The post A step-by-step guide for hitting longer drives with a faster backswing appeared first on Golf.

The post A step-by-step guide for hitting longer drives with a faster backswing appeared first on Golf.

Research proves that a smaller ratio between the time it takes you to complete your backswing and your downswing is what creates extra speed and power. But you can’t simply make a faster swing. The trick is to add force on the way back so you can use it on the way down.

Check out below for a step-by-step guide for training yourself to produce a faster backswing.

How to make a faster backswing

Starting your swing is not an action-less event. Like an NFL linebacker bracing to move prior to the snap, you need to start the force creation process even before the club swings back. If you watch elite players or those on the long-drive circuit in slow motion, you’ll see them settle into address [1], then subtly lean into their front leg and foot [2]. Creating this front-side pressure better allows them to push onto their trail side as they physically take the club back [3]. The pressure creation continues to the point where you feel the resultant force moving straight up through your sternum [4].

Even in these photos you can appreciate the dynamism of a power-producing backswing. Your whole nervous system is working. Keep in mind that this pushing down on both feet is not a “swaying” move, and every big hitter does it. 

It’s like riding a bike: You don’t get the bike moving by simply pedaling — you apply downward force like mad with both feet.

A drill for instant force creation

Focusing on moving the clubhead first as you start your takeaway is a big no-no when it comes to adding speed and power. The handle goes first — a dynamic pulling motion that begins with the left-right ground forces mentioned above. 

A good way to feel and ingrain the needed motions is to make practice swings with the Drag-N-Fly, ($199; tourtempo.com), or by simply wrapping a golf towel around the clubhead on the most flexible shaft you own. 

As you can see, I’ve started my takeaway by pulling on the handle to the point where the towel snaps straight (which wouldn’t happen if you simply lifted the club or immediately hinged your wrists). The goal is to keep the towel straight for as long as possible until you reach the top, where gravity eventually causes it to hang straight down. 

Think of the clubhead as being heavy or how you’d swing a sledgehammer. It’s the same thing in golf: resistance at the start with the handle moving before the head.

The dos and don’ts

When a golfer with an average backswing time (1.5 seconds) starts to speed up, it will feel wild, like going from driving a truck to a Ferrari. At first you’ll be all over the road, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it. 

Keep in mind that as you practice the moves on the previous pages and the dos and don’ts you see here, swinging slow may give you the illusion of control, but nearly all athletic endeavors require the athlete to give up control. The club is simply moving too fast for you to control it consciously. That’s actually a relief, since a faster/higher-force backswing requires less thinking! Players who think their way through the swing typically end up swinging slower, but, by getting the club moving faster, they become more athletic, and their conscious mind will have less control (a good thing). 

Copy what you see here and you’ll feel your backswing force and speed creation skyrocket. A longer, faster and better you awaits.

Setup and takeaway

Addressing the ball by pre-shifting your weight over to your trail leg is simply a cheat. You’d be better served by setting up with more weight on your front side so that you can dynamically shift back and begin generating needed force. As you start back, avoid any type of early hinge. The handle moves first, not the clubhead.

Arm structure

Getting the handle to travel farther is a huge force creation and speed key. Unduly bending your arms (far left) or hinging your wrists limits your swing radius and saps power. Try a stronger grip pressure and have the feeling that the grip is moving more than the clubhead.

Posture

We’ve all been told to “stay in posture” during the backswing. Doing so is an absolute speed killer. Staying in posture basically means you’re not moving dynamically, which means you’re not creating needed force.

Elite golfers and power hitters push off the ground so hard in their backswing that they lose their posture. Perfect, as long as you maintain the spine angle (tilt toward the ground) established at address.

John Novosel Jr. is the co-founder of Tour Tempo and is based out of Lawrence, Kan.

Jon Tattersall is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the co-founder of Fusion ATL in Atlanta, Ga.

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So you’re looking to gain a few extra yards off the tee? Join the club. There’s not a single skill in the game more sought after than power with the driver.

