Swing speed, coupled with solid contact is everything as it relates to hitting the golf ball farther. For the average golfer, this usually equates to trying to swing harder in order generate more swing speed. But for the average golfer, swinging harder always gets you less on the golf course – less swing speed and less distance.
To hit the ball farther, the average golfer focuses his efforts on delivering the golf club to the ball with as much effort as can be mustered to build power in the swing. The result is a teeth grinding, muscle tensing, massive and violent lunge at the ball. This type of swing would generally move the ball to just about where the red tees are and leave the golfer red faced by the effort.
Generating swing speed by trying to swing harder just doesn’t work because this type of ‘power’ is completely misapplied as it relates to the golf swing. The golf swing, and swing speed, is all about rhythm, tempo and timing applied with proper swing mechanics to get the golf club smoothly, efficiently and squarely to the ball. It’s about understanding the physics of a golf swing and using that to accomplish the task versus brute strength. The reason a good swing looks effortless is because it is! One can look to Lorena Ochoa at 5’ 6”, 120 pounds and an average driving distance of 283 yards to understand how true this is.
Proper swing mechanics effectively applies energy through the right sequence to the golf club to maximize club head speed. Your body physiology and skill level of course determine how effectively and how often this may occur during a round.
Notice I didn’t say ‘maximize club head speed so you could hit the ball as far as Tiger Woods’.
Trying to swing harder to generate swing speed creates several problems for the average golfer. First, swinging harder will exacerbate any and all swing faults the golfer may have. Swinging harder will generally:
• Cause you to over swing throwing you completely off balance
• Cause power sapping tension throughout your entire body but particularly in your arms and hands
• Completely throw any timing and rhythm you may have had out the window
• Rarely, if ever, bring the golf club into solid contact with the ball
• Slow your swing speed
Swinging harder at the golf ball fails to effectively leverage the laws of physics to swing the golf club so you have to do all the work instead of letting the golf club do the work. The wrong muscles are used in the wrong sequence. The swing becomes all ‘arms’.
To fix this, there are two simple things that the average golfer can do to get more distance out of their drives.
First, rather than concentrating on trying to hit the ball harder to get more distance, the average golfer should concentrate on hitting the ball more squarely. Bringing the golf club into square contact with the golf ball will have immediate and positive results with respect to distance, accuracy and consistency. A squarer hit transfers more energy from the golf club to the ball with less sidespin.
Second, less will generally bring you more. Most high handicap golfers would be far better off taking a three-quarter swing rather than taking a full swing. Why? The average golfer just doesn’t have the proper flexibility to take advantage of a full swing and so creates unwanted, power sapping tension in their bodies and the strong possibility of introducing a myriad of swing flaws from this position.
The three-quarter swing will result in more consistent, square hits because:
• The average golfer, starting from a solid foundation, will have much better balance through the golf swing
• The golf swing will be tension free resulting in a smooth easy swing
• In a three quarter swing, the golf club essentially starts on-plane and stays on-plane through the swing resulting in far more consistent shots. Gone are the over-the-top, slice generating, golf swings that produce nothing but frustration and lost golf balls.
The result of a three-quarter golf swing is a more solid, square hit producing greater distance and more drives landing in the middle of the fairway.
So, if you want to maximize swing speed and send the ball farther down the fairway, don’t try and send the ball into orbit by swinging as hard as you can. Instead, play within yourself and skill level. Focus on hitting the ball more squarely and take a shorter swing to improve your swing mechanics. You’ll be amazed at how easily you’ll be able to generate real power and swing speed.
