"Everybody can get better on 15 minutes per day."
"You can even get better on 5 minutes per day."
Tom Tucker, Unrenowned Golf Coach 😄
Tom's Featured Tip: More Distance With More Control - Just Whip It!
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More Distance With More Control - Just Whip It!
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More Distance With More Control - Just Whip It!
This week's article is about something that I discovered in my own swing this year in four rounds of golf. It has already paid dividends with little more distance, as well as more consistent curvature. Specifically, a more consistent draw, which is my curvature of choice.
I play with the same guys each year. My poker buddies - who will gamble on a dog crossing a street. More serious and better players on the weekend, my son and a couple other good players, and on Tuesdays with a low handicap player.
This motivates me to keep working on my fitness and my game or I'll be everyone else's personal annuity. 😄
One of my poker playing buddies commented that I was driving the ball further this year, and asked if I bought a new driver.
I'm playing the same driver that I've had in the bag for the last five years, but I did make changes in the areas of my training and technique.
I'm passing them along because they could be beneficial regardless of your age.
As I've stated before, I'm a senior golfer (10/46 DOB) but don't think of myself that way. That's tip number one for seniors, don't use your age as a crutch.
TRAINING
My weight training has always been consistent, a full body progressive resistance training regimen two days per week. What changed was adjusting my lifting method to more of a power orientation than a strength building orientation.
That means slow eccentric movements, then fast concentric movements. For example, on a bench press, slow lowering of the weight (eccentric portion), and then thinking "fast" with each concentric movement, pushing the weight upward. About 3 to 4 seconds down, then up as fast as possible, while thinking FAST on each concentric rep.
Strength is the ability to move a certain amount of weight.
Power is the ability to move a certain amount of weight with speed.
As we age, we lose power, strength, and muscle in that order unless we do something about it.
So my message to you is to do something about it. My wife asked me what motivated me to do that 1 hr and 40 minute session twice per week. My answer was "that I get to do it!". God has blessed me with relatively good health (I've helped him out by working at it), so I get to do some things that others my age don't get to do, and I'm taking advantage of it.
TECHNIQUE
After that long winded explanation of training, I must admit that some newfound power was only very partially responsible for more distance this year. Technique was probably the biggest influence.
The most important technique factor was re-training myself to "crack the whip" at impact.
I taught myself to do this through introspection - that's thinking deeply about my swing - and finding a cure.
During my introspection, I came to the conclusion that my most prevailing swing error - a slightly outside inside swing path - was causing me to dump my power early. There was no "cracking of the whip" at impact. That error was usually caused by an aggressive swing frame of mind that had me starting my downswing with a shoulder turn rather than a lateral slide, and not allowing the clubhead to release.
I googled "cracking the whip" and after some research, decided to also try carrying my hands closer to my body during my downswing path.
The results were a swing that started my downswing with a pronounced lateral hip slide towards the target, with upper torso, then arms, then hands following, with a hand path held closer to my body.
I also had to tell my brain to be patient with transition, to let my lower body do its work before my upper body got involved.
My good swings are now "cracking the whip" at impact, with increased distance with every club every time I do it correctly. I also am experiencing a consistent slight draw or straight ball flight, which gives me more confidence with my aimpoint at my setup.
I still have plenty of practice to do to get enough reps in to be more consistent. My misses are still weaker shots, but I analyze my motion after the poor shots and can identify whether it was a poor transition, or a flying hands position on the downswing that caused the malfunction.
I have peace of mind that a problem defined is a problem half solved, now I just need practice reps on my Divot Board to burn the technique into my neural pathways (often stated as muscle memory).
I also use my Orange Whip Trainer to feel the motion.
YOUR TAKEAWAY
- Add some power to your body with a sensible progressive resistance training regimen, tweaked for power development.
- Develop a downswing transition that starts with a lateral hip slide, then hands travelling close to your body to add some "crack the whip" speed at impact.
- Here are three results from a "golf swing - crack the whiip" search on Google, they show the "crack the whip" concept in action, (in no particular order).
Email Comments: to TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, The Stack and Tilt Swing
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, and remember that golf is a game of discovery. Don't be afraid to experiment when you practice, it's good for your golfing brain.
Tom
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All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Professional, Batavia Country Club
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection1"
~ Ben Hogan