Not only does extra power wow your playing partners (and give you some bragging rights in the grill room), it also makes shooting lower scores markedly easier. As advanced analytics have shown us, the closer you are to the green, the fewer strokes you’ll need to hole out.

Fitness and speed training will surely help in your crusade for increased ball speed, but there’s another way to pack some additional punch in your swing, and all it takes is a few key swing changes. If you can make your swing a bit more efficient, you’ll see yardage gains without ever needing to visit the gym.

On a recent trip out to GOLFTEC headquarters in Englewood, Colo., I got a chance to meet with their Director of Teaching Quality, Josh Troyer. During our chat, he shared three key swing mistakes he sees students make that cost them power off the tee.

3 power leaks in your swing

Mistake 1: Bending too far back in the backswing

When pros make their backswings, they do a great job of staying in their posture as they turn to the top. With weekend warriors though? Not so much.

“The best players start with about 40 degrees of forward shoulder bend at address,” Troyer says. “At the top of the backswing, they’re typically just two degrees back from that starting position.”

If you don’t maintain your posture during the backswing — and instead stand up — it makes it much harder to complete a full turn. And when you do this, you’ll tend to lift your arms (instead of turning) to complete your backswing. This is a power leak that will cost you tons of yards off the tee.

Mistake 2: Limited shoulder turn

Mistake No. 2 goes hand in hand with the mistake outlined above. GOLFTEC data shows that the average Tour player turns their shoulders about 88 degrees closed at the top of the backswing. But for recreational players, the number is typically in the mid-70s.

“A smaller turn makes it harder to create power and limits how far your hands can move behind you, which reduces swing depth,” Troyer says.

Want more power? Make sure you’re making a full turn to the top of the backswing.

Mistake 3: Staying too far down through impact

Ever heard someone suggest that you “keep your head down” through impact? As it turns out, that’s actually terrible advice.

When Tour pros get through impact (shaft parallel to the ground), they have tilted their shoulders back about five degrees. In comparison, recreational players are usually still tilted forward about five to 10 degrees.

“This upward motion [extension] helps elevate the club and keeps the grip moving fast,” Troyer says. “Keeping your head and chest pointed down makes it really hard to generate speed.”

If you want to get some expert insights into your swing — and hopefully add some power of your own — book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC below.

GOLFTEC Swing Evaluation

Shop GOLFTEC’s biggest sale of the year with up to 25% off a swing evaluation.

$95 (regularly 125) from www.golftec.com

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The post Hit your longest drives ever with these tips from a major champion appeared first on Golf.

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Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back at a piece from our February 2014 issue when Gary Woodland shared some tips on how to smash driver. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

Hitting the ball long is more important now than ever before. If you can’t blast your driver in the neighborhood of 300 yards, you have little chance to compete at the highest level.

In the recreational game, it’s not quite as important to belt long drives, but if you can, it makes the game a heck of a lot easier. Plus, when you outdrive your peers, you’ve got license for bragging rights in your regular game.

If you’re someone who’s looking to add some yards to your drives this season, it’d be wise to listen to the pros. Below, we’ve repackaged a piece that GOLF Magazine ran over a decade ago featuring Gary Woodland. Read it and you’ll learn how to smash the ball with ease.

Smash your driver like Gary Woodland

What it is: The way to add swing speed using your stance and swing width. Get yards without yanks. 

What it does: Creates width at every stage of your motion, helping you store precious miles per hour instead of wasting them before impact. 

How to do it: Easy! Copy the moves below — the same ones that have upped my driving distance average to more than 312 yards in 2014, It’s not just me talking. It’s science: The wider you make your swing, the faster the clubhead will travel.

1. Widen your stance

One of the biggest mistakes I see weekend players make is that they set up with their feet too close together — often barely shoulder-width apart. With a narrow base like that, you lose balance and fall backward through impact, especially when you try to swing fast. When I want to drive the ball really far, I take my normal stance — which is fairly wide to begin with — then move my right foot to the right about six inches. This adjustment gives me a more stable base for improved balance and sets me up to trace the widest arc possible. This is a good thing, because wide arcs give you more time to add speed. My timing also seems to improve with a wider stance.

