Everyone wants to add distance to their shots.
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Golf instruction is always evolving, but the best tips stand the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Lifetime Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice that teachers and players have shared in the pages of GOLF Magazine. Today we go back to our November 1979 issue, where we shared some tips on how to hit the ball longer. For unlimited access to the complete digital archive of GOLF Magazine, join Inside GOLF tODAY; you’ll enjoy $140 worth of value for just $39.99 per year.
The current era of golf is all about power. If you can’t bomb it on fairways, you don’t have much of a chance to compete at the highest levels. However, this obsession with power is not a new phenomenon. For as long as the game has existed, golfers have been looking for ways to hit the ball longer.
Our November 1979 issue i GOLF magazine proves as much. On the cover of that issue, we promised seven easy ways to hit the ball hard. And in today’s edition of Timeless Tips, we’re sharing those tips from legendary instructor Phil Ritson. Check them out below.
7 easy ways to hit the ball hard
My students often ask me what is the secret of power? Honestly I have to answer: There is no secret. Every golfer would pump the ball long and straight if they had. But I’ve thought a lot about power, and over the years I’ve found seven major keys that make the difference between having and not having power. Most golfers get these keys wrong, thus preventing any opportunity for consistently powerful shots.
The keys are simple, because golf is hard enough without overcomplicating it. But don’t let their simplicity fool you into thinking that all you have to do the next time you hit the course is think about them and you’ll instantly become a long ball hitter. No, these keys will only develop into new and correct habits if you give them the necessary practice.
Approach one key at a time. An effective way to incorporate each of these into your golf system is to take a lot of “dry swings,” that is, swings without the ball. Do three or four of them, focusing on the key you want to get. After the dry swing, hit a ball, again with that thought in mind. Repeat the process until the key becomes a habit.
1. Keep your left hand straight
A key factor in power is the angle you place on the left at address. This angle I call the “straight” position. To adopt it, extend the fingers of your left hand in line with your left forearm. Make a fist and the back of your left wrist makes a slight angle with your forearm. This “straight” position is the most powerful way to grip the club.
I teach all students to hold the stick so that the thumb of the left hand is at 12 o’clock on the handle. With the so-called “strong” grip (the hands are turned too far to the right in the glove), or they move back to a completely closed position (the palm of the left hand is convex and the face of the arm towards the sky) and they have no physical strength. to hit the ball from there, or in their attempt to bend their wrists, the left wrist collapses under the shaft. They swing and lose control of the club. With a “‘straight'” left wrist, they can’t overload their wrists because the left thumb properly supports the club at the top of the swing.
The left hand should remain in the “straight” position from the following address.
2. Turn both shoulders
The cardinal sin of most golfers is not finishing the backswing. The rotation then becomes rushed and they lose power. The most common reasons for an incomplete backswing are: 1. Moving back with only the hands and arms and letting the shoulders turn on their own, and 2. Overemphasizing the left shoulder in the shoulder turn.
Zephyr Melton
Two other complications arise from this overemphasis on the left shoulder. First, many golfers think of the “left shoulder down,” which leads to a right foot drive. The weight is transferred back to the left leg in a reverse weight shift. Second, because the right arm is set and broken in the proper backswing, the right shoulder becomes slightly flexed. The right shoulder stops and prevents a full inflation.
These problems are solved by turning both shoulders. Also, your swing will always be on point. You will have a sensation of swinging up and down at the same rate – what I call the “pendulum feel” – the key factor in smooth power application.
3. Open a ball
A third trigger key is to shift your weight to the inside of your right heel during the backswing. To get a feel for this, practice using a ball placed under the little toe of your right foot. This will cause you to shift your weight back to your heel. Also because the ball is placed on the outside of the foot, it will prevent the weight from moving to the outside of the right foot, causing a swing. The weight shift is instead shifted to the inside of the heel. The main feeling of landing on the right side as the hips and shoulders turn and the club moves up into the stance. The right knee will bend slightly more than at address as you rotate your body around it. As an important benefit, this ball exercise encourages you to put your weight on the balls and heels of your feet and discourages you from hitting your toes.
4. Keep a tray
One of the key control points for a powerful swing is the position of the right arm “waiter tray” at the top of the swing. The proper right arm drop action is an underarm motion, very similar to an underarm throw, and it is much easier to make the underarm motion on the downswing if you have allowed the right arm to fold into the underarm position. “waiter’s tray” in reverse. This position is the right position from which you can make the down and through movement without having to do any compensatory action.
It is possible, of course, to execute an accurate landing from the “flying right elbow” position – Miller Barber proves this in every event he stretches. Remember, though, that Barber has been working for years to make this unorthodox move possible. (It’s unorthodox in the sense that it’s fine for him, but not for the average player who has much less time to fine-tune his game.)
5. Separate the knees
One of the most powerful moves in golf is the “splitting” of the legs. When you start the squat, the left knee moves laterally down the leg line, shifting the weight to the outside of the left foot, from the little toe to the heel. You keep your right heel on the ground – a helpful image here is to think of “nailing” your right heel to the ground. Ultimately, of course, both knees will move laterally, but for a second, you should be in a “studded” position created by the lateral movement of the left knee independent of the right. It’s almost a “sitting on the sidelines” feeling.
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The lateral movement of the knees does two things: First, it helps you do the correct “underarm” landing action, where you’re hitting down and down the line. All great players work “under” Second, because the left knee begins its “foot” movement just before the upper body has finished closing, you create tremendous leverage. Once the weight is firmly on the left leg, you can clean the hips to the left as fast as you like, in fact, the faster you clean the hips, the more traction you create on the left side and arm, and the more the more head speed you will generate.
Important: Keep your left knee “soft” or bent through the ball. This will prevent your head and upper body from working in front of or over the ball before impact.
6. Take a trip
If you’ve ever heard someone tell you to roll your hands or wrists, grab your bag, turn around and run as fast as you can! At no point in the swing should you ever consciously rotate your hands or wrists. This is especially true in launch.
If you try to turn your hands or wrists through the shot, you will lose control of the ball. How much do you rotate them and when? Timing is very critical and the club face remains on the strike line for a very short time, if not at all.
In fact, the clubface should not “‘roll'” open or closed, but on the downswing, the club works | from the thumb up position halfway down – to the thumb up in the extended position due to body rotation through impact and wrist flexion.
To make an accurate release, pretend you are a hitchhiker taking a ride. You should feel your left forearm turning upside down with the back of your left hand remaining, as always, in the “straight” position. You accelerate on impact.
7. Place the right ear on a pillow
Perhaps the greatest fantasy in golf occurs when you hit the ball badly. People immediately say, “You held your head up,” whereas I think the opposite is true. When you try to lower your head, you can lose freedom not only in the continuation, but also in the entire fall. You will get less head speed and less distance.
Once the ball is hit and the shoulders and arms pass the original position of the ball, you must allow the head to rotate for a free pass. In other words, the rotation of the neck will follow the curve of the shoulders.
Let the head rise the right way, from below. As you move, place your right ear on an imaginary pillow. This will give you the right head spin and encourage an uninhibited pass through the ball and maximum power.
