GOLF Top 100 Teacher<\/a> Claude Harmon III. We\u2019re going to teach you to tap the muscles that create serious swing speed. Soon, you too will be able to crush drives that inspire awe in your playing partners and set you up for short approach shots. And there\u2019s no pumping iron required. You already have the physique required for long, straight drives \u2014 you just need to know how to use it.\u00a0<\/p>\nYour power lesson starts now.<\/p>\n
1. Flex your feet<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot to worry about at address: your grip, aim, distance from the ball, etc. But nothing\u2019s more important than what you do with your feet. The reason you take a stance is to create a swing foundation, so as you make those last few waggles, be sure to physically drive both feet into the ground. You want to feel rooted to the turf. It helps if you balance your weight over the balls of your feet and then use your glutes and quads to pressure the ground under each shoe.<\/p>\n
The more you connect to the ground, the faster you can turn. Think of the opposite extreme: If you swung while standing on ice, sure, you could rotate, but you wouldn\u2019t be able to coil because your lower body would have to turn along with your upper. Coil is key, and it all starts with your feet.<\/p>\n
At address, focus only on seeing the clubface smash the ball; the hazard on the left or the O.B. stakes dotting the right don\u2019t matter. A good trick is to think about swinging fast but make slow, deliberate practice swings. Feel your weight move to your right side as you reach the top, then move to the left in your downswing. Pairing fast thoughts with slow body motions in my pre-shot routine helps me drive it my best.<\/p>\n
2. Flex your glutes<\/p>\n
A lot of people teased Tiger Woods for pulling out of the Farmers Insurance Open last February because he couldn\u2019t \u201cactivate his glutes.\u201d Well, he was dead on. Butt power is swing power. If you can\u2019t effectively \u201cload\u201d your glutes as you swing to the top, you\u2019re basically swinging on fumes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Your backswing creates potential energy, and your downswing spends it. All your potential energy gets stored in your right glute when you correctly swing back. The trick is to rotate while keeping your knees flexed and your feet pressuring the ground. Avoid swaying, and you\u2019ll feel your right glute become tense as you near the top. I like it to feel so tense that a tackler coming from my right side couldn\u2019t take me down. While gym work isn\u2019t mandatory, any exercise that builds rear-end strength will pay off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even simple squats in your home or hotel room will do your swing some good \u2014 no butts about it.<\/p>\n
3. Flex your back<\/p>\n
The bigger your turn, the faster you\u2019ll swing. It\u2019s simple physics. There have been a lot of theories on how to make the biggest windup. <\/p>\n
What works? Turning my upper body as far to the right as my flexibility allows while keeping my feet dug firmly into the ground and my lower body stable. The secret is to turn your back, the hub of your upper body. Rotate it, and everything \u2014 shoulders, chest and core \u2014 rotates with it.<\/p>\n
Picture a flashlight between your shoulder blades, and try to turn your back so far that the light shines on the target when you reach the top. This visual reminds you to use your big muscles, not your small ones.<\/p>\n
4. Flex your knees<\/p>\n
As you transition from backswing to downswing, drive your right knee toward the target while keeping your left knee flexed and stable. Major League Baseball stars like Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout do the exact same thing when they hit home runs. This knee action shifts your energy toward the target (good for any hitting activity) and helps put the club on the ideal path. It also stops the club from getting trapped behind you (leading to a push) or moving too far out in front of your body (a slice or a pull) as you approach impact.<\/p>\n
In order to drive your right knee effectively, your feet must keep pressuring the ground. (I told you that was important!) Without a grounded stance, you won\u2019t be able to drive forward off your right foot, and your left foot won\u2019t be stable enough to accept the weight shift.<\/p>\n
5. Flex your core<\/p>\n
Technically, your core is active as soon as you start your takeaway, but it\u2019s moving like crazy in those few critical feet before and after impact. Through the hitting zone, your primary focus is to rotate your core as fast as possible. Picture a laser beam shooting out of your belly button: You want the beam to bisect the ball along its equator as you turn through the shot \u2014 and fast! <\/p>\n
When I really want to crank a drive, I imagine I\u2019m hitting the ball with just my abdomen. Stronger abs mean a faster turn and longer drives. Sneak in a few sit-ups or crunches. Do it. Besides core power, it will help you maintain your posture through impact for squarer strikes and take pressure off your lower back.<\/p>\n
At the same time, keep your arms soft and supple. Your goal is to let the rotational momentum of the clubhead pull your arms straight through impact, not actively extend them. Not only will consciously \u201csnapping\u201d your arms look unathletic, you\u2019ll lose speed in a heartbeat. Arms are for holding on, not generating speed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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View Product<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In\u00a0GOLF.com\u2019s\u00a0new series,\u00a0Timeless Tips, we\u2019re highlighting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-409020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}