2. Slow your backswing

I make my most deliberate takeaway possible. It’s a timing issue for me — the slower I start, the more potential speed I can build into my swing. I think of it as a gradual building up of energy, not a quick pull to the top. Keeping it slow also helps me extend my arms so I can max out the width of my swing. When I rush my move away from the ball, I get shorter arms and a narrower arc, which limits how much speed I can release on my downswing. I also have a very hard time making a full shoulder turn or a good transition at the top when I’m rushing. Think of your backswing as a way to store energy — don’t use it all up at the start.

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You don’t have to look far for a power tip. Players have always been obsessed with hitting the ball longer—whether you’re a club player, competitive junior, Tour pro or World Long Drive competitor. The problems come when you pick from the huge buffet of information and apply something that’s incorrect, incomplete or out of context — meaning it doesn’t work for your body or swing. You try things that seem sound and helpful, but they’re actually holding you back.

It’s time to tackle five of the biggest power myths and give you the real swing intelligence that will help you ramp up your ball speed this season. Check ‘em out below.

Myth No. 1: Calmness and focus produces best results

It stands to reason that following a calming routine that gets you ready to play and focused on a key swing thought would give you the best chance at a good drive. But that attitude puts a permanent cap on your clubhead speed. You’ll always be playing with a governor.

The reality is that a power swing with the driver is different than a precision swing with an iron, and it needs to be treated differently. When you want to hit long tee shots, you have to ramp up your intensity, not tamp it down.

My student Kyle Berkshire has won three World Long Drive Championships, and he’s swinging 170 miles per hour with a heart rate well over 150 beats per second in competition. That’s obviously extreme, but your goal should be to get more keyed up and energized for a big drive, not calmer and more under control.

Even if you don’t do specific speed training, just making a series of more aggressive practice swings will help get your body primed for speed instead of staying tight and measured.

Myth No. 2: You need to “stay connected”

If there was a power myth hall of fame, “connection” would be one of the first inductees. There are lots of tips out there scolding players for letting the trail elbow move away from the body in the backswing. Jack Nicklaus even caught grief for having a “flying elbow” while also being one of the longest hitters of his era. Instead of actively trying to keep your arms near your torso.

I want you to work on making a backswing with more stretch in your arms. This stretch helps increase the total travel of the club in your swing, which gives you more time to produce speed. What does this look like? If you stopped going back with your arms waist high, your trail arm should have to extend to reach the first part of the shaft where the grip ends. 

When I started working with Ryan McCormick, he had a relatively narrow stance and a narrow backswing, and he was certainly well below average in terms of horsepower. By adding some width with this concept (and doing a lot of work in the gym), he gained more than 20 miles per hour of ball speed and made it to the PGA Tour.

Let those arms stretch and don’t be afraid to add some speed to your backswing early to build up energy and momentum.

Myth No. 3: You need more turn

Think of the concept of backswing turn as you would a bottle of vitamins: There’s a recommended dose and timing and a point where doing more doesn’t give any more benefit and is actually harmful.

Players tend to turn too early and too much in the backswing, which immediately pulls the arms and club behind them. The arms don’t lift enough, and the body’s center of mass stays on the lead side. From there, you’ve effectively made the club heavier, introducing timing challenges and shutting off a lot of your speed potential.

Instead of turning everything together, use some of the stretch we talked about in Myth No. 2. Take the club back with a bit of shoulder turn and more arm lift. Leave your hips to simply respond to what your shoulders and arms do. This is easy to check by sliding an alignment stick through the front belt loops on your pants. You’ll be loading into your trail side without excessive lower body motion and without letting your trail arm and shoulder dip lower and underneath.

By the time your arms get to waist height going back, the stick should still be at almost the same alignment it was at address, meaning your shoulders have turned and your arms have lifted but your hips have pretty much stayed square. If you can wait until the club passes your trail thigh before letting the lower body start to wind, you’re going to have your upper and lower body working together in the right way to produce power.

