Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
When you watch the pros play every week, you’ll see lots of different swings. Some are choppy and violent, while others are long and languid. Some are upright and some are flat. Some swing hard and bomb it, and others smooth it out there. Much like snowflakes, no two swings are exactly the same.
But while no two swings are carbon copies of one another, that doesn’t mean they don’t share similarities. In fact, among the best players in the world, there are certain characteristics they all share — even if they look a little different than each other.
In the video below, the good folks at the Titleist Performance Institute explain one such trait that all elite ball strikers share — and high handicappers tend to neglect.
One of the hallmarks of elite ball strikers is that they tend to generate ground reaction forces much earlier than higher handicappers.
— TPI (@MyTPI) February 3, 2025
If golfers apply force too late, it’s more difficult to translate it to the club. pic.twitter.com/eN7wEtY8Es
1 trait elite ball strikers share
One of the popular buzz-word phrases in golf instruction is “ground reaction forces.” This is simply talking about how golfers push off the ground during their swing.
Ground reaction forces are important because they help golfers create clubhead speed and power in their swing. Also, the way players use the ground during the swing has a huge impact on their sequencing and, as a result, their ball striking.
When the folks at TPI analyze high-level players, they tend to see that they start using the ground much earlier in the swing than their high-handicap counterparts.
“In general, your students are too late,” the presenter says. “When do I want it? As early as possible.”
A lot of times, high-handicap players are trying to push into the ground to create more speed. However, they start the process far too late during the downswing and the force does not have enough time to be tranferred into the clubhead.
“It takes time for the forces to make you move,” he says. “So if you start doing it and the club is down here, there’s not enough time and those ground reaction forces don’t matter.”
Next time you’re trying to work on using the ground more, try to start the process earlier in your downswing. Chances are, you’ll be able to generate lots more power this way.
