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LPGA driving comes long way
By Tom Spousta, USA TODAY
Posted 3/8/2006
A boom has hit the LPGA tour, and this one goes beyond the youth, fashion and budding rivalries that have surfaced heading into this week's MasterCard Classic near Mexico City.
Yes, it's early, but initial numbers suggest men aren't the only heavy hitters in golf. Karin Sjodin leads the way at 295.3 yards, Natalie Tucker averages 290.7, four players (Brittany Lang, Sophie Gustafson, Brittany Lincicome and Minea Blomqvist) are in the 280s and the LPGA appears ready to bust loose for a record season off the tee.
Indeed, Annika Sorenstam — the role model for long and straight — has yet to unleash her 280-yard drives; she makes her debut Friday. And those statistics don't include the 300-yard blasts of Michelle Wie, who isn't an LPGA member.
"It's the same thing we're seeing on the PGA Tour. Players are stronger and longer. They've matched up the technology to their golf swings," says Dottie Pepper, a TV analyst and on-course reporter for NBC and The Golf Channel.
Pepper covered the SBS Open in Hawaii a few weeks ago and felt a different vibe before the season opener even began.
"It was hard to find a spot in the gym at Turtle Bay resort," says Pepper, whose career-high driving average was a then-impressive 250 yards in 2001.
Last year, average drives trended lower after five years of inching higher, actually dropping 5 yards (245.9) from 2003 and '04. Only Lincicome averaged above 270 yards last season, and her '05 average would rank 10th this year.
Players benefited from the warm weather, friendly trade winds and generous fairway rolls at the two Hawaii events. They'll get another boost this week at Bosque Real Country Club in Huixquilucan, Mexico, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. At 6,943 yards, the course is the longest on the tour.
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For Wie, less is more
Some LPGA players are beginning to push the boundaries of how far they can hit a golf ball. Michelle Wie already has felt the need to throttle back. Her coach, David Leadbetter, says Nike designer Tom Stites is working to customize a 2-wood/hybrid driver to help Wie better manage tee shots on the shorter LPGA tour courses. It would be a smaller-headed club with 11 degrees of loft, allowing her to cover a distance gap between the 8.5-degree driver and 13- to 15-degree 3-woods she carries.
"A lot of times, if she hits it 300 yards, you run out of real estate," Leadbetter says. "She often has a lot of decisions she has to make, because her driver can be too much club on LPGA courses."
Wie ranked fifth in driving distance at 293 yards in the Fields Open. She's added about 5 mph to her swing speed, Leadbetter says, and now reaches 108 mph. By comparison, Annika Sorenstam swings about 105 mph. Tiger Woods' swing speed has been measured in the mid-120s.
Leadbetter has seen prodigies such as Wie, Paula Creamer and Se Ri Pak train at his golf academies and predicts driving distances are due for a major leap.
"You wonder what they're going to do with some of the courses," he says. "They're going to have to move the tees back."
Leadbetter and Wie, 16, share a good-natured standing joke about her growing length: "I tell her, 'You're too long for the LPGA, not quite long enough for the PGA Tour, but you're perfect for the Champions Tour.' "
-Tom Spousta, USA TODAY
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That helps explain the lofty driving distances. That doesn't account for Lang (287.8 yards) surprising even herself by adding 20 yards off the tee since qualifying school in early December.
Lang played basketball, tennis and some soccer and softball growing up and has always had a workout regimen. She attended Duke and was the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year before turning pro after tying for second with Morgan Pressel in last year's U.S. Women's Open.
The rookie signed a deal with Cleveland Golf, started bombing longer drives and became 11/2 clubs longer with her irons, representing an extra 15-20 yards in length. She now hits an 8-iron from 150 yards.
"I got the new equipment, my swing clicked with it and I worked on getting my swing more efficient. And there it was. I'm dead serious," says Lang, who was among those in the crowded gym at Turtle Bay.
A combination of high-performance equipment and intense workouts has led to stronger swings and longer distances.
Lang played junior golf against Paula Creamer and Pressel, who also train with golf-specific workouts and use equipment technology to their advantage. Before the season, both went to their respective testing centers in California, Creamer to TaylorMade and Pressel to Callaway, in an attempt to improve.
