Creating distance the correct way

Everyone, I believe, would like to hit the ball farther. There are many theories on how to hit it farther but there are a few guidelines normally necessary to hit the ball consistently farther.

The normal process for improvement with athletic motor patterns is similar for many sports. In golf, you need to work on stability, balance, flexibility mobility and then you can increase power.

Stability

One must create an athletic posture allowing the body to move without losing balance. One also must creat enough ground friction during the swing to counterbalance the tourque created during the swing

Balance

Balance is a combined skill by using stability while keeping within your natural range of flexibility and mobility. A good balance swing is one that keeps the player in dynamic positions during the swing that doesn’t make the brain move resources to keep the player upright. If your brain thinks you are going to fall it will shift muscles to ensure you do not hurt yourself. You will always try to make sure you don’t fall down so if your swing is out of balance most of your energy will be used to stay upright.

Flexibility

According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), flexibility is defined as “the range of motion of a given joint or group of joints or the level of tissue extensibility that a muscle group possesses.” That means that each joint and each group of muscles in your body might have a different range of motion (ROM) or a different level of flexibility. If you want to hit it farther you will want to work on your flexiblity

Mobility

This is the combination of normal joint range of motion and proper muscular flexibility. This is a must for proper swing mechanics and for any golfer to prevent injuries. Mobility allows the body to move in all six degrees of motion, therefore giving the ability to perform any motion without having to sacrifice stability. Mobility can be improved by seeking a qualified physical therapist and proper exercise or motion drills.

Power

This is the part most people work on first, creating power. Go to any practice golf range and watch how hard most players swing. You will notice poor stability, balance, flexibility and mobility in most of these players and you will also notice most are not consistent or powerful.

The short cut to better more powerful golf is building a good base that you can create power from. Don’t fall into the trap and just swing harder and lose balance. Try working on your Stability, Balance, Flexibility and Mobility before you try to create more power.