#1. Swing Faster NOT Harder

It’s a fact that the faster you swing the further the ball goes, because for every 1 mph you increase your swing speed you add about 2.5 yards to your shots. The problem is that golfers often make the mistake of trying to swing harder… and that creates extra tension.

Please understand this about tension… it’s is a killer to swing speed.

When you’re swinging you should only be using the necessary amount of muscle tension in your body and no more. If you have more tension in your muscles than is necessary, you will be swinging slower than you should and that will cause shots to be shorter than you want. If you swing hard it may feel faster – but in reality it will be slower. Always remember this…

A Tense Muscle Is A Slow Muscle

So when you swing, make sure you focus on swinging faster NOT harder. Think fast not hard (unlike the golfer pictured above).

#2. The Release

Above I talked about being relaxed and tension free when swinging to help you hit the ball further. And one critical place where that has to happen is when you’re swinging through the ball. Sadly, a lot of golfers swing through the ball without utilizing their wrists, and consequently are only swinging at impact as fast as their arms are traveling… which isn’t very fast.

A great way to help you learn to use your hands correctly through the ball, is to hit balls off your knees. Simply tee up a ball like you normally would with your driver. Then get on your knees and drive the ball from your knees. Doing this will quickly teach you how to use your wrists to generate more power.

# 3. Swing Sequencing

As far as golf swing power is concerned, one of the big keys is getting the sequencing correct from the transition in your backswing to downswing. Because during that part of your golf swing, for a brief second your upper body should be completing the backswing while your lower body is starting to move towards the target. So to complete the transition successfully you should have two main segments of your body (upper and lower) going in different directions.

That sounds tough, but an easy way to feel this movement is to simply get your golf club and swing it on a horizontal plane like a baseball swing. When you do this you should feel like you’re starting to move your lower body towards your target as you complete your backswing. When you get that feeling down, then transfer that same feeling to your golf swing and you will hit the ball further.

There’s nothing quite like adding 20 yards to your drives quickly. That’s why I created the 21 Yards In 21 Days program. To give golfers a simple, daily program that will help them to add yards to their drives. So if you’ve got 15 minutes a day spare to do this, then go here and get this program while it’s on special.

And if you’ve purchased anything that says something like that, you would have quickly found out that you can’t add 30 yards to your drives in a bucket of balls. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add 5-10 yards in 15 minutes. No… that’s entirely possible and realistic for most golfers. And there’s a couple of ways you can do it. The first way is by improving your technique.

For example, if you have a problem with a short backswing I can give you a trick, like flaring out your right foot by 10 – 15 degrees away from your target, and you’ll be able to increase your rotation on your backswing. This will easily give you more distance. Another easy way for golfers to hit the golf ball further, is by increasing the lag in their downswing. Because if at the half way point in your downswing your wrist angle is near 90 degrees (or worse), like this golfer…

….then you can easily hit it further by having more angle between your lead arm and your club, like this…

Swing speed is obviously another very easy way to gain distance quickly. But it’s not a matter of just trying to swing faster. You need to train yourself how to do it, because your brain has got a speed ‘like’ governor on it.

If you swing at 90 mph maximum with your driver, then your brain will always try to keep you at that. So you have to actually do exercises and drills, to get your brain to discover that you can actually swing faster than that. You have the potential to add 10 mph swing speed to your drives right now. That’s an easy 20 yards that you can add to your drives right now… but your brain is stopping you from doing it.

So you need tricks like I reveal in this program to open your mind up to allowing yourself to swing faster. Another simple way to hit the ball further is to increase your flexibility, strength, power and speed etc. If you get the mix right in the exercises you’re doing, you can get big gains really quickly.

So I’m sure you’re smart enough NOT to get sucked into anything claiming you can add 30 yards to your drives in a bucket of balls. But you can most definitely add 5 – 10 yards to your drives in 15 minutes in one day. Then the next day you can do something else and add some more yards. Then the next day you can do something different again and add even more yards. It’s because of that fact, that I’ve put together a complete program to help you do exactly that. Every day I give you one simple thing you can do, which takes 15 minutes and it will add yards to your drives every day. To find out more about this exciting new program simply go here now.

