Club Head Speed by John Marshal

Everyone from Phil Mickelson and Justin Leonard to the average 30 handicapper wants to hit the golf ball farther. And everyone can, as long as they are willing to put in a little effort. As a long drive competitor, I know that hitting it longer is a function of three distinct factors: improving the biomechanical efficiency of the golf swing, increasing strength and flexibility, and making sure that your equipment is ideally suited to your swing and ability.

Ultimately a functional golf swing is a system of levers that work together in perfect harmony to create club head speed. The primary levers include the wrist hinge, the arm swing and the rotation of the body. Want some supporting data? Conduct a Google search for “Jamie Sadlowsi swing.”

For those not aware, Jamie has won the world long drive championship each of the past two years. At 5’10” and 165 pounds, he is not a giant. Check out the wrist hinge and the rotational speed. He is literally a blur from the beginning of the downswing to the finish. He consistently flies the golf ball over 380 yards in neutral conditions and with a low spin rate ends up with drives longer than 400 yards.

What you may notice about Jamie’s swing is that there really is not a lot of weight shift, a long-taught “fundamental” that I think is entirely overrated. When you make a conscious effort to shift your weight to the rear foot and then forward to the target-side leg, there is the danger of too much sliding of the hips and the possibility that the center of gravity gets outside the feet. When that happens, rotational speed plummets. Club head speed is all about producing centrifugal force. The faster we can rotate on our axis like a figure skater executing a spin, the farther that golf ball is going to fly as long as we are making solid contact.

Written by John Marshal- view my profile