By Nick Cork, PGA Teaching Professional, Abu Dhabi Golf Club
Maximising clubhead speed is a must if the club golfer is going to perform well on championship courses. Hitting the golf ball with higher clubhead speed will improve your strike, trajectory and distance! When attempting to develop clubhead speed, I will make sure the golfer is doing the following four combined movements:
ROTATION
Make sure your trail hip slightly rotates, while the chest and lead shoulder will follow your movement. The aim here is to have more shoulder turn than hip turn at the top of the backswing. At impact I would want to see the hips, chest and shoulders have more rotation than the setup position.
WEIGHT TRANSFER
You need to transfer your weight from the ball of your foot to the heel in the trail foot in the backswing. Then
into the outside of the lead foot when the clubhead strikes the golf ball at impact. You continue the movement into the heel of the lead foot at the end of your swing.
ELEVATION
Your arms need to elevate upwards in the backswing which, in turn, makes a bigger swing arc. The lead arm should run through the trail shoulder or slightly above.
WRIST ANGLES
See that you create wrist hinge in the backswing, which forms an angle between the lead arm and wrist. This will increase in the downswing as a consequence of your correct weight transfer. This angle will then be released at impact.
Extra clubhead speed is vital to all levels of golfer. If you combine these four movements in your swing, you will maximise clubhead speed and you will be able to play from different areas of the golf course that you maybe only dreamed of doing before. Check these positions to see which movement you need to add to your swing
