1.5* up and he generates speed mainly by the length of his levers and at contact Steve has his weight on front foot and the transfer is smooth,  where Rob has a flatter swing, his clubs are 2* down and his weight transfer is quite violent, he has both feet almost of the ground when hitting driver. 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Firebird

[cnosil]

30 minutes ago, Firebird said:

I have always been taught that body weight transfer is how you get distance. For example Steve swing is allot more upright - his clubs are 1.5* up and he generates speed mainly by the length of his levers and at contact Steve has his weight on front foot and the transfer is smooth,  where Rob has a flatter swing, his clubs are 2* down and his weight transfer is quite violent, he has both feet almost of the ground when hitting driver. 

From my understanding the body can generate speed through rotation, lateral shift and vertically from the ground.   Where I get lost is you say they get "distance" from the weight transfer.   Distance is based on clubhead speed and if the two golfers you discuss have the exact same club head speed,  spin, AoA, etc. they would hit the ball the same distance no matter how they generated the speed.  

[GolfSpy_BNG]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

From my understanding the body can generate speed through rotation, lateral shift and vertically from the ground.   Where I get lost is you say they get "distance" from the weight transfer.   Distance is based on clubhead speed and if the two golfers you discuss have the exact same club head speed,  spin, AoA, etc. they would hit the ball the same distance no matter how they generated the speed.  

I gotta agree with @cnosil on this one. The extra weight transfer is what may get him to the same swing speed  but that isn’t the reason he is out driving the other guy. There is some other variable responsible for the extra distance. Smash factor, spin, launch, or even more mass in the club head is probably what is helping Rob out drive Steve. 

[Hook DeLoft]

Physics says longer levers equal more speed.  However, as others have pointed out, there are a lot of other factors that come into play.  A player who is 6'4" has more potential for developing speed than one that is 5'7", but it should be harder for the taller player to hit the center of the club face each time.  His longer arc will mean that small errors will cause larger variations than the same mistakes committed by a shorter player.

[silver & black]

I know a guy that was/is maybe 5'7''. He was/is  a "legend" at my home course. He could/can  drive the ball 300+ yards without even trying. He could drive the ball from sitting in a chair almost to the green on the #1 hole  which is 305 yards. So..... I don't know...lol.  Some people just have whatever "it" is to be able to do that??? I'm certainly not one of them!

Edited September 6, 2020 by silver & black

[den748]

This is more a hypothetical exercise but here goes...

If you have 2 almost identical players, meaning swing type, perfect mechanics, weight transfer, everything...but one has arms that are 2 inches longer.  The guy with 2 inch longer limbs will hit the ball further. 

But in the real world, there are no 2 identical players, you have to consider everything else.  It is just one thing that goes into the distance equation. 

[Micah T]

If 2 guys swing the same speed and hit the same spot on the face, their distance will be equal.

Why do “little guys” like JT, Rickie, and Rory bomb it like DJ? They swing as fast as DJ, and also hit the center of the face. Might they have to swing “harder” to swing as fast as DJ? Maybe: or they might just come from more inside to out and hit up on the ball, maximizing their distance, and DJ and Brooks hit cuts/fades trying to gain accuracy...


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[Buffly]

On 7/12/2020 at 1:17 PM, dlow206 said:

I am 5'5" with shoes on with short legs.

After reading all of the responses on this thread, my conclusion is that people always try to attribute excellence to something they don't have. 

Height, strength, flexibility, limb length or any other characteristic that someone doesn't have could become the focus of a shortcoming. 

The old saying, "the grass is greener on the OTHER side of the street" applies. 

More likely, access to top trainers, coaches, fitted equipment, and endless time to focus on golf all contribute to distance gains when mixed with their raw talent.