Perform Better Golf Blog

You’ve heard it before. You MUST have a full shoulder turn for maximum clubhead speed, power and distance. I want to briefly explain that a full shoulder turn does not mean your golf club has to get high at the top of your backswing. So many golfers are worried about getting the club shaft parallel to the ground at the top.

This is not so! It’s becoming more common to see the touring pro’s not reach parallel at the top, even with their golf driver. As long as you get a 90 degree shoulder turn with about half that in hip turn, you will have maximum clubhead speed, and better yet, more control over your golf swing.

I want to show you a drill you can do in your home, garage, office and of course on the practice tee.

See the club I have on the ground to the left of my right foot? See the club across my shoulders?. Match those up and you know you’ve made a full shoulder turn on your backswing.

Give it a try!

If you’re a golfer looking to quickly and effectively improve your golf swing speed, power and distance, you’ll want to take a look at our Power Golf Swing Weight Trainer.

I am always on the lookout for golf swing trainers that will help golfers add more power and distance, and this one “fits the bill” completely!

It is now part of my power training routine, and I can already feel a difference in my flexibility and power.

It’s ONLY a fraction of the cost of a weighted club, and it’s the most portable of all of them!

I have come to the conclusion that the wrists play a critical role in power golf, increasing clubhead speed, and distance. It’s not a very glamorous bodypart, but I do feel this is one of the KEYS to hitting longer golf drives.

Earlier we discussed power golf wrist hinge, and the correct way to do it, and now I want to give you a SIMPLE golf exercise to quickly strengthen your wrists for a powerful impact into that poor golf ball.

Stand erect with your arm at your side hanging long. Hold an 8 iron (I use my weighted golf club) in your hand with the clubhead on the ground. This puts your wrist in the uncocked (unhinged) position. Now, without moving your arm at all, raise the clubhead upward as high as you can, using only your wrist and forearm.

Slowly lower it back down and repeat 15 times. Switch arms and sides, and do 15 with the other arm. If you’re feeling spunky, do a couple of sets each arm. You’ll get a good burn in your forearm muscles.

This movement is identical to the movement of your wrist cock in your golf swing. Doing this simple golf exercise 2-3 times a week, will make a huge difference in your power, with strong wrists through impact.

We are on Week 9 of our 10 week golf swing transformation with Morrie. Morrie had a frustrating week of golf, but we got him straightened out, and his spirits are back up. We’re on my main blog here, and unfortunately it does not allow comments, but I know your thoughts are with us.

The course and the greens look kind of trashed, but for some reason the video is doing some of this. The greens are much better than the video shows. Do I sound like I’m defending my course <grin>?

The Power Golf Swing Trainer we had Morrie try turned out so good for him, that he bought one right here on the site, and here’s what he had to say about it:

“Mike let me try his Power Golf Swing Trainer the other day…..and wow! It keeps your triangle and right arm in tact all through the swing. I added imediate distance and I could get through the ball with out trying to steer it. I ordered one for my self!

Many of you have been following “Mondays With Morrie” I’m Morrie, and this simple comfortable trainer worked for me in just a few swings I could see the triangle. Check out
my next episode tomorrow….you’ll see some mighty powerful results.”

The game of golf, and the golf swing are evolving. The modern golf swing has become the ideal for most amateur golfers. With tour players like, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley, and now the emerging star Anthony Kim, you’ve got a level of golf that is nearly untouchable for 85% of the tour players. Even Tiger Woods has a run for his money.

Can any golfer emulate the modern swing? I’m not sure it’s possible, unless the golfer improves both golf specific flexibility and strength with golf swing exercises that allow them to make full shoulder turns with no tension.

For the senior golfer, the modern golf swing may not be attainable. The key to good golf as you get older is “swinging within yourself”. You’ve got two choices as the years go on. Accept your physical decline and make compensations in your swing, or buck the curve and start fixing the machine and watch your game go to a new level.

Anthony Kim had a phenomenal year in 2008 and I look for him to do even better in ‘09.

Look at Anthony’s impact position! Most amateur golfers could not get their bodies to do that. Have their hips this open at impact. The core strength and flexibility to do this, is way above average, and can ONLY happen with golf-specific training.

Talking about these young golfers does not mean that there is no hope as you get older. It just means you need to adjust your golf improvement approach to enjoy your golf for years to come. The best way is to create a program that slows the aging process, and helps you maintain (or improve) a level of golf specific fitness that enables you to make more of a modern golf swing.

A couple of days ago, I did an article on long hitter JB Holmes golf swing. What we found out is there is no perfect swing or one answer on how to increase driving distance, but with that being said, there are a couple of key things you can definitely work on to achieve longer drives.

Solid Ball Contact

You have got to hit the ball with a square clubface no matter what. It does not matter how hard or how fast you swing if you hit the ball with an open or closed clubface. So you could really plead a case that solid contact is near the top of the list for increased distance.

Inside Swing Path

Coming from the inside on your downswing will create a “top-spin” draw ball flight, so when it hits the ground it will release and roll an extra 10-30 yards depending on the fairway cut and dryness.

Golfers lose so much distance because they swing from outside-to-in, creating sidespin that goes against the air, and exactly loses distance, compared to a inside-to-out, draw swing.

