With half a dozen clubs and more than 3,000 regular golfers within a drive, chip and a put from Leighton town centre, the Observer has commissioned Leighton Buzzard Golf Club's PGA Advanced Professional coach Maurice Campbell to provide a monthly tip on how to improve your game and reduce that handicap.

Here is the fifth of golf doctor Maurice's tips for a healthier game:

Driver Loft

Most golfers believe the lower the loft on their driver, the further they will hit the ball. This is true ... if your name happens to be Tiger Woods.

In my experience, us mere mortals get more distance off the tee with a HIGHER lofted driver.

Let me explain it to you like this: Imagine you are in your garden using your hose pipe, and it's turned on full blast. Now suppose the pressure drops by a half. You can see a loss of distance in the spray. So what do you do to get the distance back? You raise the angle of the nozzle.

The same principle applies to your driver. If you have a very fast swing speed (ie the hose is on full blast), you need a lower loft for maximum distance. If you have a slower swing speed (ie the hose pressure has been reduced), you need a higher loft to get more distance. What you CANNOT do is match a slow swing speed with a low lofted driver.

To achieve maximum distance, every golfer from pro to beginner must be fitted with the correct driver loft to match their swing and swing speed.

So what is your swing speed? The only way to know for sure is to be measured by a PGA Pro club fitter. But here are some stats that might give you a sense of where you probably are:
Average female golfer 65mph
Average male golfer 85mph
Average female tour player 97mph
Average male tour player 110mph
Male long drive competitors 135-155mph.

To correctly find out your swing speed and appropriate driver loft contact by emailing me at golfmachine@instructor.net or call the Leighton Buzzard Golf Club pro shop on 01525244815.

Good golfing – Maurice Campbell, PGA Advanced Golf Professional, Golfing Machine Authorised Instructor, Sports NLP Master Practitioner, 01525 244815.