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Living Golf
Six Thousand Calories in the Name of Golf?; From Man to Machine; Fitness Helps Golfers Stay on Top
Aired November 08, 2014 - 02:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SHANE O'DONOGHUE, CNN HOST (voice-over): From the top pros down to the amateur player, the desire to gain more distance on the golf course
consumes us all. It's a far cry from the brassies, spoons, mashies and niblicks that our ancestors used to play with.
We live in a brave new almost virtual world of titanium and graphite, fork and flex, launch angles and spin rates. Advancements in equipment means
there's perhaps less finesse in today's game. Whether it's good or bad, you can't help but smile when this new technology not to hit it further and
straighter than ever before.
This month on LIVING GOLF we join the masses of golfers in that search for those elusive extra few yards.
We meet long drive champion Joe Miller to find his secrets in hitting 400 yards plus.
JOE MILLER, LONG DRIVE CHAMPION (voice-over): The technology behind this is just what you'd buy (INAUDIBLE) off the shelf sort of stuff, apart from
the fact that this head actually comes within 2.5 degrees. Yes, this is less loft than your putter in your golf bag.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): We catch up with top pro Camilo Villegas to see how much fitness plays a part in today's power game.
CAMILO VILLEGAS, COLOMBIAN PRO GOLFER (voice-over): I mean, there are some guys out there that are killing it, guys that are a lot bigger, stronger
than me and generate a lot more power, a lot more speed and it helps.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): And we look at the never-ending development of club technology.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We often say it's not rocket science. Actually, some of the guys who work for these brands are NASA scientists and they can do
some incredible things with modern materials that are out there.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): It's 8:00 am and Joe Miller is about to begin another busy day. The English man will soon travel to Las Vegas to try to
reclaim the REMAX World Long Drive Championship that he last won in 2010. It's time to amp up his training regime.
First up, breakfast: part of a 7,000-calorie daily diet.
MILLER: Lots of (INAUDIBLE) day-to-day nutrition will be steak and eggs for breakfast. After that, a midmorning snack would be a lot of protein
shake. Lunch would be chicken and rice or some sort of a chicken, potatoes and something like that. Again, another shake after that. And to finish
off the dinner would be probably another steak, steak and vegetables. It depends on how heavy the day is in terms of workload, maybe one more shake
to finish off the rest of the day.
But normally about six or seven meals throughout the whole day.
The long drive guys are the extreme side of golf. You got what the golfers do with their routines and their programs and their training. And then
you've got what the long drive guys do and what I do, which is just take it to the max with nutrition, with training. And it's just that little bit
more extreme than what the guys on tour do.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Such is the fascination with the power game now that players who fail to make the grade as a professional can still earn a
great living from long drive tours, sponsorship and exhibitions.
Joe is one of the biggest and most marketable stars in this facet of the game. His nickname's "The Total Package." And it's easy to see why.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): What happened back in the warm-up tees? Let's see. You can see the ball speed at 210. He might have just nicked
it a hair. Oh, there it is. (INAUDIBLE). There it goes.
He loves it, 413 yards for Joe Miller.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): At 6'4" and 266 lbs, Miller has the ideal physique you need for the long ball game. But still, the gym beckons.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).
MILLER (voice-over): This is a real test off the run field type event, you know, who can hit the golf ball the longest and it's the same when you walk
into a gym, who can bench press, who can (INAUDIBLE), who can swat the most.
So if you're not training, if you're not in the gym, then you can bet your life that one of the other guys is doing that what you aren't doing. You
know, it's so you've got to be able to time. It's a massive (INAUDIBLE). It's all about power.
And there's two things that's going to make you hit a golf ball a long way, and one is technique and two is speed. Now how it comes in when it comes
to producing speed, absolutely. It's not the (INAUDIBLE) technique then the speed is irrelevant because the ball's going to go wherever it wants
to. So you need two things. You need a good technique and a lot of speed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, Joe, do it. Three, two, one. (INAUDIBLE).
MILLER (voice-over): If I didn't do the golf, then I'll be doing something in the gym. And if I didn't do the gym, then I'll dedicate a lot more time
to the golf. But as it is, my career, my living is basically both combined. So I love both worlds.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Last but not least, practice at his local club, Brocket Hall.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): For Joe and Coach Lee Cox, it's all about nudging up those all-important numbers.
LEE COX, COACH (voice-over): The numbers he's producing, no one's bettered. So what we're doing is checking, trying things, getting all the
latest information we can do to try and get the extra mile down. Is he at the limit of what the human can do with a golf club? Maybe. Maybe there's
two or three miles an hour more, we don't know.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Joe, what is the pleasure that you get out of hitting the ball these enormous distances?
MILLER: Exactly that. It's doing something that 99 percent of golfers can't do, you know, the ball's in the air for 9-12 seconds and you can sit
there and watch it and watch it and watch it and it's just -- it's an unbelievable feeling whenever it comes down, be it in the trees or on the
golf course. If it flew to the back of the green, it's an awesome feeling.
O'DONOGHUE: Joe, for most amateur golfers, it's a quick and simple tips on how to drive farther and longer.