But before I give you this exercise I just need to explain that doing passive exercises is not going to have a huge positive effect on your golf swing. And when I say passive exercises, I mean doing a stretch and holding it.  The reason for this is because when you swing a golf club you are moving, so it doesn’t make sense to do exercises that require a lot of holding.

When stretching to hit longer drives you want to be moving!

One example of a great exercise you can do to help yourself hit longer golf drives is called the twister. To do this exercise you simply get a dumbbell or a medicine ball and hold it against your chest. Then with the dumbbell or medicine ball in place, setup as though you are about to swing a golf club but have your feet a fraction wider apart than normal.

Once you are ready then simply rotate your upper body from one side to the other, and as you’re doing this shift your weight from one side to the other. When you’re doing this exercise try to increase your turn on each side for each rotation, but be sure to do this in a controlled manner and use common sense. Don’t rush this to start with, but as you get more used to the motion then you can increase the speed.

Always make sure you are turning fully as you’re doing this. You can do this exercise every day if you wish, for say 20 repetitions. This will help you to make a bigger turn in your golf swing and consequently you’ll hit longer golf drives.

MOVING!

I so often see the golf swings of amateur golfers where you’d think the golfers were wearing lead boots! Or they have their feet stuck in concrete.

Now look, if you don’t move your legs during the golf swing you’ll be costing yourself a lot of distance. Because you’re even reading this I imagine you want to hit the golf ball as far as possible, right?

Well then, you must learn to use both your feet and your legs effectively in your golf swing in order to do that. So in this article I’m going to explain to you how to do that and I’ll give you some good drills to help you learn to do it.

But before I get started, first let me give you an example of how not using your legs is costing you distance in your golf swing.

To do this I want you to setup to a golf shot as you normally would. Before you make your golf swing, however, I want you to put down your golf club and pick up the ball and get ready to throw it. Then once you’re set I then want you to throw the ball as far as you can, BUT when you do this don’t allow your legs to move at all. Feel as though your feet are stuck to the ground and as you’re throwing the ball your legs are not moving at all.

Once you have done this I then want you to get another ball and throw that ball as well. But this time I want you to use your feet and legs freely as you throw, to help you throw the ball as far as you can. Just imagine you’re a baseball pitcher. So move your weight back onto your back foot (and you can even lift your front foot off the ground if you’re keen) as you’re taking your arm back, and then quickly move your weight to your front foot and throw the ball and fire your legs and hips and allow your back foot to rise up so at the end of your throw you’re facing the target, your back foot heel is up off the ground and you have used your legs powerfully to help you throw the ball as far as possible.

After doing this compare which ball went the furthest.

Even without doing this you know that the ball you threw like a baseball pitcher is going to go a lot further than the ball which you didn’t use any leg motion to throw, am I correct?

Well, the same is going to be true in your golf swing. The same universal law applies whether you’re throwing a ball as far as you can, or hitting a golf ball with your golf club as far as you can.

So now you know this, how can you use this information to improve your golf swing?

Ok, first you need to have a clear idea of how your legs should move in the golf swing and that’s what I’m going to explain now.

When you setup to swing a golf club your back leg should have some flex in it. When you swing the flex that is in your back leg should stay pretty much the same all throughout your backswing. You should not straighten your back leg at all during the backswing because that will promote a reverse pivot, which basically means that the weight is going onto your front foot instead of your back foot – and that is very bad!

So while you’re swinging back you should be keeping your back leg in pretty much the same position that it was in at setup, all throughout your backswing. You should also let your front knee move naturally in towards your back knee during the backswing. This will just happen naturally though. You don’t need to try and make this happen.

Now to make a powerful transition in your golf swing from your backswing to your downswing you should transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot.

A great way I have found to do this is to initiate the downswing by moving the front knee towards the target.

However, it’s a good idea when doing this to try and keep the back knee where it was in the backswing because this knee separation creates lag in the downswing, which helps to create the late hit that every golfer wants because it gives longer golf drives!

