Sure the pros use muscle and technique but I’m talking to you, the mid to high handicapper. The more frustrated we get with a round of golf, the harder and faster we swing and the worse the result. Muscle is not the answer. Your biggest problem is the muscle between your ears.
Accept the fact that you are not qualifying for the pro tour. A 250 yard drive in the center of your fairway is so much better than a 300 yard drive which lands in the trees or in the next fairway. The GOAL is to get your game under control and to break that next milestone of 100, 90, or 80.
As a starting point most men have larger frames and more muscle than most of the LPGA players or a 130 pound junior. So why is it that these skilled players can hit a drive consistently over 250 yards without any effort? Of course, they have great technique.
They focus on weight transfer, lag and wrist release: ALL WITH A STRAIGHT LEADING ARM in the back-swing and through impact. [GOLFSTR can help you here. ] And swing through the ball to a BALANCED photo finish.
- Hitting the ball farther is affected more by club head speed than brute force
- Gain more speed by improving your wrist release through impact
- Practice by holding a club upside down (you can create your loudest whooshing noise by releasing your wrists at the bottom of the swing)
Weight needs to be shifted to the leading leg at impact so start the arm transition at the top of the swing with a slight weight shift or hip bump to the left.
Lag is considered the holy grail of the golf swing. Golfing greats such as Ben Hogan and Sergio Garcia have had tremendous amounts of lag that allowed them to hit the ball great distances with relatively little effort. You can do it too. [Check out my last blog about Hogan.]
Next Thursday’s Blog is on INCREASING DRIVING DISTANCE
