The legendary Byron Nelson shared his tips for extra power off the tee with Les Miller. (Courtesy of the PGA of America)

Get more distance off the tee the Byron Nelson way

By Les Miller,
Contributor

During every round of golf there are always a few holes where extra power is needed to attack the hole. When you want to reach back for that little extra distance, here are a few golf tips Byron Nelson gave me years ago.

Byron told me when coming to a hole where he needed some extra distance, he moved a couple of inches closer to the ball at address. His thinking was when you swing harder, you tend to pull the club in toward your body as you are going through the hitting area.

Second, he choked down about an inch on the grip as he felt he could generate more speed during his swing by choking down a little bit.

Finally, he felt these two changes helped him maintain control of his swing, which allowed him to play these longer drives from the fairway.

Byron felt his consistent driving of the golf ball was what set him up for success. During his streak of winning 11 tournaments in a row, he only remembered missing one fairway during that time. I'm sure that's why they named the Iron Byron machine after him, as he was always in the fairway and long when he needed to be.

Try these tips and add some extra distance when you need it.

November 14, 2008

Les Miller was a longtime Golf Writers of America member who covered golf instruction for several newspapers and golf publications. His many years of experience as a golf professional, director of product development and tour relations for several major golf companies gave him a unique background and ability to help golfers increase their enjoyment of the game.