IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
Power lost and found
I hear it all the time on the lesson tee: “I've lost my power and I don't know how to get it back.”
The first step in solving this problem is to ask a few key questions: Are you watching the Golf Channel ― a prime purveyor of golf viruses? Are you injured? Are there any new stressors in your life, such as a divorce or financial reversal? Any of these can upset your swing.
Once the history is complete, troubleshoot your swing using three keys to power:
1. Are you coiling like tour player John Henry, who is turning his upper body twice as much as his hips in the first photo below?
2. Are you shifting pressure to your front side starting down?
If you're right-handed, you should be on your left side with your shoulders still turned twice as much as your hips in your coil. If you had to pick up your back foot at this point without changing anything else, you could. The average player can't do this because he has too much weight on the rear foot.
3. Are you firing your core at the target through impact like David Toms in the second photo below?
To max out your power, everything releases to the target: the ball, the clubhead and the core. Anything less and your clubhead will flip past you in a weak, slapping motion.
Using his lower body as a stable base, John Henry turns his upper body twice as much as his hips. Notice the ripples in his shirt; they signify the tension caused by torqueing his body.
A key to power is keeping your right side moving during the downswing, as David Toms does here. When you stop, you lose the angles of power prematurely, and energy leaks out before impact.