We all know that hitting the ball further increases your potential and will help you shoot lower scores, but how do we go about building more speed into our golf swings? In the video below, PGA Professional Jack Backhouse explains the 3 steps he follows with students to hit the ball longer & increase club head speed.
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Full Turn
The first key to more swing speed is in your backswing and is having a full shoulder turn with wide arms.
In order to build more club head speed into the swing, we must increase the length of the arc; this could come in the form of an overswing like John Daly or just by simply getting your hands further away from the ball. The longer the club’s arc, the more time it is gaining speed into the ball.
A full shoulder turn must be created first by a full hip turn, and if you feel like you need to lift up the left heel at the end of the back swing to free up more turn then this is fine. Aim for a greater than 45 degree hip turn and more than 90 degree shoulder turn at the top of your swing.
Lower Body Sequencing
The second key to adding club head speed is lower body sequencing in the transition from backswing to downswing.
The golfer should end the backswing with a hip shift towards the target, loading up the lead leg with pressure. getting the hips forward during this phase of the swing has many benefits:
- gets your body in a position to draw the golf ball
- allows the golf club to move down without the body opening too early
- stops the golfer from getting too quick from the top
Once the lead leg is fully loaded, the golfer should then drive through this leg, hopping up into the air. This creates a whipping motion of the golf club, and is what allows tour players to swing so much faster than the average golfer.
Th lead leg jumping up is the cracking of the whip in the golf swing, and throws the speed out of the body and into the club head as you strike the ball. It is okay if the lead foot jumps or twists during this part of the swing.
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Release the club
To really increase clubhead speed and get you swinging as fast as possible, we have to talk about the release.
The jumping off the lead leg will create speed, but it is your release’s job to get that speed out and hit the golf ball.
The golfer should feel like from about half way down they begin the throw the lag that has been created, and throw the club. The wrists will go from flexed to extended during this period and this adds to the force on the club and will allow you to swing faster.
Think of the release like playing badminton. Those players create incredible speed and strikes from just their hands and arms and golfers need to add this into their own swings.
Drills
There are obviously great speed programs out there like The Stack and Speed Sticks that can be used at the driving range or at home to help you add speed, but often the best drill is simply going out onto the golf course and just hitting it as hard as you can.
Focusing on making a full turn, getting your hands up and away from the ball as far as possible, shift and jump off the lead leg with a hard release, and you will 100% see speed and distance gains.
Give these tips a try and let us know how you get on! If you want to keep up to date with Jack’s instruction you can subscribe to his YouTube Channel here, or keep watching our instruction page!
If you want to watch some more of Jack’s driving instruction videos, you can get to his YouTube Technique Tips playlist by clicking here. Please check out our other instruction articles if you liked this how to hit the ball longer & increase club head speed video!
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