Every long hitter in the world does this knee separation and the longest hitters start this knee separation before the backswing has been completed. To help you get this feeling I suggest you do the following.

As you’re getting to the top of your backswing get to a position where you are fully loaded into your right side, and as I’ve already said, I believe that to start your downswing you should do it with your left knee and left hip first.

So as you are about to reach the furthest point going back you should be starting your downswing movement with your left knee first and then your left hip. The feeling should be one of moving in two directions at once for a split second. This is not the easiest thing to do, but with practice it creates tremendous clubhead speed and you’ll notice a big increase in distance.

Here’s a great drill that teaches you the leg movements in the golf swing that I’m talking about. Get a beach ball and place it between your knees at setup. Then swing back as normal, and to start your downswing you need to separate your knees so that the beach ball falls down, and then swing through normally.

If you master this knee separation move you’ll hit the ball longer than you ever have before, and you’ll be more consistent too. I’m sure you’ll love both of those benefits, won’t you?!

Now the follow-through really is a result of how good the backswing was. So you must concentrate on getting a good solid backswing before you even look at your follow-through. With that being said it’s a good idea that you have a clear picture of what you should look like at the end of your swing, where your weight should be and what your feet should be doing… which is what I’m going to give you now.

At the end of your golf swing almost all of your weight should be on your front foot. Your belt buckle should be pointing towards the target or even to the left of your target. And lastly, but very importantly, your back foot should be almost completely off the ground. It should just be resting on your toe.

Hopefully now you’ve got a good idea as to how you can best use your feet to get the most power in your golf swing. So I’ll now summarize the points you should work on…

1. During your backswing you should concentrate on keeping your back leg in the same position that it was in at address.

2. To start your downswing you should do so with your front knee moving towards the target, attempting to separate the knees.

3. At the finish of your golf swing you should have the majority of your weight on your front foot, with your belt buckle pointing towards the target. Plus your back foot should be up on it’s toe so you can see all of the spikes in your shoe.

If you follow these points your golf swing will be more powerful and more consistent, and consequently you’ll have more fun playing golf. I suggest you concentrate on your backswing first, then start on the downswing, and then the follow-through last. But when you go to work on your follow-through here’s something that will help you.

Pose your follow-through so that it’s perfect, then have a swing and attempt to get into the same follow-through position that you just posed.

At the end of every golf swing you should be able to hold your follow-through until the ball has stopped rolling. You’ll only be able to do this if you have swung within yourself. Lastly, remember a good finish generally means a good shot so get in the habit of holding your follow-through until your ball has stopped moving.

If you do these things you’ll hit longer golf drives because of your vastly improve golf swing.

To help you do this, below are six simple hand exercises you can do to help improve your hand strength and flexibility for longer golf shots. These exercises can be done easily in the comfort of your own home, and they do not require you to purchase anything that you would not already have available. Before we get into the exercises, however, here is some important advice.

The following exercises are for strengthening the lower arms. You can make these exercises easier by holding lower down on the shaft of the golf club, and if you need to you can also make these exercises harder by using a heavier club and holding the club near the end.

When you begin the exercises you should hold the golf club in a place which as a result, after about 20 repetitions you are reasonably tired. Do 20 repetitions with each hand and when you’re just starting out with these exercises, keep your sessions to once a week and slowly build up to three sessions per week as you progress. Stop if you feel any soreness or any other feeling that you don’t think is normal.

After a while of doing these exercises at 20 repetitions you can increase the repetitions gradually until you can do about 100 with each hand. But like any exercise, use common sense as you build up to that. So without any further ado, here are the hand strengthening and flexibility exercises.

1. This first hand exercise is a great one for the wrists as it simulates the open and closing feeling that should happen in your golf swing. To do this exercise stand with your golf club as you would to address a golf ball, then keeping the upper arm pointing down to the ground, raise the club up so it’s pointing to the sky. Now press your elbow against your side and roll the club from one side to the other as far as the arm will allow. Only use the top hand for this exercise, so you’ll only be doing this exercise with you left arm (or right arm for lefties).

