Most golfers would happily take a few more yards from the tee, but trying to hit the ball harder isn’t necessarily the best way to find them.
In this lesson, PGA Professional Richard Lawless looks at two parts of the golf swing that can help generate more power with the driver: the way the wrists work and the rotation of the body.
Neither is about simply swinging harder. It’s about making better use of the movement that’s already available in the golf swing.
Using the wrists to generate power
The first area Rich looks at is the movement of the wrists.
The wrists hinge during the backswing, creating an angle between the club and the arms. How that angle is created and released can contribute to the speed of the club through the hitting area.
That doesn’t mean deliberately throwing your hands at the ball or trying to manufacture extra speed with your wrists.
It’s about understanding the role they already play in the swing and allowing that movement to contribute to the shot.
Using body rotation
The second area Rich demonstrates is body rotation.
Rather than trying to generate all your power with the arms, turning the body allows more of you to contribute to the movement of the club.
Rich shows how using the body more effectively can help create speed without the feeling that you simply have to swing harder.
Watch Rich’s lesson
Rich demonstrates both movements in the video so you can see how the wrists and body can each contribute to generating power with the driver.
You don’t necessarily need to swing harder
It’s very easy to associate more distance with more effort.
For many of us, that means trying to hit the driver harder, which can make the swing quicker without necessarily making it better.
Looking at where the speed actually comes from gives you something more useful to work on.
You may find that one of the two areas Rich demonstrates is more relevant to your own swing than the other. The important thing isn’t to force both movements simply because they’re in the video, but to understand what they do and how they contribute to generating power.
If you’d like to see more of Rich’s coaching, you’ll find his courses and lessons in the Weekend Golfers Free Golf Coaching Library.
