Most if not all golfers think they hit the ball shorter than they should. For many, this is absolutely the case. There are many theories on how to create speed. There is common agreement on what creates clubhead speed thanks to the technological improvements of the past 20+ years. Unfortunately, most of us use the wrong mechanisms and muscles trying to create speed causing the opposite effect. When we swing too hard we tend to lose balance and extend our angles too early causing a slow clubhead. Just because you use a lot of muscle energy this doesn’t always equate to clubhead speed. There are two basic areas of the golf swing, body and arms. The mechanics of the arms affect the body mechanics and also in reverse.
We know that the body creates speed in three ways.
- Rotation, this is how the body rotates during the downswing
- Ground force, this is the upward pressure on the downswing along with foot and knee torques.
- Lateral, this used to be considered an important power move but is the least powerful of the three.
Arm mechanics is the primary power source for most golfers. We need to make a backswing creating an angle between the club shaft and lead, left arm on the backswing. Preferably 90 degrees or more. We will assume your swing on plane. The left wrist should go into flexion on the backswing. There are some good players that don’t go into flexion on the backswing but go into flexion of the left wrist to start the downswing. The key is to load this element so we can store energy.
The right arm should bend about 70 degrees on the backswing increasing that angle on the downswing. We want to keep that angle as long as possible. The way to do this is by not extending your right arm until your right elbow gets in front of your right hip, see below.
There was a man from Canada that many consider the best ball-striker ever to play the game. Moe Norman was a golfing genius. Many of the greats including Sneed, Nicklaus and Palmer called him the best ball-striker they ever watched. He practiced getting the right arm in front of his hip with this drill pictured below. If you want to hit is more consistently and farther learn to use your lever system, right arm and wrists properly.
Jim Hartnett, PGA
