Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
A boom has hit the LPGA tour, and this one goes beyond the youth, fashion and budding rivalries that have surfaced heading into this week's MasterCard Classic near Mexico City.
Yes, it's early, but initial numbers suggest men aren't the only heavy hitters in golf. Karin Sjodin leads the way at 295.3 yards, Natalie Tucker averages 290.7, four players (Brittany Lang, Sophie Gustafson, Brittany Lincicome and Minea Blomqvist) are in the 280s and the LPGA appears ready to bust loose for a record season off the tee.
Indeed, Annika Sorenstam -- the role model for long and straight -- has yet to unleash her 280-yard drives; she makes her debut Friday. And those statistics don't include the 300-yard blasts of Michelle Wie, who isn't an LPGA member.
"It's the same thing we're seeing on the PGA Tour. Players are stronger and longer. They've matched up the technology to their golf swings," says Dottie Pepper, a TV analyst and on-course reporter for NBC and The Golf Channel.
Pepper covered the SBS Open in Hawaii a few weeks ago and felt a different vibe before the season opener even began.
"It was hard to find a spot in the gym at Turtle Bay resort," says Pepper, whose career-high driving average was a then-impressive 250 yards in 2001.
Last year, average drives trended lower after five years of inching higher, actually dropping 5 yards (245.9) from 2003 and '04. Only Lincicome averaged above 270 yards last season, and her '05 average would rank 10th this year.
Players benefited from the warm weather, friendly trade winds and generous fairway rolls at the two Hawaii events. They'll get another boost this week at Bosque Real Country Club in Huixquilucan, Mexico, nearly 8,000 feet above sea level. At 6,943 yards, the course is the longest on the tour.
That helps explain the lofty driving distances. That doesn't account for Lang (287.8 yards) surprising even herself by adding 20 yards off the tee since qualifying school in early December.
Lang played basketball, tennis and some soccer and softball growing up and has always had a workout regimen. She attended Duke and was the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year before turning pro after tying for second with Morgan Pressel in last year's U.S. Women's Open.
The rookie signed a deal with Cleveland Golf, started bombing longer drives and became 11/2 clubs longer with her irons, representing an extra 15-20 yards in length. She now hits an 8-iron from 150 yards.
"I got the new equipment, my swing clicked with it and I worked on getting my swing more efficient. And there it was. I'm dead serious," says Lang, who was among those in the crowded gym at Turtle Bay.
A combination of high-performance equipment and intense workouts has led to stronger swings and longer distances.
Lang played junior golf against Paula Creamer and Pressel, who also train with golf-specific workouts and use equipment technology to their advantage. Before the season, both went to their respective testing centers in California, Creamer to TaylorMade and Pressel to Callaway, in an attempt to improve.
"The girls keep getting longer," Lang says. "I don't know if there's a max point, where your body only lets you hit it so far. But right now the possibilities are endless."
Of the top 10 in driving distance, three are rookies (Sjodin, Lang and Louise Stahle) and two are second-year players (Tucker and Lincicome). A strong international presence dominates. Three -- Sjodin, Gustafson and Stahle -- are from Sweden, and Sorenstam is expected to join the stats soon. Blomqvist is from Finland, Karen Stupples from Britain and Lorena Ochoa from Mexico.
"There's no doubt in my mind swing speeds are increasing," says David Leadbetter, who coaches Wie and several others on both tours. "Certainly with the equipment nowadays they can go at the ball a lot harder without fear of going that much off line."
Leadbetter believes a shift in teaching philosophies has helped bring power to the game. Before, he says, women were taught to concentrate on timing, rhythm and finesse while men were given more aggressive instruction.
"There's a lot more emphasis placed on torsion and coil and leverage. Basically, the women are being taught very much along the same lines as the men," Leadbetter says. "You don't have to consider strength as a factor so much. These girls are working out like fiends. It's a trend that's going to continue."
Other players have bolted from the gate and added early distance. At 264.2 yards, Creamer has jumped 16 yards to 16th in distance, up from 248 and tied for 65th. Lincicome is 10 yards longer than her '05 LPGA-leading average, and Ochoa and Stupples have improved 11 yards each.
"The girls are getting strong enough to see the feedback from the new technology," Pepper says. "They're finding the optimum swing speed for these balls to do what they were designed to do. It's cool stuff."
To see more of USAToday.com, or to subscribe, go to http://www.usatoday.com
© Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
