How Cameron Champ Hits The Ball So Far

The young American is the longest hitter on Tour right now

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The young American is the longest hitter on Tour right now

How Cameron Champ Hits The Ball So Far

Cameron Champ burst onto the worldwide scene recently with his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

The 23-year-old Californian is part of a new breed of young, athletic golfers who smash the ball miles, with Champ averaging over 328 yards off the tee this season to rank 1st in driving distance.

That's nothing on last season though, as he averaged an incredible 343 yards on the Web.com Tour to unsurprisingly top the driving distance stats there too.

Champ was a full 10 yards ahead of 2nd place and 18 yards longer than 2017's Web.com Tour biggest hitter.

Here are his yardages with each club:

Videos of Champ were popular on social media at the RSM Classic where he hit a seven iron 221 yards.

WATCH: Champ hits 7 iron 221 yards at the RSM Classic:

What's more incredible is the fact that he's not 6ft 5 with muscles popping out of his shirt, he is 6ft and relatively slim.

Watch Champ's swing in slo-mo:

So, how does he hit it so far? Quite simply, great technique.

Below, GM Top 25 coach Ged Walters looks at Cameron Champ's power moves -

Takeaway/Backswing

Champ has a nice and wide takeaway with his arms extended and very little wrist movement.

He allows the club to move up on the original shaft plane from the address position.

His hips turn unrestricted with his tailbone turning to face towards the target, this allows his trail leg to straighten and his lead leg increases the knee flex.

He continues to the top of the backswing with his torso making a huge turn while retaining the tilt and extension of the spine.

His hands are nice and high at the top.

Want to increase your distance? These are aspects that you can hopefully replicate.

Downswing/finish

On the downswing, Champ's hips unwind with incredible speed.

His belt buck faces the target by the time the shaft is parallel to the ground.

From this point his lower body does nothing more until post impact and it's time for the upper body to do its work.

Champ shallows the shaft exceptionally which allows his arms and the club to be almost catapulted into impact.

The club exits around the body below his shoulders as he completes his swing in perfect balance.

You can follow Ged Walters on Twitter and Instagram.

Expand 10 Tour Pro Ball Striking Tips

tour pro ball striking tips

10 Tour Pro Ball Striking Tips

Need help with your ball striking? Here are…

Expand 7 Tour Pro Iron Play Tips

iron play tips

7 Tour Pro Iron Play Tips

European Tour pro Connor Syme gives us his top…

Expand Tiger Woods Golf Swing Analysis

Tiger Woods swing anaylsis

Tiger Woods Golf Swing Analysis

How technically sound is Tiger Woods' new action?…

Expand 4 Putting Drills Guaranteed To Lower Your Scores

putting drills

4 Putting Drills Guaranteed To Lower Your Scores

Struggling with confidence on the greens?

Expand 10 Ways To Hit The Ball Further

10 Ways To Hit The Ball Further

10 Ways To Hit The Ball Further

Here are 10 simple ways you can hit…

For all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels

TOPICS
Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!

Elliott is currently playing:

Driver: Titleist TSR4

3 wood: Titleist TSi2

Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1

Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5

Ball: Srixon Z Star XV