How Can Softer Arms Create More Power? - Mastering Golf - by David Lee

How Softer Arms Can Create More Power

Sadly, for golfers all over the world, almost everyone begins by swinging the golf club incorrectly.  The instinct that most players have when they start the down-swing is to flex the shoulders and arms in an attempt to strike the ball.

When a player tightens his or her arms in the down-swing in an effort to create power, it normally has a negative effect on core-speed and distance because most individuals do it too early.  Players that use counter-fall and core mass rotation to “sling” their arms, usually create more power than tight-armed players, and do it with far less effort.

At the completion of the back-swing, if the counter-fall goes deep enough, and the arms start down in a state of total dead-fall, a very gentle turn will create great speed in the arms.  There is a “symbiotic” relationship between the counter-fall depth and the falling arms that allow power to be enabled instead of forced.  Most players never feel how easily this can be achieved because they have flexed their arms and shoulders at the start of the down-swing in every swing they have ever made, and instantly kill the body’s ability to sling the arms with minimal effort.

The best way to develop sensitivity to the impropriety of flexing the shoulders and arms at the start of the down-swing, is to practice the Gravity golf cross-footed, one-armed drills.  It becomes instantly apparent that flexing is not the answer, and you begin to feel how to use counter-fall and mass rotation for power.  Most players, once they know how to apply power correctly, will use no more than one-half their former effort, to move the ball significantly farther.