For most players, a 320-yard drive would be stop-the-round and buy-a-round stuff. For Frank Miller, it’s a cut swing with about 80 percent effort during a casual game.
When the three-time long drive champion really wants to crank one, he coils and uncoils into a 400-plus yard blast. His longest drive in competition is 442 yards, which he did in 1997 during a preliminary round.
“I’ll know when it’s a good drive because I’m in balance all the way to the finish,” said Miller, who lives in Irvine and is a member of the Long Drivers of America Hall of Fame. “When that happens, chances are I’ve hit in the middle of the clubface with optimal and fluid power.”
Miller, 54, played basketball and football at Charter Oak High School in Covina, but since the school didn’t have a golf team he mainly played for fun with his dad, a former men’s champion at South Hills Country Club in West Covina. It wasn’t until he was 29 and met members of the Yonex long drive team at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach that he became interested in hitting the ball a long way.
“They handed me some drivers with longer shafts and hotter heads and I started crushing balls over the fence,” Miller recalled. “I was hooked. I’d only played with standard shafts and equipment until that time.”
For September’s Mesquite Long Drive Open Global Championship in Nevada, Miller has been practicing with a TaylorMade R11S driver with a Tour head that has been adjusted to 1 degree open and 6 degrees of loft. He also has the maximum allowed 48-inch shaft that is extra stiff to cut down on torque for a swing speed that often tops 140 mph.
For fitness, Miller, who is 6-feet-6 and 250 pounds, works out four or five times a week, with yoga a big part of his stretching routine. For weights, he goes heavy on the legs for power and does lighter lifting for the upper body to remain wiry strong.
If you’re looking for more power, here are things Miller tries to accomplish with each of his driver swings:
SETUP
“I like to feel like I’m in balance, with the club grip leaning slightly forward and the ball set up on the toe of the club and just inside my left instep. I also hover the club because it slows down the backswing and I don’t have to pick the clubhead up to start the motion.”
BACKSWING
“I try to get my left shoulder over my right thigh and back facing the target by stretching my left arm as wide and back as possible. Once I’ve reached this position, I’m fully coiled and ready to start the downswing. My feeling for that motion is like I’m twisting in a phone booth.”
DOWNSWING
My main thought here is to feel like I’m going to hit the ball with the back of my left forearm, or the back of my left hand. I also want my impact move to have a feeling like I’m hitting the ball to first base if I was in the batter’s box. I do that by driving my right thigh into the gap and getting off my right side to create lag.”
FOLLOW-THROUGH
“After I’ve hit out and through the ball, it’s all about balance and completing the swing. Keep rotating and uncoiling and complete the swing. Always complete the swing. If you’re in balance, the ball should go a long way.”
Frank Miller is a three-time national and world long drive champion in various divisions who is available for corporate and charity outings. To contact him, call (949) 929-6162 or e-mail golfthelongway@yahoo.com.
