The bad news is that you're probably never going to smash a 300-yard drive, unless you tee off downwind and bounce one off the cart path. The good news is that you probably can add some distance.
Representatives from equipment companies and expert club fitters at the Journal Sentinel Golf Show at State Fair Park are willing to help. The three-day show opened Friday and concludes Sunday.
"I think the hardest thing to do in golf is to speed up your swing," said Al Rohleder, a fitting specialist with Grafton-based TourSwing Golf, which specializes in custom drivers.
"You're pretty much stuck with what you've got, but you can hit it farther by hitting it better."
Paul Mette of Cocoa, Fla., who finished 12th in the senior division at the Re/Max World Long Drive Championship, said all golfers should be fitted for equipment that will help them maximize their talent.
"Most people are swinging too stiff a shaft," Mette said. "I see it all the time. If you want to optimize your speed, you've got to get fitted."
TourSwing and other equipment companies use sophisticated launch monitors that measure ball speed off the club face, launch angle and spin rate and then project carry and roll.
The idea is to find the head-shaft combination that gives the golfer the optimum launch angle and spin rate for his or her swing.
"Everybody loads and unloads (the shaft) at a different point in their swing," Mette said. "You can get a lot more yards if you're fitted and you've got the right equipment."
Golf Show attendees can take a few swings on TourSwing's launch monitor to find out where they stand. Rohleder or owner Tim Chopp usually can show a golfer how he can get more yards within minutes.
What a deal: There are a lot of good deals and early season specials at the show, but it's hard to beat the deal being offered by the Nauvoo Great River Road Golf Club in Nauvoo, Ill.
For $55 a day, golfers get unlimited golf with motorized cart and a room in a condo on the course.
"If you check in on Monday or Tuesday, it's $48," said Jeff Stevenson, the event coordinator at Nauvoo. "Warren Buffet said price is what you pay; value is what you get. If we can't get you to travel, you're not coming."
Nauvoo is about 300 miles southwest of Milwaukee, on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in western Illinois (www.golfnauvoo.com).
Favre memorabilia hot:Edward P. Carter III, a salesman for Legends of the Field of Hartford, said demand for Brett Favre memorabilia "has gone through the roof" since the Green Bay Packers quarterback announced his retirement.
Legends of the Field has a booth at the show and is selling officially licensed Favre memorabilia.
Long winter:Chris Foley, a PGA professional representing the Brainerd Golf Trail in Brainerd, Minn., said it would be several weeks before the golf courses open in that area.
Brainerd is two hours northwest of Minneapolis.
"It's been as cold as it is here (in Milwaukee), but not nearly as snowy," Foley said.
Golf courses in northern Wisconsin are targeting mid-April to open, several course owners and professionals said.
Chip shots: Golfers who make a tee time reservation and play at Erin Hills through May 18 pay a reduced rate of $95. Erin Hills recently was awarded the 2011 U.S. Amateur by the United States Golf Association. . . .
When Sweetgrass Golf Club opens this summer in Harris, Mich., the Upper Peninsula will have three top-notch public courses. TimberStone in Iron Mountain and Greywalls in Marquette already are on many golfers' must-play lists.
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