5 WAYS TO NOT HIT IT FURTHER

When it comes to hitting the golf ball farther, it seems literally every "golf fitness expert" on social media has the "answer." But, like most everything online, there's this magical mystery box between "Do this" and "It just goes really far" that gives away the sort of willful ignorance that the person in question does not actually know what happens in that box. Here's 5 I see all the time, why they're wrong, and a little teaser on how to ACTUALLY get longer.

1. "Here's an Exercise that will Increase your Power"

Myth: Do this exercise that almost looks like golf but isn't

Let me preface this by saying this. I am a strength coach and trainer along with golf instructor and former hand model. I believe in exercise and more specifically I believe in exercise for golf. But strength, mobility, and general power production is the hardware of an explosive golf swing, not the software. If a trainer does not truly understand the physics and sequencing of creating efficient power, doing exercises that are too close to the real golf swing are a recipe for disaster.

2. "Squat and Jump"

Myth: Get "loaded" in the backswing and "explode up" for speed

I'll be honest, this is the one that makes me yearn for the days of dial-up AOL, before Mark Zuckerberg's inability to get a girlfriend released a plague upon humanity. Let's use a few golf swing analogs here; pitching and hitting a baseball. Have you ever heard a coach advise either to "squat and explode?" for more power? Getting shorter on the backswing by "loading up" on the backswing is a great way to cue early extension (you don't want that btw). I would advise the opposite and it's evidenced by one of the longest hitters ever, Kyle Berkshire. Get taller on the backswing and press into the ground on the downswing as you move pressure from trail to lead foot. Think of jumping as high as you can, then just do that while swinging around your body. Your backswing is a counter move just like reaching UP before you jump high is. You don't squat down first to jump high, you cue the squat by reaching up first.

3. Speed Sticks

Myth: Move the Stick Really Fast

The research is pretty clear on the value of slightly underweight and overweight implements for improving speed in throwing, hitting, and swinging a club. However, the problem lies in the fact that throwing and hitting a baseball are the exact same action regardless of weight of the bat or ball. Speed sticks for golf, however, do not generally have a club head. Thus I am now no longer training to maximize energy into the ball at impact, but I am merely seeing how fast I can move the club in space. A good example would be casting a fishing line - for maximum distance I'm trying to get the most energy to the farthest end of the rod at the moment I release the line. If I was training to move the rod as fast as possible with no consideration of the line, I would be trying to accomplish something totally different.

Thats not to say this system has no value; but it has value primarily with elite players who already have the sequence together, not something I see much in amateurs. What I do see in Ams, however, is a lot of extra arm and hand action trying to speed up the stick, a death sentence for consistency.

4. Work on "Separation"

Myth: Do this twisty pelvis thing

Separation is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the golf swing. People get frustrated, convinced they can't do it due to some physical issue or a genetic inability to shake it like Shakira. The real reason you don't separate is because separation starts before you even move the club. Do this for me, mimic playing catch and don't think about it.

After a couple, look at what your hips do naturally. Oh my dear lord you've done it! What sort of sorcery have I performed here? Pretty simple actually; when you throw, your lower body naturally leads the upper body, then slows down ahead of the arm to unleash the "sling."

Why doesn't this happen in your golf swing? Probably because it doesn't feel like you're throwing, it feels like your trying to smash the thing with your arms.

5. Increase the Length of Your Swing

Myth: If it works for Daly, it'll work for me

Making a golf swing longer requires some combination of more hip turn, more torso turn, and more elbow/wrist flexion. In theory, the goal would be to arrive back at the ball with the same hip/chest/arm/club relationships that were optimum in a shorter swing. Trying to make any part longer requires maintaining the balance of all the moving parts and then unloading them in the same or even more efficient manner as you took to get there in the first place.

Lets take Mike Tyson punching someone as an example. He's going to throw his hardest consistent punch by creating a LOT of separation between his hips and his arm, with his arm and death mitten only accelerating rapidly in the very last moments before impact. Until that point, they're actually moving SLOWER than someone's arm would be who has literally no idea how to engage in fisticuffs. That coordination of movement in a skilled fighter is just like the coordination in a long hitter; the arms lag behind allowing the lower body more time maximize it's input in the equation before using that rocket boost to unload at maximum speed.

Adding more length to your swing before you have mastered this type of sequencing will just make you like the guy crow-hopping across Buffalo Wild Wings trying to blast the Punching Bag arcade game; lots of moving parts, wild gesticulation, and a fairly high likelihood of embarrassing disaster.

Instead, learn to create more speed in less space with a drill I call the Phone Booth.

The real answers for more speed? Stay tuned.....