Staying Behind The Ball At Impact

This is one I have to work on DAILY! But someone who did it better than most is Ben Hogan. Look at how he stays behind the ball at impact.

It is so critical to feel like you’re behind the ball at impact. Most of us get ahead of it and end up throwing the club at the ball, instead of driving through it and getting a full extension like the pro’s get. Staying behind it is the ONLY way to achieve that full extension and maximum power through impact.

Now…on to the BIGGIES!!

Increase Golf Swing Speed

Given you’ve been able to accomplish everything in this article, the next VERY important aspect of increasing driving distance is absolutely increasing golf swing speed.

One of the easiest ways to increase your swing speed is to swing a weighted golf club. Swing this weighted club at a higher, yet controlled rate of speed, and your golf club will feel like a feather next time you go out and play.

Get A Bigger Backswing

To hit longer drives, you need a maximum turn to the top of your backswing. Most senior golfers have lost their physical ability to make this full shoulder turn. The ONLY way to get it back, is to work on your flexibility and strength in your core area.

I’ve put together in instantly downloadable report with 5 simple golf swing training drills you can do that will quickly get you a bigger backswing and longer drives.

Click here to learn more!

The full golf swing is something that should be a major focus for any golfer at any level. If you can’t make a repetitive swing that holds up for 18 holes, you’re in for a long round that ends up in frustration and unhappiness.

My personal golf instructor has agreed to provide some valuable golf swing tips right from his Golf Swing System that I’ve personally used to add 15 yards on my drives, and lower my score by 5 strokes, and I was a single digit already.

There are so many components to a good swing, that many golfers get overwhelmed and frustrated, never to improve. This golf swing system I’m talking about is simple, effective, easy-to-implement, and better yet…I’ve used it personally with awesome results.

I spent the past 10 years looking for a golf professional who could help me with my game. Thousands of dollars later, I finally found MY PRO! Not only has Bobby helped my golf swing immensely, he REALLY cares about me. I have NEVER met a golf instructor with SO much passion and care.

Golfers want more distance. You have to increase your golf swing speed to get it! Line up a 100 of them and 95% of them will raise their hand when asked if they want to improve distance. Why is distance such a yearning for golfers? I thought the ball has to go in the hole to shoot lower scores?

There’s no denying that more distance (in the fairway) is a HUGE advantage. Being able to hit shorter clubs into the greens will increase your accuracy and give you more chances at birdie. Being the LONGEST hitter in your foursome will play mind games with your playing partners.

There are many advantages of hitting it longer, so how do you get those extra yards?

You have to increase your golf swing (and clubhead) speed to improve your distance. The faster (but in control) your swing is, the more compression you impart on the golf ball, making it go further. But…let me add that it’s not swinging harder that increases clubhead speed. It’s several things combined that will increase your swing speed.

Making a full turn (90+ degree shoulder turn with only 45 degrees of hip turn). Starting the downswing with your lower body first, allowing you to retain all that stored energy in your core for a powerful blow on the ball. Being able to aggressively rotate through the ball with a square clubface. Having your highest amount of swing speed through and after the ball and not before like most golfers.

All the above requires one CRITICAL component to be able to pull it off. Do you want to know what that is? You may not want to hear it! You have to be in better shape physically to do any of the above. If you do not have the required core strength and flexibility you will not be able to perform the above moves in your golf swing.

It’s a FACT!

A lower level of both strength and flexibility will continue to hold you back from achieving optimal driving distance.

That is the sole reason I put together my Effortless Golf Swing Training System. To help you quickly achieve higher swing speeds with no additional effort. That’s the KEY to longer drives. Not swinging harder, but letting your newfound strength and flexibility do their job effortlessly.

If you’re not willing to put a little time in on your body (BIG mistake), you can quickly pick up some swing speed with a weighted golf club.

What is a long drive golf swing?

Is it some magical technique that instantly gets golfers to hit it ________ yards longer? Or is it using some extra long shaft, nuked driver head club to accomplish it?

Most golfers I know don’t dream of being a long drive king, but most of them sure would like to hit it a little further. There is a definite advantage to the golfer who hits their drives longer (but you have to keep it in the fairway). Getting to most greens in regulation gives you a great chance at par on EVERY hole.

That’s all you can ask is to give yourself a chance to make par, and if the occasional birdie falls in, it’s icing on the cake right?

There are several critical elements to a long golf drive, and one of the most important is core rotational torque. This means the differential between your hip turn and your upper body at the top of the backswing. If you lack the required core strength and flexibility, you will have minimal chance to reach your true driving distance potential.

The more you can turn your shoulders while keeping your hips relatively still, the greater the torque and clubhead speed you’ll develop. This in turn creates more power at impact for longer drives. So the next step is doing simple golf stretching exercises for your core area. These are not difficult, but critical to you achieving maximum driving distance.

Here’s an example of a VERY simple stretch you can do from my Effortless Golf Training Manual, right in your office, in your chair. No excuses not to do this one several times a day.

So much is made of your golf backswing. So much so, I created a backswing report to help you make your biggest backswing possible. Now I am a huge advocate of working on your body to make a bigger backswing, but getting to the top of your backswing is also critical.

If you can’t get to the top in the correct position within a stable base, you will have no chance making a good downswing that is on the correct path from the inside, nor will you get to impact in a position to maximize your power.

Let’s take a look at Tigers top of the backswing position.