If all else fails, there is always one other method of hitting the golf ball; grip it and rip it. Want to hit it long and straight? Make it simple! There are three main components to the golf swing: 1) The Backswing, 2) The Downswing, and 3) The Follow-Through. As a young man growing up, I never had a problem with distance. My problem was accuracy. I was fortunate enough to get instruction from some of the best teachers around. I learned that if you want to hit it long and straight, simplify the swing. Break it down to its simplest components.
Power in your golf swing comes from your big muscles, not your small muscles. It’s about staying under control with your big muscles and not swinging your smaller ones faster. Some of your biggest muscles are in your legs, back, and your core (stomach). Some of your smallest muscles are in your fingers and hands. The more movement you have with your small muscles the more room for error you create. So the simplest way to hit the ball is through your larger muscles. I tell my students that the best way to generate more power and control is to swing the club using your big muscles. It allows you to generate more power from your core and when you eliminate your hands you minimize your scatter balls and create a straight, long ball flight.
First off, once your backswing is complete, the hips and core start turning out of the way creating some separation from the club, creating the lag you hear about so often on the downswing. Then once the club is in “the slot”, release the arms through the ball and continue to turn out of the way. Many amateurs misinterpret the release as a slap with the hands causing a breakdown with the left wrist for right-handed golfers, when actually it is a rotation with the left forearm instead. This allows the right hand to finish on top of the left. As I said before, you must limit the use of the small muscles in your hands throughout your swing by locking your hands in your address position and retaining that position throughout the golf swing. The more lag you create by turning out of the way and retaining your address position with your hands, the more centrifugal force you create, which generates more club head speed.
Picture a giant wheel. To generate motion, you must turn the axle at the center of the wheel. The center of the wheel does not move as fast as the outer part of the wheel, so if you speed up the center of the wheel which is the core of the golf swing (your body), the outer part of the wheel rotates even that much faster; creating more club head speed. So, if you break down with your hands or slap at the ball, you also break down the arc of the swing and lose club head speed.
With these simple adjustments and a developed sense of how to make your large muscle groups work dominantly in your golf swing, you will improve your body control, simplify your swing, and rip it.
