Everybody wants to hit it longer and straighter, too. But the two don’t always go together, as I tell students taking my golf lessons. Those of us who hit them longer don’t always hit them straighter. And those of us who hit them straighter don’t always hit them longer. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do both? It would undoubtedly chop strokes from your golf handicap.
Three moves executed correctly guarantee you’ll hit them long and straight. Combined these moves deliver awesome power without disrupting rhythm and timing. In fact, when executed correctly, these three moves add 20, 30, maybe even 40 yards to your drives while keeping the ball on the fairway. If you’re serious about chopping strokes from your golf handicap, ingrain these three moves in your swing.
The Magic Move
Achieving the right swing plane on the downswing is critical to driving the ball far and straight. Getting into the correct swing plane starts in the backswing, as I’ve mentioned in my golf tips. A good backswing requires a left (right for left-handers) arm swing thats on a slightly higher plane than your shoulders, providing free passage to the ball on the downswing. If your arm swing is off, however, youll achieve the wrong swing plane and your swing will be off.
Employing a simple move at the top of your backswing guarantees you achieve the right swing plane. This move is so essential to generating power some golf teachers call it “the magic move.” And it’s easy to execute. As you start your downswing, shift your weight onto your front foot while bringing your back elbow down to your body. As the weight shifts to the left and the elbow drops down, the club falls automatically into the right slot for the correct swing plane, flattening out your swing ever so slightly.
Achieving this second swing plane is critical to generating power. It runs through the correct angle of your spine, the natural axis around which your shoulders must turn to deliver a clean, crisp blow to the ball. In essence, then, you’re using two swing planes. The first comes from executing the correct takeaway. The second comes from dropping your elbow down before the downswing, moving you into the ideal position from which to start your downswing and deliver the clubhead squarely to the ball.
Tucking The Elbow
A second power move is tucking in your back elbow in front of your back hip. When executing this move, you should feel like your elbow is attached to the front of your back hip. By tucking in your elbow, the club becomes parallel to the target line and the club’s toe points straight uptwo essentials positions for delivering power to the ball. By tucking in your elbow, you’ll hit the ball longerand straighterwith much less effort.
Players with high golf handicaps often fail to tuck in their elbows, costing themselves distance. They leave them either over, under, or behind their back hip. Swinging over produces slices and pulls because it delivers the club on an outside-in path. Swinging under produces pushes and hooks because it delivers the club on an inside to out path. Swinging from behind your hip or with your elbows separate from your body inhibits your downswing and generates weak shots
Uncock Your Wrists
Uncocking your wrists also help deliver power to your swing. If you dont uncock them at the right timejust before contactyou can’t maximize power. Watch Phil Mickelson, Charles Howell III, and Vijay Singh. They represent extreme examples of what’s called “the full release.” Their wrists fully uncock downward and the clubhead stays below the hands well into the release. Their lower hands almost come off the club.
Golfers who lack power or who have high golf handicaps tend to uncock their wrists early on through the follow-through. This move causes the club to point skyward too soon after the release. That’s not good. The clubhead should be below your hands just after impact, and remain slightly below them even in the release position before eventually coming up.
Incorporate these three moves in your swing and you’ll hit them longer and straighter. These moves eliminate the need to swing harder and help you maintain rhythm and timingtwo keys to hitting the ball straighter. Ingraining these moves in your swing will payoff with better drives and a lower golf handicap.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book “How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros.” He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.
