Backswing Power Test For Longer Drives

Longer golf drives can be yours if you know what you need to do in your backswing in order to achieve longer drives.

You see, to get the most power in your backswing you need to wind your shoulders up as much as possible against your hips, which should be restricted in their turn. The more torque you create between your shoulders and hips, the more power and distance you’ll get. A good picture to have in your mind is of your body being wound tight like a coil.

In your golf backswing your shoulders should always turn more than your hips. This is why your big muscles like your shoulders and arms should take the golf club away. Your hips should only turn and move when they are pulled as a result of your other muscles moving. You should not consciously do any turning with your hips in a powerful backswing.

A good drill for you to test exactly when your hips should turn in your backswing is to do this.

Grip halfway down the shaft of a club and rest the butt-end against your stomach. From this position move your arms and shoulders as far as you can without turning your hips. That is the point in your golf backswing when your hips should start turning, not before.

Another good way to get a feel for the correct turning sequence in your golf swing is to sit in a chair and swing your arms and turn your shoulders as far as you can like you would in a golf swing.
When you do this you’ll find that eventually there comes a point where your hips won’t let you turn any further – this will vary depending on your flexibility – and again that would be the point in your golf swing when your hips should begin to turn.

So for longer golf drives practice turning your arms and shoulders as far as you can, while only allowing your hips to start turning when they absolutely have to.