New Year’s Resolution: Can I hit a golf ball 300 yards?

Can I hit a golf ball 300 yards? 

That’s my goal, my new year’s resolution for 2021. As mentioned in the video above, golf saw a surge in popularity last year and I want to ride that wave through the 2021 golf season.

Yes, I want to become a better golfer as well (right now I shoot around 100 for 18 holes), but I’ve always been enamoured by the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. 

And maybe by repeated viewings of Happy Gilmore, too. 

My monthly video series will be more for the casual golf enthusiast — this blog will be a space for the more rabid golf aficionados to perhaps learn a few things through my (hopeful) journey to 300 yards.

I will be getting into the weeds more on the minutiae of the golf swing and what exactly I need to do to reach my goal. 

I will be working with Modern Golf throughout 2021 as my instructor, Stew Bannatyne, will be rebuilding my swing from the ground up. I’ve never had a golf lesson before, so I am literally an open canvas.

3:17
The Training Ground: What does it take to become a professional golfer?

According to Stew, I have the swing speed necessary to hit the ball 300 yards. It’s putting that speed together with the other ingredients that make a powerful, accurate swing that will be the challenge.

“I was really glad to see that there’s a good framework,” he said. “Obviously, the speed is a huge part of it. You have that. You have a good athletic background. There’s some work to do — a lot of classic traits of golfers who maybe don’t maximize their power or maybe aren’t as efficient as they could be.”

Inefficiency is my big issue. According to Modern Golf’s Trackman launch monitors, my swing speed should result in 280-290 yard drives right now. But I was only hitting the ball 220-245 yards during my swing evaluation.

(The amount of information that can be gleaned from the tech at Modern Golf is incredible. It reveals everything about your swing, the good and the bad).

I know I have a lot to work on to achieve a consistent and powerful swing — evidenced by my triple-digit scores — but I feel very confident leaving the rebuilding process in Stew’s hands.

I can typically pick up physical instructions pretty quickly and I am looking forward to hearing what exact tips Stew has for me in future sessions. 

He said he can help me with things like alignment, grip, and the weight distribution on my feet. “There are a lot of little things that make it very difficult for the golf club to work naturally.”

Unfortunately, lockdown measures in Ontario means that Stew will have to diagnose some of my swing issues virtually. 

So, I’m stuck with shadow swings in my living room for now.

Mike Arsenault is a reporter with Global News and cohost of Global News Weekend, available Saturdays and Sundays 7-10 a.m. ET on the Global News App.