Power Builds Use the body you have to crush it! Part II

IF A GOLFER HAS too much mass, either from bulky muscles or a bulky girth, it can inhibit a free-flowing swing (not to mention create a variety of technical swing issues). If you have a set of "guns" or a belly that tends to get in the way, read on and start swinging with more fluidity.
 
In the photo below right, I'm swinging far too long and out of control. My shaft is well beyond parallel in the backswing, and this leads to a major power leak. This happens because the player tends to think that a big windup is the key to his power. He doesn't rotate very well because of his bulky frame, so to lengthen his swing, he uses his smaller muscles, "loosening" his hands in the backswing, even losing his grip so his clubshaft swings well out of control Callaway Diablo Edge Driver. I want my students to make a shorter swing that's easier to control, seeing distance as a product of a solid strike versus a Herculean lash (as shown in these photos where the club is under my chest and about ¾ of the way back).
 
To fix your lack of rotation, start your swing with your right foot back (opposite page). This encourages some rotational movement away from the target Callaway Big Bertha Diablo Irons 2010.

 

On the followthrough, it's imperative to better use your body to put all you've got into the hit. Take a look at my feet in the two impact photos (opposite page, bottom). In the photo at right they're "dead" and in the photo at left they're "alive." A common trait of golfers with this build is that they find it hard to get their body moving, both back and through. Getting the back foot to "wake up" serves to add more power to the strike Callaway Big Bertha Iron Set, while encouraging clean contact on all of your shots, especially those played with irons, hybrids or fairway metals directly from the turf.