BODY / DRIVING B
HOW I BOMB MY DRIVES By Dean Burmester Hitting a long ball is about genetics. Growing up in Zimbabwe, developing certain muscles and twitch fibres came from my playing different sports, and one was cricket. I was a fast bowler, like my dad, so there was con- stant speed training, always wanting to bowl faster. Here are a few simple tips to bomb- ing it off the tee. Hitting driver, you need your spine angle behind the ball. You don’t want to be getting on top of it and hitting down on the ball because the moment you do that you create too much spin and the ball floats up in the air. Driving is my strength and a mas-
I’m using a Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke 9-degree driver set on neu- tral standard because I like to move it around – up or down. I don’t like a one-dimensional driver. The shaft is a Fujikura Ventus TR Black 60X with Tour velvet grips I’ve used since a kid. The other three guys in our LIV Stingers team – Louis, Charl and Bran- den – don’t fancy long drive contests against me, so let’s leave it at that. Haha! Charl (Schwartzel) would prob- ably be closest. When he’s healthy and swinging it great he gets it out there. There’s a great vibe in the Sting- ers team. The four of us have become close the last year. We love the banter, making fun of each other and our cad- dies. The LIV experience has been life- changing for me and my family. It was the right move. I get to see more of my kids. I’ve done well financially and am playing against great players – mul- tiple major champions – and feel I can hold my own against them. I was proud to win back-to-back titles in South Africa at the end of last year. My final round 68 to win the SA Open at Blair Atholl was the most enjoyable round of my career.
sive advantage. You want to minimise spin and maximise launch. Do that by setting up slightly behind the ball with your spine angle tilted up. Then it’s all about width and timing. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast is my man- tra. Keeping it as slow in transition as I can and achieving all the speed at the bottom after hitting the ball. That helps me make it look effortless and still maximise it. A normal shape would be a 10-metre fade if I’m trying to hit the fairway. I have difficulty hitting a draw. I like to see it going left to right. I will set up a little open, aim left and swing down my feet line. If I’m trying to get it out further, I tee up higher, the ball a bit further back in a wider stance. I wait for it at the top. The thought process beforehand is making sure I’ve got the right wind or the right hold. On average, I carry my drive 322 yards (294 metres) at sea level with ball speed between 182-186mph (293- 299kph). It varies on the day depend- ing on my body and club speed of about 125mph (201kph). Muscle mem- ory after years of hitting balls plays a big part.
24 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MARCH/APRIL 2024
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