MILLER: I've got a couple. Number one, we need to see the ball up, you know, a lot of guys hit very low and it just causes the wrong missile of
angles into effect. So for me, tee the ball up, number one. Move it forward in the stance a bit more. OK, so more on your left shoulder as
opposed to in the middle. And what we'll try to do is actually try to hit on the out part of the swing.
You know, with a 9, you hit down on it and it gives you backspin. For a driver, we're trying to reduce the backspin. So we've teed it up forward,
hit it on the up. It's going to launch it better and reduce the backspin and that's going to send it a long way.
O'DONOGHUE: Joe Miller, practice what you preach.
(LAUGHTER)
MILLER: (INAUDIBLE).
O'DONOGHUE: I think that's still in the air.
(LAUGHTER)
MILLER: (INAUDIBLE) out there.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): For more exclusive content and to see how our online team got on in a head-to-head with Joe on the range, visit
cnn.com/golf.
We've seen what golfers can do. But what about their tools? After the break, we hit the fast lane in search of the latest innovations in the
power game.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): The search for more power dominates the game today. But that desire for more distance isn't anything new.
Until the 20th century, club making was very much a cottage industry. Hickory shaft and leather balls called featheries limited any real
advancement. The introduction of a more durable rubber gutta-percha ball in the late 1800s and stronger steel shafts a few decades later
revolutionized the game.
Innovations such as the one-piece rubber core wound ball grew to irons and persimmon woods all pushed golf's boundaries further.
In the 1960s, casting allowed for mass produced affordable clubs. By the '70s, the first graphite shaft meant lighter and stronger clubs could be
made. The first two-piece ball created greater control. Then to top it all, the invention of the metal driver would spell the beginning of the end
of persimmon woods. The floodgates were well and truly opened. Fast forward to today.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Go to any golf superstore and you'll find a mass of big-headed drivers, forged irons and core compressed golf balls. Each
manufacturer promising greater distance, accuracy and control and all making a very convincing sales pitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): So 460's a titanium head with a turn and a half of green loft on it. It has the turbulate (ph) on the top of the
crown and the class which helps to putt the more aerodynamic. It also has the ability to full adjust the loft from 9 all the way through to 12
degrees of loft. It's a 460 titanium head and face with a carbon composite crown. We also have a weight on the bottom of the club which we can make
more draw and (INAUDIBLE). So we reduce the weight in the top of the club for a larger center of gravity so we can get a high launch and low backspin
for longer, straighter drives.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): With golf equipment sales equaled over $2.5 billion last year, it's no surprise to find a fever-pitched industry out
there. Leading brands make star marketable players huge sums to promote their products all to entice the humble golfer into believing that their
piece of kit will make all the difference.
MIKE HARRIS, EDITOR, "GOLF MONTHLY": I think golf is really focused on playing better and enjoying the game and a big part of enjoying the game is
hitting the ball a long way.
When we see guys like Rory and Tiger, some of the really big hitters, really getting it out there, you know, Bubba's driver at the Masters 330-
odd yards around the corner at the 15th hole, we want to be able to do that, definitely. Our desire to hit the ball further I think underpins a
lot of driver sales. So if manufacturers are able to offer us greater distance but also greater forgiveness, then I think that's a winning
combination for golfers who are, might say they're gullible but equally they just want to play and enjoy the game more.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): With such a lucrative merchandise market out there, more and more brands want in on the action. Now even Formula 1 is
joining the race. Few teams have a richer history than the Williams F1 team. A wealth of experience and knowledge in design and performance that
they think they can bring to golf club technology.
CHRIS MURRAY, HEAD OF MARKETING, WILLIAMS: I think what Williams brings to golf is not necessarily a scale or a marketing budget on a scene a bit,
like Nike or Callaway would have. But certainly the technological capabilities that we have, the skills that we have in aerodynamics, the
skills that we have in lightweight structures, in CFE, enable us to contribute to a product that maybe is putting it in a slightly different
fashion to make it a more useful product, to make it a more successful product in a way that may be the other organizations aren't necessarily
moving.
RICARDO GALI, CEO, WILLIAMS RACING GOLF: In terms of understanding a problem, one of the things (INAUDIBLE) told me not long ago when I asked
him how did you manage to make such a good golf clubs in the first run, he replied, well, golf club has three pieces basically and Formula 1 car has
72,000 parts. And we risk the life of the test if you do something wrong. So that's particularly easy for us. And you just have to smile.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): This is the world's new clubs are now developed in, in laboratories and wind tunnels that are constantly searching for the
next advancement in the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): I think the feature of golf equipment design very much lies on the innovation, the R&D experts. I don't think
you'll see the jumps in performance that perhaps we've had over the last five or 10 years. It'll be about small incremental gains, I think, using
things like weight positioning within the club, using aerodynamics to help just increase the club head speed a bit, which in turn will increase its
distance.
