Get set for power
It may help to be big and strong when it comes to hitting the ball far, but just about every golfer can hit the ball further by improving his or her launch conditions through a setup that is geared for more power.
Tip 1
If you want to give the ball a rip, I’d advise you to tee it up a bit.
You want to make sure that you strike the ball ‘on the up’, in order to impart a bit less spin on it. Hitting it on the up will help launch the ball higher, but with less backspin you are unlikely to balloon the ball into the air as much.
Less backspin will also encourage the ball to roll a lot more upon hitting the fairway.
Tip 2
The second setup tip is to get your upper body into the right position at address.
The key here is to tilt your spine away from the ball as shown in the correct picture here. When set up correctly, your body will form the ‘reverse K’ position that better players favour – and that is the start of a powerful swing.
In this position you should find that about 65 percent of your weight is on the right side (for right-handed golfers), so that you really get a feeling of setting up behind the ball.
When making your backswing, you need to make a full shoulder turn supported by the hip rotation, but the important thing here is to stay behind the ball throughout the swing, maintaining your spine angle.
Start your downswing slowly and then accelerate the swing into the ball as the club passes the shoulder area in order to generate the maximum amount of clubhead speed where you need it most – at impact.
Tip 3
A great drill for getting used to accelerating the club at the right moment is to turn the club around so that you are holding the club at the head.
Now have a few practice swings, making sure that you listen out for the sound that the swing makes. You need to make sure that the ‘swish’ sound is loudest at the point where the ball would be and about a metre either side.
A lot of ammies would hear the ‘swish’ at its loudest only once it has passed the ball, which effectively means that they are wasting a lot of power.
Having spent three years on the Sunshine Tour, Lawrence Collen has been a PGA professional for nine years and, together with Cherry Mulder, runs the My Golf Academy at the Ratanga Golf Centre in Century City, Cape Town. He also teaches out of Wagner’s Pitch & Putt in Durbanville.Contact Lawrence on 082 780 7745 or lawrencecollen@vodamail.co.za