"The girls keep getting longer," Lang says. "I don't know if there's a max point, where your body only lets you hit it so far. But right now the possibilities are endless."
Of the top 10 in driving distance, three are rookies (Sjodin, Lang and Louise Stahle) and two are second-year players (Tucker and Lincicome). A strong international presence dominates. Three — Sjodin, Gustafson and Stahle — are from Sweden, and Sorenstam is expected to join the stats soon. Blomqvist is from Finland, Karen Stupples from Britain and Lorena Ochoa from Mexico.
Going above and beyond
Brittany Lincicome averaged 270.3 yards on her drives in 2005 to lead the LPGA. Average driving distance leaders in 2006:
Player Yards
Karin Sjodin 295.3
Natalie Tucker 290.7
Brittany Lang 287.8
Sophie Gustafson 281.8
Brittany Lincicome 280.2
Minea Blomqvist 280.2
Lorena Ochoa 272.8
Louise Stahl 270.8
Kim Williams 270.5
Karen Stupples 268.8
"There's no doubt in my mind swing speeds are increasing," says David Leadbetter, who coaches Wie and several others on both tours. "Certainly with the equipment nowadays they can go at the ball a lot harder without fear of going that much off line."
Leadbetter believes a shift in teaching philosophies has helped bring power to the game. Before, he says, women were taught to concentrate on timing, rhythm and finesse while men were given more aggressive instruction.
"There's a lot more emphasis placed on torsion and coil and leverage. Basically, the women are being taught very much along the same lines as the men," Leadbetter says. "You don't have to consider strength as a factor so much. These girls are working out like fiends. It's a trend that's going to continue."
Other players have bolted from the gate and added early distance. At 264.2 yards, Creamer has jumped 16 yards to 16th in distance, up from 248 and tied for 65th. Lincicome is 10 yards longer than her '05 LPGA-leading average, and Ochoa and Stupples have improved 11 yards each.
"The girls are getting strong enough to see the feedback from the new technology," Pepper says. "They're finding the optimum swing speed for these balls to do what they were designed to do. It's cool stuff."
By Tom Spousta, USA TODAY
Posted 3/8/2006
A boom has hit the LPGA tour, and this one goes beyond the youth, fashion and budding rivalries that have surfaced heading into this week's MasterCard Classic near Mexico City.
Yes, it's early, but initial numbers suggest men aren't the only heavy hitters in golf. Karin Sjodin leads the way at 295.3 yards, Natalie Tucker averages 290.7, four players (Brittany Lang, Sophie Gustafson, Brittany Lincicome and Minea Blomqvist) are in the 280s and the LPGA appears ready to bust loose for a record season off the tee.
Indeed, Annika Sorenstam — the role model for long and straight — has yet to unleash her 280-yard drives; she makes her debut Friday. And those statistics don't include the 300-yard blasts of Michelle Wie, who isn't an LPGA member.
"It's the same thing we're seeing on the PGA Tour. Players are stronger and longer. They've matched up the technology to their golf swings," says Dottie Pepper, a TV analyst and on-course reporter for NBC and The Golf Channel.
Pepper covered the SBS Open in Hawaii a few weeks ago and felt a different vibe before the season opener even began.
"It was hard to find a spot in the gym at Turtle Bay resort," says Pepper, whose career-high driving average was a then-impressive 250 yards in 2001.
Last year, average drives trended lower after five years of inching higher, actually dropping 5 yards (245.9) from 2003 and '04. Only Lincicome averaged above 270 yards last season, and her '05 average would rank 10th this year.
Players benefited from the warm weather, friendly trade winds and generous fairway rolls at the two Hawaii events. They'll get another boost this week at Bosque Real Country Club in Huixquilucan, Mexico, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. At 6,943 yards, the course is the longest on the tour.
==========================================================
For Wie, less is more
Some LPGA players are beginning to push the boundaries of how far they can hit a golf ball. Michelle Wie already has felt the need to throttle back. Her coach, David Leadbetter, says Nike designer Tom Stites is working to customize a 2-wood/hybrid driver to help Wie better manage tee shots on the shorter LPGA tour courses. It would be a smaller-headed club with 11 degrees of loft, allowing her to cover a distance gap between the 8.5-degree driver and 13- to 15-degree 3-woods she carries.