Myth No. 4: You have to shallow the club

This one is definitely having its moment on social media these days. The general idea: You need to actively shallow the club to a flatter swing plane at the start of the downswing to make sure you don’t come over the top and cut across the ball.

The problem: When most players try to shallow, they lower the trail shoulder too early and the club gets heavy and stuck behind them. Not only does this not solve the underlying issue with your swing, but it can also lead to injury from adding side bend to your downswing rotation.

Instead of thinking about shallowing the club with your hands and dipping the trail shoulder, focus your attention on your lead side. Make your lead shoulder move slightly downward in the early downswing. This will do two important things: improve your swing path and put you in a more supported position where you can effectively use the ground to get more energy into the club.

If you’re tilted back and the club is stuck, you can’t get that early push around transition that good players use.

Myth No. 5: Hit up on the ball to launch big drives

Big-headed drivers with long shafts make it tempting to set up with the ball far forward in your stance and lots of tilt in your shoulders to really launch it. But that combination of setup elements tends to promote clubface contact that’s the opposite of explosive — impact low on the face while the face is open. That’s a distance-killing combination of more backspin and more sidespin, and a recipe for lots of shots high, short and right (for a right-hander).

Great launch comes from a slightly upward strike where the clubhead stays in the hitting zone longer and you’re catching the ball in the center.

for this, set up to a ball that’s lined up just inside your lead heel, with two other tees in front of it at the same height at one-inch intervals on the target line. Your goal is to smash the ball on the tee and clip both of the other tees with your swing, promoting a more neutral swing path, solid contact and maximum speed.

You’ll have a better chance of catching the ball on the fastest part of the face while the face is square. That’s how elite players get such a strong smash factor — the ratio between clubhead speed and ball speed. How close can you get to 1.5?

Bernie Najar is a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and is the director of instruction at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.

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“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” You might remember Newton’s third law of motion from your high school physics class, but what does it have to do with the golf swing?

This fundamental concept for mechanics also relates to ground reaction force, which is a key to creating power in the golf swing. 

In the simplest terms, it works like this: as you swing, you apply force to the ground and the ground pushes back with an equal and opposite amount of force. This action and reaction is what allows you to transfer the energy from your feet and legs into your hands and, as a result, the club. 

Therefore, the harder you can push into the ground, the more the ground will push back. Delivering more energy to the clubhead and producing a more powerful strike. That’s why understanding how to apply pressure in your swing is such a huge asset if you want to add power and distance.

While it might seem straightforward, it can be a challenging concept to learn and adapt to your own motion — especially if you’ve had the same swing for a long period of time. 

However, with the right training aid, you can unlearn some bad habits and teach yourself how to properly apply force in your swing. Check out a few options below to find the right device for you to start developing a more efficient and powerful move.

Force Board Pro

The Force Board Pro is a dual sided adaptive training platform. Improve balance and stability and increase ground reaction forces with the Force Board platform and attachments. Use the Force Board Pro with the SuperSpeed App for a guided training experience for faster swing speeds and longer drives. What’s in the box? Force Board Platform (30″L x 18″W x .5″D) Green circle attachment x 2 Gray oval attachment x 2 Red tri-circle x 2 Yellow peg x 8 Force Board Carrying Bag The Force Board Platform is big enough to accommodate all clubs including driver stance width and has minimal raise off the ground so you can easily hit balls off of it. *Patent pending Includes lifetime access to all Level 1 protocols in the SuperSpeed App for iOS and Android. Upgrade to Premium for even more protocols and get a custom training program!

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This dual-sided, adaptive platform is a great option for serious players, swing nerds and DIY golfers. It comes with 10 attachments that can be placed on the top and bottom of the board, giving you complete control over your practice sessions. Experiment on your own or use expert instruction in the SuperSpeed App to learn how to position the attachments to train various aspects of your swing like stability, pressure and ground reaction forces. You’ll also find in-depth assessments, lab-tested biomechanical drills and guided training programs in the app that you can use to develop a more powerful golf swing. 