2. This exercise is a great one for strengthening the wrists for longer drives. Do this exercise with each arm, one at a time. Holding a golf club in your hand, hold your arm slightly bent against your side so that only your wrist is mobile. Now move the club in chopping motions up and down. The club should be in front of you, and you should move it towards your head and then towards the ground.

3. Do this golf exercise with each hand, one at a time. While holding a golf club place your elbow against your side and “write” all the letters in the alphabet in the air with the golf club, using big movements of the wrist and lower arm.

4. Repeat the previous exercise and “write” all the letters in the alphabet in the air, but this time do not place your elbow against your side. Keep your arm straight, so that you are writing using only the shoulders and wrists.

5. Hold a club in your left hand, and take up your golf stance. Hold your right hand behind your back. Using only your left hand wrist, raise the club to the horizontal position and then lower it. Repeat this until your forearm tightens. Complete all repetitions and then swap the club to your right hand and repeat the exercise with the other hand.

6. Wring out a wet or dry hand-towel, using both hands and twisting as hard as possible. Change hands from time to time, left above right, then right above left, until your forearms tighten.

So there you go, six great hand exercises for you to do to build up the strength and flexibility in your hands. After a while of doing these exercises not only will you hit longer drives but you’ll also find it easier to get out of the rough as well. Have fun hitting longer golf drives.

You see, an American company did some research into those golfers that hit long drives and those golfers that don’t. Interestingly what this company discovered was that the real difference between longer hitters and shorter hitters is not shoulder turn, but the early stages of the downswing.

This company found that longer hitters increase the gap between the hips and shoulders by almost 20 percent as the club is starting the downswing. Whereas shorter hitters only had a 13 percent increase in the gap between their hips and shoulders.

So how can you use this information to help yourself in your own golf swing so you can hit longer drives?

Easy!

If you want to hit longer drives you need to focus on widening the gap between your hips and shoulders on the downswing, and here’s how to do it.

Get your driver and setup to a golf ball as your normally would. Then, keeping your body in the same setup position, pick up your golf club and position it over the back of your shoulders behind your neck.

Once in position then rotate your shoulders as though you are making your backswing turn, making sure to turn them as far as they will go. Just before you reach your furthermost backswing position move your front knee back towards the target and rotate your front hip towards the target. While you’re doing this try to keep rotating your shoulders back away from the target, as if to complete your backswing.

This will mean that for a quick moment your body will be going in two different directions at the same time. Your upper body will still be moving back to complete the backswing, and your lower body will be moving forward toward the target – thus widening the gap between your shoulders and hips.

After some practice at this you should then try to do this same move while you’re actually swinging the golf club.

To do this simply setup to a shot as normal and then swing back slowly. Then once you get close to the top of your backswing move your left knee towards your target and continue your backswing, trying to turn your shoulders away from the target.

Naturally, you’ll get to a point where you can no longer do this and so you should start your downswing and follow-through.

The point of this drill is to try to train your body to move in two different directions at once to help you hit longer drives. It’s a tough move to perfect but with practice and persistence you can do it and reap much longer golf drives as a result.

So to help you strengthen your legs so you can hit longer golf drives, here are five golf exercises to help you do this.

1. For this first leg strengthening golf exercise, simply stand with your back against a wall and hold your arms at your sides. Now slide your back down the wall and move your feet out away from the wall so they are in a sitting position trying to get your upper legs into a position where they are horizontal or parallel with the floor.

Once you have achieved a position like that it will look as though you are sitting on an invisible chair. Then simply hold that position for as long as possible.

This is a pretty tough exercise to do so it’s ok if the first few times you can’t get your thighs to a position where they are parallel with the floor. But don’t let that concern you, just go down as close to horizontal as you can and then hold that position for as long as possible. Then the next time you do this exercise try to improve on what you achieved the previous time. If you’re not used to this kind of exercise then you will probably feel some muscle awareness for a day or two after you first start with this. But don’t let that stop you, just take it easy until that passes.

Important Note: When you start on this exercise, make sure you have something you can grab onto to help yourself get up from this position!

