Tour-tested tips: Golf’s best players make the game look effortless. How do they do it? That’s what we wanted to find out. Luckily, these guys were more than willing to talk. We tracked down Billy Horschel to take us through his power drills.
BILLY HORSCHEL’S POWER DOS and DON’TS
DON’T: Let your arms outrun your body
Properly “loading” on my backswing is something I work on a lot. It′s what gives me my power. The big mistake for any player is allowing your arms to outrun your body as you swing to the top (below photo). When that happens to me, my tendency is to lift the club without turning.
There goes my power! When you do it, you′re probably going to throw the club out on the downswing. So not only will you suffer a serious loss of speed, you′ll send the ball wildly off line, since you′ve fallen off plane. It′s a double-whammy that you can′t afford.
DO: Steal my backswing power turn
I play my best when my body and arms are synced up. Everything’s working together to create a powerful turn. You can see in the photo below that my arm swing is a little bit shorter, which gives me more control, but it’s not costing me power because I’ve shifted my weight and have fully turned into my right hip. With my right side loaded I can swing down and through the ball with max speed, this time shifting my weight to my front side. Checkpoint: The triangle created by your arms and the club at address reappears at impact.
You want to feel a full rotation deep into your right hip at the top of your backswing. That’s where your power comes from.
DON’T: Cast the club with your arms
When golfers don’t sync their body with their arms, they often end up “casting” the club. It’s a move that costs you power and accuracy throughout the bag.
DO: Shift into gear
Loading your right side on your backswing frees your body and arms to move down and through the ball more naturally. You’ll start hitting crisper, more powerful shots.