Power Shift Board

Introducing the Power Shift Board, the new golf swing trainer designed to help you perfect your weight shift in the golf swing and unlock your true power on the course!

$99.99 from Fairway Jockey

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If you appreciate a simpler approach or have an auditory learning style, the Power Shift Board is a great pick for you. It helps players practice pushing into the ground, making a proper weight shift, and sequencing their swing. With a spring-loaded mechanism on one side, the board provides instant, auditory feedback by clicking when enough force is applied, helping golfers learn when to push into the ground and shift their pressure forward before starting down. 

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If I’ve written it once, I’ve written it a hundred times — everyone will improve with more distance off the tee. The closer you are to the hole, the fewer strokes it will take to hole out. It’s just a fact.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for adding power with the driver. Every golf swing is different so there’s no guarantee that what works for one person will work for another. It’s all about finding the method that works for you and dedicating yourself to improving in that regard.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from what others are doing. In fact, if you want to add swing speed, you’d be wise to take a look at the swings of some of the longest bombers in the world.

Thanks to OptiMotion technology from our friends at GOLFTEC, we can compare the swings of the best players in the world and look for similarities in their swings that we can learn from. And in the text below, Nick Clearwater, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher and GOLFTEC’s Senior Vice President of Player Development, explains a key swing move that helps the best in the world generate power.

The key power move

I’ve analyzed thousands of swings during my coaching career, and one move that always helps generate more power is lengthening the backswing. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, yes and no.

It’s not just a matter of making your swing longer that helps you hit it farther. It’s about how you use your body to make this lengthening easier. Confused? Let me explain.

The key element for lengthening your swing comes by pulling your shoulder back and opening up your chest. Doing this makes your upper body more rotational, making it easier to turn and consequently make a longer swing.

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If we look at some of the best drivers of the golf ball in the game — think Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau — their upper spine is extended well beyond zero degrees at the top of the swing. When we look at short-hitters, though, they are usually bent forward between 25 and 40 degrees more at the top of the swing than those bombers.

So, how can you teach yourself to be more like Rory and Bryson? Start by learning how it feels to have your shoulders in this position.

Start by standing straight up and pull your shoulders back while aiming your chest to the sky. Not everyone has the same flexibility and mobility, but that’s OK. Just do it as much as you can. The same feeling should exist in the follow through, too. And it helps you move the grip upward at impact which is a huge element of every powerful swing.

It might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but stick with it. If you can incorporate this move into your swing, you’ll be well on your way to belting longer drives.

If you want to learn how to do this move from a coach, book a swing evaluation with GOLFTEC here.

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The post How to use a smooth tempo to generate power — just like Ernie Els appeared first on Golf.

The post How to use a smooth tempo to generate power — just like Ernie Els appeared first on Golf.

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we go back into the archive to our June 1995 issue where we published a story on Ernie Els’ smooth — and powerful — swing. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

There are some swings in golf that just look smooth. Think Jake Knapp. Fred Couples. Nelly Korda. Sam Snead. All of these swings are as graceful as they are effective, and they’re the moves that many of us aspire to copy. Best of all, these swings aren’t just smooth — they’re also powerful.

One of the first-ballot hall-of-famers in the smooth tempo discipline is Ernie Els. The big South African carved out a heck of a career gaming his smooth and powerful move, and it even earned him the nickname “The Big Easy.”

Back in June of 1995, ahead of his U.S. Open title defense, GOLF Magazine ran a feature on many admirable elements of Els’ swing. One such portion focused on his envy-inducing tempo and powerful driving, broken down by legendary instructor Jim Flick. Check it out below.

How to swing like The Big Easy

Watch Ernie Els swing a golf club and you can’t help but think of a taller version of Sam Snead. Perhaps no one since Snead has owned such an explosive, yet graceful swing. Like Snead, Els nears perfection in his balance and timing. Everything is in the right place at the right time without a hint of excess effort at any point from start to finish.