"A lot of times, if she hits it 300 yards, you run out of real estate," Leadbetter says. "She often has a lot of decisions she has to make, because her driver can be too much club on LPGA courses."
Wie ranked fifth in driving distance at 293 yards in the Fields Open. She's added about 5 mph to her swing speed, Leadbetter says, and now reaches 108 mph. By comparison, Annika Sorenstam swings about 105 mph. Tiger Woods' swing speed has been measured in the mid-120s.
Leadbetter has seen prodigies such as Wie, Paula Creamer and Se Ri Pak train at his golf academies and predicts driving distances are due for a major leap.
"You wonder what they're going to do with some of the courses," he says. "They're going to have to move the tees back."
Leadbetter and Wie, 16, share a good-natured standing joke about her growing length: "I tell her, 'You're too long for the LPGA, not quite long enough for the PGA Tour, but you're perfect for the Champions Tour.' "
-Tom Spousta, USA TODAY
==========================================================
That helps explain the lofty driving distances. That doesn't account for Lang (287.8 yards) surprising even herself by adding 20 yards off the tee since qualifying school in early December.
Lang played basketball, tennis and some soccer and softball growing up and has always had a workout regimen. She attended Duke and was the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year before turning pro after tying for second with Morgan Pressel in last year's U.S. Women's Open.
The rookie signed a deal with Cleveland Golf, started bombing longer drives and became 11/2 clubs longer with her irons, representing an extra 15-20 yards in length. She now hits an 8-iron from 150 yards.
"I got the new equipment, my swing clicked with it and I worked on getting my swing more efficient. And there it was. I'm dead serious," says Lang, who was among those in the crowded gym at Turtle Bay.
A combination of high-performance equipment and intense workouts has led to stronger swings and longer distances.
Lang played junior golf against Paula Creamer and Pressel, who also train with golf-specific workouts and use equipment technology to their advantage. Before the season, both went to their respective testing centers in California, Creamer to TaylorMade and Pressel to Callaway, in an attempt to improve.
"The girls keep getting longer," Lang says. "I don't know if there's a max point, where your body only lets you hit it so far. But right now the possibilities are endless."
Of the top 10 in driving distance, three are rookies (Sjodin, Lang and Louise Stahle) and two are second-year players (Tucker and Lincicome). A strong international presence dominates. Three — Sjodin, Gustafson and Stahle — are from Sweden, and Sorenstam is expected to join the stats soon. Blomqvist is from Finland, Karen Stupples from Britain and Lorena Ochoa from Mexico.
Going above and beyond
Brittany Lincicome averaged 270.3 yards on her drives in 2005 to lead the LPGA. Average driving distance leaders in 2006:
Player Yards
Karin Sjodin 295.3
Natalie Tucker 290.7
Brittany Lang 287.8
Sophie Gustafson 281.8
Brittany Lincicome 280.2
Minea Blomqvist 280.2
Lorena Ochoa 272.8
Louise Stahl 270.8
Kim Williams 270.5
Karen Stupples 268.8
"There's no doubt in my mind swing speeds are increasing," says David Leadbetter, who coaches Wie and several others on both tours. "Certainly with the equipment nowadays they can go at the ball a lot harder without fear of going that much off line."
Leadbetter believes a shift in teaching philosophies has helped bring power to the game. Before, he says, women were taught to concentrate on timing, rhythm and finesse while men were given more aggressive instruction.
"There's a lot more emphasis placed on torsion and coil and leverage. Basically, the women are being taught very much along the same lines as the men," Leadbetter says. "You don't have to consider strength as a factor so much. These girls are working out like fiends. It's a trend that's going to continue."
Other players have bolted from the gate and added early distance. At 264.2 yards, Creamer has jumped 16 yards to 16th in distance, up from 248 and tied for 65th. Lincicome is 10 yards longer than her '05 LPGA-leading average, and Ochoa and Stupples have improved 11 yards each.
"The girls are getting strong enough to see the feedback from the new technology," Pepper says. "They're finding the optimum swing speed for these balls to do what they were designed to do. It's cool stuff."
