The Quickest Way To Longer Drives

Today we’re gonna get another installment of our golf fitness tips from Mike Pedersen of Perform Better Golf.

Today Mike’s gonna tell us what we need to do to make all of our tee balls longer and stronger.

Take it away Mike :

A golf driver swing that is lacking in power has a couple of issues that need to be addressed. A golf driver swing is slightly different than your other clubs…but needs to have the same sequence of motion and body position at impact to produce more power and distance of the tee.

Most golfers swing outside their physical capabilities resulting in lost yardage and accuracy.

Has this ever happened to you?

You step up on a long par 4 or a par 5 and tell yourself you’re going to get there in two. What did you do differently on the tee to achieve it? Did you swing harder? If so, what was your result?

The first issue to cover with your golf driver swing is your range of motion, especially on your backswing. Can you make a 90 degree shoulder turn with minimal tension? Most older golfers don’t even come close.

The optimal position is a 90 degree shoulder turn, with approximately 45 degrees of hip turn. This requires a high level of core strength and flexibility. Shoulder flexibility comes into play just a bit also.

If you can’t get to this position, it doesn’t matter how hard you swing…you’re still not going to maximize your power and distance with your driver. Trying to get to that position when your body cannot physically get there will only cause muscle tension, which slows clubhead speed.

Secondly, getting behind the ball and staying behind the ball at impact is critical to maximizing power and distance. This cannot be achieved with an “out-of-shape” body. It’s a physical impossibility.

Even for a fit golfer, this is sometimes hard to accomplish on a consistent basis.

On the downswing, it is critical that the first move is with the lower body rotating (not sliding). This rotation of the lower body, while the upper body stays back (for only a split second) takes a ton of core strength.

A weaker golfer would not be able to achieve this. He/she would come over the top early with the upper body, merely because they don’t have core strength to initiate the downswing with the lower body.

So how do you achieve a golf driver swing with maximum power?

Start working on your core strength and flexibility with a golf weight training and golf stretching routine that focuses on a rotational approach. Every exercise and stretch you do should incorporate rotational movements. The primary movement in the golf swing is rotational, so why wouldn’t you focus on that in your golf training program?

This is the quickest way to longer drives!

Hitting more balls with the same body and the same swing won’t get you there!

You’ve got to address the physical component to achieve the mechanical efficiency with your driver.

As soon as you do, you’ll be blowing by the other players in your foursome!

This IS the approach you should take with your golf driver swing.

Thanks Mike and we look forward to more great golf swing and fitness info from you in the future.

Also, be on the lookout for a big sale on golf gifts that deal with fitness and swing mechanics coming on Tuesday, December 13th !