At the tender age of 25, Els has already harnessed the three components for a controlled, repeatable swing: Rhythm, balance, and timing. Every golfer has heard these terms but here are my definitions. Rhythm is the harmonious movements of the body and club; balance is the ability to keep all of the parts of the body under control; and timing is the proper sequential movement of the body parts and the club for maximum efficiency.

But don’t think that good rhythm, balance, and timing occur simply by swinging the club at a controllable pace. There are certain mechanics in the setup and swing that must be present to set the proper sequence in motion and deliver the clubhead squarely to the ball.

Within these mechanics, adjustments may be necessary to accommodate individual needs. Els has made a few modifications from the standard setup to better accommodate his height. The results are spectacular. Here’s what you can learn from the U.S. Open champion to improve your swing’s balance and timing.

Start in balance, stay in balance

What happens during the swing is largely a reflection of what is created at address, and Ernie has a nearly perfect setup. Notice that his spine is angled away from the target. This promotes a full, upper-body coil at the top of the backswing with the weight over the right foot. I also like the wide platform he has created. Notice that his heels are shoulder-width apart, not his toes, and he uses slightly more knee flex than most good players. This wider stance and extra knee flex lower his center of gravity slightly, which is helpful for improving balance in a tall player. Also notice that his weight is evenly balanced in front and behind the balls of his feet. Again, this creates perfect balance at address / and to swing in balance you must start in balance.

Don’t go inside

Tall golfers, in particular, tend to pull the club inside the target line too soon on the backswing. When the club gets too far inside, it feels heavier, which adds unnecessary tension in the arms and hands. Els avoids this problem by keeping the clubhead outside his hands well into his backswing.

The correct arc makes things easier

Notice that a line drawn from the end of Els’s shaft to the ground points inside the target line while the shaft is positioned between his arms. This puts his clubhead on the proper arc for his height. The correct arc is important for a rhythmic, balanced swing because the more vertical the arc, the lighter the clubhead feels and less effort is needed to control it. The lighter the clubhead feels, the less tension is created in the hands and arms.

Start with a swing, not a turn

Rhythm and timing are enhanced by a swinging motion. Swinging doesn’t create tension, whereas turning does. That is why almost every great golfer begins his motion by swinging the club back rather than by turning his body. Ernie has started his motion by swinging his arms. His body turns in response to the arms’ lead. The proper sequence has been established, resulting in a slightly flatter clubhead arc on the downswing. This helps deliver the clubhead to the ball from slightly inside the target line and promotes a draw — Els’s preferred shot shape. Remember this by thinking: “Take the high road up and take the low road down.”

The payoff

At impact Els’s nearly perfect combination of superb timing, balance, and rhythm has delivered the clubhead squarely to the ball. His body looks relaxed even when his clubhead is moving more than 100 miles per hour. There is no excessive lower-body twisting or sliding and his weight remains between his feet. With the driver you can see that Ernie’s head has moved slightly backwards. This accommodates a slightly ascending clubhead path into impact for a ball that is teed-up. On an iron shot, his head doesn’t move as far back so he can make a descending blow. Els understands that controlling the club is the key to hitting the ball close to his target. He doesn’t fight the club to control it, but rather creates a swing that minimizes tension and maximizes clubhead speed. It’s a swing that — like Snead’s — should serve him well as long as he plays.

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Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

Watching PGA Tour pros belt their drivers is a sight to behold. It doesn’t seem possible for the ball to travel as far as it does, and until you watch it soar away, it’s hard to even imagine.

But even the longest pros (think Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Champ) don’t represent the longest drivers on the planet. That honor is reserved for those who compete in the World Long Drive Championship.

Currently, the top-ranked driver on the World Long Drive circuit is Colton Casto, who routinely belts drives over 400 yards. Recently, the world No. 1 long driver shared a simple tip for creating effortless speed, which you can check out in the video below.

Create an ‘X-factor’

Swinging the club with speed is not simply a product of being strong. (Otherwise, the longest players in the world would also be bulkiest.) No, to really hit the ball far, you’ve got to take advantage of physics and create speed efficiently.

