The majority of golfers think that to hit it farther they must swing harder. The reality is we must swing faster, not harder. To swing faster the speed of the hands must not increase during the backstroke and down stroke.
Here’s an example:
Imagine 2 pulleys, one above the other. Around these 2 pulleys is a belt, on this belt there are golf clubs attached. When the club goes around the pulley does the club speed up? Absolutely! But, did the belt speed up? NO! Think of the arms and hands as the belt, as long as they stay at a constant speed the club will automatically speed up. By trying to swing harder and changing the backstroke and downstroke speed the club will actually slow down! This causes the surface speed to change and the result is a slowing down of the golf club.
Try this drill – Hold the club by the clubhead so that the grip end of the club is pointed at an imaginary golf ball. Start swinging back and forth and listen to the sound the club makes. You’ll hear a “swishing” sound. Where you hear this sound is the fastest moving point of the swing. Get the “swish” to happen past Impact, (release is a power loss). This means that the club will be accelerating at Impact! If you hear the “swish” before Impact then the club has no choice but to slow down (decelerate)!
In reality, when the club and ball meet the club will slow down, but this is a drill to train ourselves to accelerate through Impact, not before Impact!
In addition, there has been a lot of talk about the low point of the arc. Some say it is at the sternum. Let me just say this, if in fact this was the case then there would be no divot in front of the ball unless every ball was played back of center of the chest!
The low point is, and always will be, the outside of the target side shoulder! The only exception is when the target side wrist is in an arched condition and the shoulder is behind the Impact point of the golf ball. Then the target side wrist becomes the fulcrum of the swing and the low point…ie, Brad Faxon.
Chuck Evans – Executive Director of Instruction – Medicus Golf Institute