I think the materials again, the manufacturers who are using, there's probably something out there, space-age sort of technology or material that
will help. Surely R&D guys will keep on looking to try and produce product that will perform even better but within the rules of golf.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Coming up, we find out what the top pros need to do today to keep up with the competition.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Golf looks a whole lot different than it did two centuries ago. Our generation has witnessed huge changes in the way the
game is played. Check out the driving stance on the PGA and LPGA tours. And even since 1990, the trend is clear.
While equipment technology has been instrumental in this upward curve, it's not the only factor. In today's power game, golfers have to be athletes.
In Florida, tour pro Camilo Villegas has fitted out a state-of-the-art workout room in his home to keep ahead of the game.
The Colombian is part of a new breed of player who finds the gym is just as important as the range.
VILLEGAS (voice-over): When I moved to this house, this was probably the place that had by far the most process. I had a computer with all the
pictures of the machines and everything, all the measurements of them, how I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to be efficient.
It's great, man. I wake up, roll out of bed, have breakfast, (INAUDIBLE) of Colombian coffee and then get in here and do my work.
How good can this gym make me as a golfer? It's passion. It's my lifestyle and it's what I do.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): At 5'9" and 160 lbs, Villegas isn't supposedly built the long game. But today's fitness craze has leveled the playing
field and the yard is sharp. With an average driving distance of 292.5 yards, Camilo punches way above his weight, ranking 68th on the PGA Tour.
For him and every pro out there, it's about finding a balance between power and precision.
VILLEGAS (voice-over): My first year I was making top 10 driving distance. When you look at the numbers right now you know we're near the front. Man,
there's still guys out there that are killing it and they -- guys that are a lot bigger, stronger than me and generate a lot more power, a lot more
speed. And it helps.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Villegas made an immediate impact when he turned pro in 2004. With good looks, charm and talent aplenty, Camilo soon became
a star in the game. He reached number 7 in the world. But in 2011, his game began to unravel. Time to reflect and refocus.
VILLEGAS (voice-over): There were times when you go like, man, I'm not enjoying this game. I don't know. I'm going to go practice and do I
really pack my bag and go play three weeks in a row? And then you go and give them this, and then you miss (INAUDIBLE) and it's OK, now what? Do I
go home? Do I stay here?
It's a cruel game. I mean, I'm not complaining. It's given me way too many good things and I'll keep working. I'll keep challenging myself.
I'll keep trying to get better.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Proof that hard work pays off, Villegas returned to form this year with a much needed victory at the Windom Championship on
the PGA Tour.
Still ranked out of the world's top 100, he has a way to go. One thing's for sure, it won't be for the lack of trying.
VILLEGAS (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) talent is something where you can go and where you can go. And you just push yourself. You work hard. You set
goals, trying yourself to a pump and that's in my life since I started playing golf when I was 8 years old. I always liked the challenge and I
guess at the end of the day, nothing has changed.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Just a few miles from Villegas' home is the gym of Joey Diovisalvi, golf's most pioneering fitness coach.
JOEY DIOVISALVI, GOLF FITNESS COACH (voice-over): Golf fitness for me happened 16 years ago and I started to get very inquisitive about here is
at the most complex way I've ever studied and I don't really understand why we are not adapting to the American baseball methodology of movement,
biomechanics, the forces of gravity.
Why are golfers so fearful to progress when they weren't fearful to change equipment?
I was very motivated to create something that I thought was necessary at the time to grow the game.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Strength and conditioning coaches are now as important as a swing coach in a player's entourage. With Diovisalvi in
their corner, players from his gym have won over 30 times around the world, most notably, Vijay Singh, who became number 1 in the world a decade ago,
thanks in part to Joey D's training methods.
With that record, there's no shortage of willing and able students.
DIOVISALVI (voice-over): They come to me to understand if I get stronger, will I understand how to use this strength? Will it affect my game. And
now we see less fear. We see more aggressive behavior, like I'm ready to do this. I'm not afraid. They see their peers like Rory and Tiger. They
are not afraid of sport science anymore and we've had a great opportunity to see many pros, many swings, many bodies and really make it individual
but yet it sticks.
O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): There's no doubt the score on your card is the number that matters most. But for the pros, at least, it's driving
distance that has become the common denominator.
DIOVISALVI (voice-over): Let's be honest. If you're a player that's hitting it 260, you really are going to struggle. You're probably not
going to be able to compete. So I think therein lies the answer. You look at your stats as a professional athlete and how do you compete.
Well, if you're always being outdriven by 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 yards, you'd better get in the game. And there is now a way to do that. There is a
vehicle for professionals and for amateurs and recreational players to get there.
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O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Whether the power game has helped or hindered golf is open to debate. Many golf courses have been forced to lengthen to
keep up with greater driving distances. And with obvious environmental repercussions. The world's governing bodies are continually monitoring
developments and they're enforcing strict guidelines on both club and ball design.
When all is said and done, technological advancements for amateurs, at least, have made the game much more exciting and that really can't be such
a bad thing -- OK? Here we are at the home of golf, St. Andrews, the 18th tee. Let's see if we can drive the green.
Not too bad.
For all of us here on LIVING GOLF, until next time, goodbye.
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