One of the ways long-drive pros do this is by tightly coiling their bodies in the backswing; this motion stores tons of potential energy that is unleashed during the downswing leading to incredible power and distance.

There are ways you can increase this potential energy, though. And one of them is by keeping that coil tight as long as possible.

“You want your legs and your lower body to start going to the target and keep your back facing the target as long as you can,” Casto says in the WLD video above. “[This] creates an ‘X-factor stretch,’ which is like a tight rubber band, so you can just have effortless power when you come through the ball.”

By keeping your back to the target and letting your lower body turn, you increase that coil you created in the backswing. When you release the coil, you’ll have tons more power than if you just let both components turn in tandem.

Create the proper sequencing take some getting used to, but once you start to get in a groove, you’ll be amazed at how much extra power you can create through this “X-factor.”

The post How to create ‘effortless power,’ according to a long-drive champion appeared first on Golf.

The post Tony Finau’s 5 speed keys for getting 25 extra yards off the tee appeared first on Golf.

The post Tony Finau’s 5 speed keys for getting 25 extra yards off the tee appeared first on Golf.

Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we look back at some power tips from Tony Finau first published in our September 2016 issue. For unlimited access to the full GOLF Magazine digital archive, join InsideGOLF today; you’ll enjoy $140 of value for only $39.99/year.

Tony Finau has some serious power. The six-time PGA Tour winner averaged 308.4 yards per poke last season — and that’s with a truncated swing. When he really goes after one, he can reach over 200 mph of ball speed with ease.

Not everyone has the tools to pound the ball like Finau does, but that doesn’t mean you can’t steal some of his secrets to get a few extra yards off the tee. Back in 2016, Finau joined GOLF Magazine to share his five power secrets. Follow them and you’ll soon be bombing it down the fairways like he does.

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Finau’s 5 power secrets

This season, I’ve been battling it out for driving distance supremacy with J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson. That’s good company for a Tour sophomore like me. Busting drives is my specialty, to the tune of 31l yards per poke. It helps to be 6 4’ and a good athlete, but my 121 mph of clubhead speed comes largely from executing swing basics anyone can do, including taking a balanced setup, sequencing my downswing, and fully releasing the club.

Follow my keys, and those frustratingly short drives will be in your rearview. You’ll grab precious yards, no matter your size or strength. It’s time to get fast, not furious!

1. Balanced start

I focus on balance as I address the ball, making sure I’m in position to swing freely without my body getting in the way. To start, I step into my stance with my right foot while simultaneously placing the driver head behind the ball. This allows me to aim the clubhead down my target line more accurately than if I waited until both feet were in place.

Once the clubhead’s aligned, I bring my left foot in and shift my weight until I feel I have a 50-50 split, not only between both feet but also between my toes and heels. I know I’m balanced when I feel confident that someone either in front of me or behind me couldn’t push me out of my setup.

Lastly, follow my lead: Check that your back is flat with your shoulders pulled slightly back, just enough to where your upper arms “drop.” This is what gives you that “free swing” feeling at address.

Caution: The distance you stand from the ball can vary from round to round. Fight this! If you under- or overreach, your shoulders will tense up, robbing you of speed. I like to sole the club without disturbing its natural lie angle, then grip it while my upper arms are hanging straight down. This sets me the correct distance from the ball every time.

2. Make a lag-free backswing

To begin my swing, I move my arms, hands and club in unison while turning my body away from the ball. I want my body to move in harmony, with zero lag between my various parts. The trick is to start your takeaway with your core — those ab muscles you may or may not have been working on. Then, let everything ride to the top.

Avoid the common mistake of “breaking” your wrists too early. It’s a huge power drain because — it effectively causes the club to release at the top of the swing. If you release your stored energy at the top, you won’t have it when you need it — at impact.

My advice? Delay your hinge for as long as possible. Trust me: Your wrists will set when the time is right. The key to a good, powerful top position is to maintain your one-piece takeaway for as long as your core and shoulders can turn. Don’t worry if you can’t get the club to sit parallel to the ground when you reach the top. A long backswing isn’t the be-all and end-all. It’s more important to “get set” and store power for the downswing.

