If you want to add distance to your drives, creating an efficient and organized transition is crucial. This key moment in the swing influences how much speed and power you can transfer to the ball at impact.
Recently, Chris Como and Adam Schriber, both GOLF Top 100 Teachers, shared an insightful video on social media where they broke down an effective exercise that will help you understand how to use your feet to create more explosive power in your swing.
Try it on your own to start harnessing the ground and generate more distance off the tee.
A simple drill to powerload your transition
Start by holding a weighted ball close to your chest, keeping your elbows slightly bent. As you initiate the backswing, focus on rotating your upper body and hips while keeping the ball in place against your torso. This engages the muscles in your core, back and shoulders — critical areas for creating power in your swing. The key here is to resist using just your arms, which helps you activate the larger, stronger muscle groups needed for an efficient and powerful swing.
As you reach the top of your swing and prepare to transition into the downswing, Schriber says you should feel two things: your feet pressing into the ground and a separation between your upper and lower body.
“That initial dig in, or a smooth dig in through leveraging of your feet into the ground and a separation you can see that occurs with your pelvis and your upper torso, and that link should catch your core,” Schriber says.
By gripping the ground, your feet are creating a stable base for an explosive move. While the separation between your upper body and lower body creates the torque needed to transfer energy efficiently in the downswing.
As you reach the transition point, throw the ball down into the ground. You want it to land in the middle of your stance. This move mimics the release of your golf swing and helps you understand how your body rotation creates speed and power in the downswing.
“That ball will come right off your core with some explosion,” Schriber says.
Throwing the ball is also great for practicing a proper weight transfer — from your back foot to your front foot — as you generate power through the ground.
By practicing this drill regularly, you’ll strengthen the key muscle groups involved in generating clubhead speed like your core, legs and shoulders. Plus, the resistance (from the weighted ball) and explosive action (from the throw) will train your body to deliver more power and precision in your actual swing.
Add this drill to your practice routine and you’ll be able to generate more speed and power in no time.
