Do long courses haunt you? You’re not alone. They intimidate many weekend golfers. But you don’t have to be intimidated if you have a power-laden golf downswing. This type of golf swing can help you generate the kind of extra power you need off the tee to not only tame the longest courses but also chop strokes off your golf handicap.
But developing a power-laden golf downswing is a challenge. To do it, you need to execute the right moves at the right time and in the right sequence. Otherwise, your timing and rhythm will be off. And if they’re off, you’ll have a downswing that can’t produce the extra yards you need to beat the long courses you often play.
Below are seven key moves that can help you create a powerful golf downswing—one that rivals the downswings of players on the PGA and LPGA tours.
1) Turn and tilt early: This starts the downswing off correctly. It’s part of a smooth transition at the top. These two moves clear the hips for the downswing and maintain your spine angle. To execute these moves, turn your belt buckle to the target and drop your right elbow in front of your right hip.
2) Use an inside-out plane: To generate maximum clubhead speed, swing the club on a plane that’s inside the target line and that allows you to swing your arms away from you rather than into your hips as you do when you come over the top. Focus on hitting the right inside quarter of the ball as you come down.
3) Keep your left wrist flat: This is another key move. You want to lead the clubhead into impact using your hands. Picture yourself striking the ball with the back of your left wrist while pointing the logo of your glove at the target. This move creates square contact, achieves optimum launch angle, and reduces spin on the ball.
4) Maintain your posture: Raising and then lowering your spine spells disaster for your swing. So hold your spine angle steady as you move into the downswing. Also, keep your hips back at this point. An all too common error I see in golf lessons is players moving their hips forward as soon as they start to swing faster. That creates mishits.
5) Push off on the ground: Now is the time to use all the weight you’ve shifted to your right side on the golf backswing to drive your lower body toward the ball. Feel like you’re pushing off on the inside of the arch of your right foot. Also, make sure your heel doesn’t point away from the target as you do this. If it does, you’re spinning, not pushing.
6) Square the face at impact: Some players try to use their hands to square the clubface at impact. That’s hard to do. Instead, turn your hips. To do it, swing down and stop when the club is parallel with the ground. Then turn your hips slowly. Keep your driver slightly toed-in when the shaft is parallel to the ground.
7) Swing in sequence: It’s called timing. You max out your power when you move the right parts of your body in the right sequence. Think hips, shoulders, arms, and then clubhead in that order. Doing the Whoosh Drill, where you turn the club around and hold it near the hosel and then swing, is a good timing exercise. Listen for where the whoosh occurs. It should occur past the ball.
Executing these seven moves in the right sequence and at the right time creates a power-laden golf downswing—one that produces the kind of extra power you need off the tee to tame those long pesky courses that intimidate you. It will also produce the kind of power you need to chop strokes off your golf handicap. And who doesn’t want that?