3. “Squash it” from the top

I keep my hands passive when I start down. If my mitts move fast, my whole sequence goes haywire, wasting all the power I stored during my backswing. To keep that from happening, I “bump” my left hip and knee toward the target. Once I bump, I push down into the ground as though I’m getting set to jump up and grab a rebound in basketball. I’ll even go as far as flexing my knees. Big hitters know that to swing powerfully through impact, you have to get low first. 

Here’s another swing thought: Squash an imaginary bug under the toes of your left foot as you start down. This simple trick gets weight moving to the target while also keeping you “connected” to the ground — that’s critical for delivering maximum energy to the ball. To really pour speed, flare your left foot at address. Your hips will turn much faster.

4. Don’t fight — or force — your release

The weekend players I’m paired with tend to overuse the muscles in their arms and hands at impact. By that time, it’s too late. Speed has to build — you can’t cram at the very end like it’s a college exam. When I reach the hitting zone, I simply let the clubhead whip through the ball with the speed I stored throughout my backswing and downswing. Trying to steer or “hit” the ball only disrupts the club’s momentum, leading to shorter, weaker drives.

The key is to release the clubhead as naturally and as effortlessly as possible. Done right, it feels as though the clubhead is releasing all by itself. One thing to remember: Keep your grip pressure equal in both hands through impact, and hold it constant until the club hinges up in your follow-through. If you squeeze your right hand harder than your left, you could flip the clubhead over, hitting nasty hooks. (If your left hand dominates the release, you’ll hold the clubface open and slice it.) So take a Zen approach to your clubhead: Just let it go.

5. Stand tall in the finish

Hey, don’t sweat it if you lack the flexibility to achieve a full, tall finish like mine. Everyone’s physique is different. Just know that the higher and more balanced your swing is at the end, the longer you’ll drive it. Believe it or not, a full finish — with your right shoulder closer to the target than your left and your left leg fully extended — can get you some serious clubbed speed. 

The key is to flare your left foot toward the target at address. This makes it easier to turn into a comfortable finish while keeping your left foot planted on the ground. 

If you do these things and rotate all the way through, you’ll end up with a balanced, tall finish. Remember: Turn, don’t slide, toward the target through impact. You’ll tack on yards and split the fairway.

The post Tony Finau’s 5 speed keys for getting 25 extra yards off the tee appeared first on Golf.

The post How to properly load into your trail leg and increase power appeared first on Golf.

The post How to properly load into your trail leg and increase power appeared first on Golf.

Swinging the golf club is not a natural motion. It’s why when someone first picks up a club, they always look awkward making a swing — no matter how athletic they are.

But while it’s true that the golf swing does not feel inherently natural, there are elements of it that incorporate natural athletic motions. And when you can learn how to incorporate these athletic movements into your golf swing, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to make a solid swing with lots of power.

In the video below, the coaches at the Titleist Performance Institute demonstrate this phenomenon as they teach the guys from Chasing Scratch how to properly load into the trail side by incorporating the feeling of throwing a ball.

How to load into your trail side

Loading into your trail side is crucial if you want to generate maximum power. However, when trying to load into that trail leg, lots of recreational players do it incorrectly.

The correct feeling of loading into the trail side involves pushing your right hip back toward your right back pocket (fir right-handed golfers). When trying to do this, though, lots of players do what is called a “reverse pivot” and actually shift their weight back to the left.

To get the correct feeling of this loading, go through the motions of throwing a ball. When you do so, you’ll always turn back and load into your trail side, which allows you to push off the trail leg correctly. The same principle applies in the golf swing.

So, if you’re struggling to learn the feeling of properly loading into your trail side, think about throwing a ball. If you do, and can incorporate that motion into your golf swing, you’ll be hitting the ball long and solid in no time.

The post How to properly load into your trail leg and increase power appeared first on Golf.