Many amateurs are so consumed with anxiety about the incremental parts of the golf swing (grip, alignment, posture, setup, etc.) that they lose sight of the overall objective, which is to strike the ball squarely and forcefully. Let me suggest a method to alleviate this anxiety: Focus on the finish.
To begin the downswing, I squat to create leverage. The squat disappears as my left leg straightens, however. This move creates tremendous power and speed.
If there’s an absolute truth in golf, it’s that the faster you can move
the clubhead, the greater the potential for extra distance. Granted,
you still need to make solid contact in the center of the face and with
the club moving on the proper plane, but all other things being equal,
more speed definitely means more yards. The big question is: Where does
speed come from? Your hands can move fairly quickly, and there’s no
faster part of your body than your fingers. But where the golf swing is
concerned, a fast clubhead almost always results from fast hips moving
correctly and in the proper direction.
The three components for proper hip movement–a critical component of a fundamentally solid downswing–are weight shift, a slight lateral slide and hip whip (the explosive rotation just before impact that generates power). Good players know how to mix these components in the proper proportion to achieve both maximum power and outstanding accuracy.
Each of my students completes a pre-instruction questionnaire,
indicating wants, needs and goals. I’ve used this questionnaire for 20
years, and easily the most oft-noted goal is “more distance with more
control.” Many of these golfers own sound fundamentals, solid iron
swings and good short games, but nonetheless lack the skill to
consistently produce pure and powerful drives. In your own attempts to
improve, does it seem like the harder you try to gain distance, the
worse it gets? Trust me, you’re not alone. I’m confident that learning
from four typical driving faults and comparing those to the moves of
golfers who hit it forever with a seemingly effortless flow of motion
will help you do the same.
Like a high-performance engine that stalls when it leaks oil, water or fuel, a golf swing comes to an idling stop when the potential energy created in the backswing is emptied well before impact. Here are three tips to help keep power from leaking out of your game and also add horsepower to your motion.
If your driving suffers from inconsistency and a lack of distance, you may be tied up with too many thoughts about swing mechanics. Free your mind at address and focus on a specific target in the fairway where you want the ball to land. Then let your natural instincts take over. Swing the clubhead to that target, making an athletic move through the ball.
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Golfers who possess the ability to hammer 300-yard drives like clockwork often talk about the importance of firing the right side through impact. That’s all well and good, but it’s also somewhat misleading. The right side doesn’t serve as an initiator in the downswing; it’s a reactor. The right side of the body doesn’t fire as such; it responds to a proper sequence of motion initiated by the left side.
Davis Love III is that rare breed of golfer who enters every tournament with a great chance to win. One of the reasons for this is his prowess with the driver. Last year, Love averaged 299 yards off the tee and notched a Total Driving ranking (accuracy plus distance) of 26, which fueled four wins and paychecks totaling $6 million. With such length off the tee, hitting greens in regulation–the most important scoring indicator–becomes a less daunting task.
There are many different ways to generate extra power in the golf swing, and here’s one of the best: create maximum extension of the arms at the top.
