Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.
Hitting the ball a long time from the tee isn’t just fun, it’s also good for your score. The closer you can get the ball to the green, the closer you will be able to hit the ball to the hole (on average). And the closer the approach shots are hit, the more birdies you’ll make.
There are a number of paths you can take add a few extra kilometers per hour for your ball and ball speed, but for the sake of this column, we’ll cover it from an instructional angle. That way, when you’re under the gun and have to fly a hazard on the course, you can rely on your technique.
For more about this, we turn to world long drive champion Kyle Berkshire.
A hack for more distance
The golf swing has many moving parts – and for maximum efficiency, all of these components must work properly. Berkshire likes to compare the golf swing to a symphony, where each part of the body represents a different instrument.
“When you get to the bottom of the symphony, the wrist is what dictates how much of that power is released into the club,” says Berkshire.
Releasing your wrists may not seem like a big power driver, but in reality, these small muscles are crucial. The wrists are the last part of the body to move power to the clubhead, so releasing them properly is essential to power generation.
“If you have wrists that don’t really rotate, you’re really going to lose a huge amount of power,” says Berkshire. “It’s your ultimate force multiplier.”
Berkshire explains that when he swings the driver, he likes to feel like his wrists are very “soft.” And if you want to add power to your swing, you should try to feel that smoothness as well.
“I like to have very loose and relaxed wrists,” says Berkshire. “I feel like it’s a good look to have.”
So the next time you want to add some power to your drives, remember to keep your wrists soft. It’s a sentiment used by one of the longest drivers in the world – and it will work for you too.
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