2. This exercise is such a simple one, but nonetheless it can help to strengthen up your legs to give you more power in your golf game. For this exercise simply do one-legged jumps (hopping one leg) until you get tired, and then alternate to the other leg and repeat.

3. The third leg exercise you can do for your golf game is heel raises. To do this exercise find a step (or a plank of wood) and place your toes and the balls of your feet on the step. Then simply rise up on the balls of your feet and then come back down again so that you lower your heels as far down as they can go, and repeat. Do this as many times as you can until you feel a burning sensation in your calf muscles (but if you feel any pain stop immediately). If necessary, support yourself with one hand on a wall.

4. For this leg exercise you’re going to do sideways hops on one leg. To do this you simply need to hop from side to side on one leg at a time and keep going until you get tired. Then change legs and repeat.

5. Finally for this last leg exercise to give you more power in your golf game, you can do either stair climbing, biking or skipping. When you’re at a level that you find these exercises easy then you can add weights to your legs to make them harder!

So there you go, 5 simple exercises that you can do right now to help you strengthen up your legs so you can hit longer, more powerful golf drives. Do these exercises regularly and you’ll notice increased distance in your golf drives.

You see, to get the most power in your backswing you need to wind your shoulders up as much as possible against your hips, which should be restricted in their turn. The more torque you create between your shoulders and hips, the more power and distance you’ll get. A good picture to have in your mind is of your body being wound tight like a coil.

In your golf backswing your shoulders should always turn more than your hips. This is why your big muscles like your shoulders and arms should take the golf club away. Your hips should only turn and move when they are pulled as a result of your other muscles moving. You should not consciously do any turning with your hips in a powerful backswing.

A good drill for you to test exactly when your hips should turn in your backswing is to do this.

Grip halfway down the shaft of a club and rest the butt-end against your stomach. From this position move your arms and shoulders as far as you can without turning your hips. That is the point in your golf backswing when your hips should start turning, not before.

Another good way to get a feel for the correct turning sequence in your golf swing is to sit in a chair and swing your arms and turn your shoulders as far as you can like you would in a golf swing.
When you do this you’ll find that eventually there comes a point where your hips won’t let you turn any further – this will vary depending on your flexibility – and again that would be the point in your golf swing when your hips should begin to turn.

So for longer golf drives practice turning your arms and shoulders as far as you can, while only allowing your hips to start turning when they absolutely have to.

If you normally swing at 85 mph on the downswing and through the ball and then you increase that swing speed to 95 mph you will hit the ball further. About 25 yards further in fact, because for every 1 mph you increase your swing speed you will gain about 2.5 yards in distance.

This all sounds well and good in theory. But the problem is that when most amateur golfers try to swing faster in an attempt to hit the ball further, they often find it doesn’t actually work for them.

The reason it doesn’t work is because when most amateur golfers try to swing faster they lose their balance. When they lose their balance they lose timing, and when they lose their timing they lose distance.

So to hit the golf ball further you need to swing faster right where it matters – at impact, while still maintaining your balance and timing. So I’m going to share with you a great way to learn what is needed to do just that.

Get your driver and turn it up the other way so you’re gripping it near the head and the golf grip is down the bottom. Now I want you to setup to an imaginary ball and then close your eyes.
From this setup position I want you to simply swing the club back and forth, swinging at about 60% of your potential power. As you’re doing this listen to the “whoosh”. It should be loudest right at impact.

After about 20 swings I want you increase the speed of your swing by 10% and again listen to the “whoosh” sound, making sure it’s loudest at impact.

It’s important you do this golf swing speed exercise with your eyes closed so you are more focused on the sound and your balance, rather than being focused on swing positions.

Keep repeating this process of increasing your golf swing speed until you’re swinging as fast as you can and the “whoosh” is the fastest at impact.

Then after you have achieved that simply repeat the same drill with the driver up the normal way. By doing this golf drill regularly it will get you feeling the power of the golf swing in the correct place, along with retaining your balance and timing. Naturally, this will result in longer golf drives for you.