G'day. I get asked almost daily what is the best way to increase the power of your drive. Although I don’t think power and longer drives are necessarily going to improve your score, it will help increase enjoyment and give you bragging rights over your mates. This can’t be a bad thing!

The following report is based on scientic evidence, field testing and personal experience. Hopefully the tips and techniques within will help you gain some extra metres and give you the real secrets to hitting the ball further.

First a word of warning. Please don’t expect to start hitting the ball 300 metres if you can currently only hit it 200 metres. There is no point in giving false hope (telling lies) and promising the world when this is not reality. Dealing with reality is a big part of my coaching concepts - this helps cut through the clutter and all of the marketing noise. Sometimes I call it marketing crap! But that is a story for another day.

If everything goes to plan you may be able to increase the length of your drive by 5 - 10%. Not a bad deal if you ask me!

Please note: I should have mentioned this earlier but I’m from Australia. We use metres, not yards here. To convert metres to yards please add 10%.

The big reason is that much of golf instruction is telling you the wrong thing. You are told that power comes from the “big muscles”. The big muscles being your torso, hips and legs. So what does the golfer do?
They thrash, spin and lunge violently at the ball with their entire body. This sort of feels powerful and strong (because everything is moving) but it is the weakest action you can perform. From here a reliable, and powerful swing, is all but impossible.

Second, we are told that we need a big back swing and that we should turn our shoulders as far as we can against the resistance of the hips. “Wind your body like a spring” seems to be the catch cry. But X-factoring (the modern term for a big back swing) is not helping you achieve more power.

A big backswing is not always the easiest way to play golf. Can anyone say OUCH?

Big muscle theory and X-factoring seem like the right thing to do but they are actually inhibiting your power. Here’s why:

1. Because it is a difficult move to make. The timing required to master these actions is past most humans.
2. It places strain and stress on your body. Big backswings and then a violent attack on the ball is not “body friendly”.

If you still don’t believe me watch any long drive competition. These guys are the extreme. They try and “gorilla” each shot and power the ball into next week. Not only are these guys erratic, but they are often injured. Long drive competitors for the most part are not golfers. Competing in long drive competitions is not golf - so please don’t copy them. If you want to play good golf you need to be long and straight - you only get one chance to get the ball into play. And it’s no good if every muscle in your body is tweaked and fatigued. There must be an easier way.

In 2004, a team of biomechanics found it was possible to have awesome power by breaking a few of the fundamentals of golf. The following findings turn traditional instruction on its head.

• More power and less strain by using a comfortable top of backswing position
• A slight bending of the left arm gives (this gives you a mechanical advantage)
• A shorter backswing and a smaller shoulder turn
• A stable (quiet) body on the downswing
• An easier and powerful downswing by using your arms and hands (this is so much simpler than thrashing your body)

The findings not only impressed the scientists (many of them were golfers who thought they needed to follow traditional advice) but also the golf industry who now had some proof that long held beliefs were making golf learning harder than it needed to be.

Interesting snippet: My swing was tested multiple times with the following results.

I had the shortest back swing and the smallest amount shoulder turn

I had the least amount of torque of my spine muscles (we were all hooked up to electrodes that measured muscle activity)

I had the fastest club head speed - 123mph

Your body is not the power producer. This one concept is enough to simplify your swing and give you extra power. The body acts as a reactive support mechanism for your hands and arms. The body moves in response to the moving arms. Here’s the common problem.

The golfer gets to the top of his backswing, then thinking the body is the main power source, spins like crazy towards the ball. The club gets thrown outside the line and it’s then impossible to make a good pass at the ball. This spinning and lunging is the number one reason why golfers slice the ball.

Have you ever hit a shot that felt really easy but the ball rocketed off the club?

Of course you have. And these swings are what I call perfect golf swings. The reason they feel easy is because you are not over using your body. The body is stable and you’re then free to move the club quickly with the hands and arms. This is the easiest way to produce power. Unfortunately it goes against the grain a little so the advice is ignored.

The violent spinning (or lunging or throwing) of the body is replaced by a controlled move. The forces are working with you and you’ll find extra power without trying harder. You’ll get more power with less effort. A very efficient move and something that is possible for every golfer.

Notice the feet are flat on the ground, the body is square to target. This is a hand dominated swing. The body goes along for the ride. It's a simple, easy and powerful golf swing.

Want to know how to learn this simpler, easier and more powerful golf swing?

Of course you do. Let me introduce you to the Drive Launcher...

As the name suggests this device is for use with your driver club. And all you have to do is have full focus on swinging the club through the gate without touching the foam block. Do this and you’ll be doing nicely and on your way to a much better tee ball. Some points of interest for the Drive Launcher,

Check out the images below of the Drive Launcher in action. The images show the approach to the ball (Imaginary ball. You don’t hit balls with this device) and then just after. You can see the shallow angle of approach (perfect) and the club sliding through the gate. If a ball was teed up it would be met with a square clubface and the sweet spot. From here the ball is only going to do one thing

And best of all ...
... you want to take this new confidence and driver-swinging ability to the golf course. When you can tee up the ball and swing with full confidence, you’ll not only hit the ball longer but straighter too. It’s the one-two punch that makes scoring more fun and will get your golf mates talking.