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There are many misconceptions in the golf swing in relation to power and what creates power, and I hope that throughout discussion, I can give you some keys that will help you.
One major misconception about power is that the speed of the club head is determined by the speed of the hands and the golfer thinks in his mind, if I can speed up my hand, I can speed up the club pace.
When an actuality, that does not happen. The arms speed is actually moving much slower than a club head speed. To give you an example, on the down swing, you are familiar with the club head logging behind the hands. When I reach this point in my down swing, my hands are opposite, my right leg and there is still almost the 90 degree cock in my wrist.
If my hands were trying to race through the golf ball, I would never catch up but I would be wide open, which is usually what happens. It produces a slice and the driving range is full of balls on the right hand side. So, the arm speed is very constant, the same speed that you would have with your wedge or with a nine iron or seven iron. The thing that creates the power is the length of the golf club and the uncocking of the wrist. So, the tempo becomes the primary consideration for power.
A good example of that is if you watch your child on a swing, he only swings at one speed, back and forth, back and forth. Any effort on our part to make that child go faster is kind of productive. If we catch the child before he reaches the top of his backswing and start to apply force. We literally push him out of the swing. If he gets to the top and we push too hard, he will fall out to the swing. It almost requires zero force, as that child reaches the top of the backswing or the top of his swing, just a little bit of a shaft and he will go right down.
The key point to remember here is any attempt on the golfers part to increase power, we will have an adverse effect on that shot. Just like a child on a swing is a nice, smooth tempo, Sam Steve said it. From the top of your swing until you reach impact, the longer it takes, the longer you hit it. I am going to hit a couple of shafts for you here.
When I am playing at my best, the feeling that I have from the down swing to the ball is simply a ling of the club on the back to the ball, there is absolutely no feeling of force. The feeling is actually zero force, no force, zero force, not a little bit but no force.
The grip pressure is very light and I keep the wrist very soft because they will be the key in delivering that power that is stored in my body, is that uncoils.
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Zero force:
Just lay the back of the club on the back to the ball. The length of the golf club, uncocking of the wrist and this centripetal force that is naturally created in the swing will produce all the distance you need.
Now, it is very important that you select the right gold shaft, often times people get a shaft that is too flexible for them, you should see your local golf professional and make sure that you have the most flexible shaft that you can control.
I brought along a little teaching aid with me here, this is a very flexible shaft, a lot of torque. But by swinging this club very smoothly, I am able to hit the ball the same as I do in my regular driver.
It is a great way to practice, practice with a lady’s driver or a club that is way too flexible for you. Look at that, almost has a little droop to it. But by swinging in it the same tempo. I have no trouble hitting that club.
So, remember, it is not force and muscle, it is tempo and timing. The circle with the longer club will produce all the power that you need. A glancing blow at 115 miles an hour is not nearly as powerful as a solid blow at 90 miles an hour. So, develop that good tempo and you will play a better golf.
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