USE SHAFT FLEX TO HIT IT LONGER AND STRAIGHTER
The most common question I am asked, whether it be in a social setting or when I am teaching golf, is “How do I get more distance?”. First, this video will cover the golf swing from post-transition to the finish. I think we can finally answer the above question in this portion of the golf swing. I warn you, though, you must be in position at the end of transition to create distance. Please refer to my blog “Transition, the Golf Swing Secret” before you proceed to the current video.
Distance has been a very elusive topic, and over the years, various tips have been offered. However, the most important secret has been overlooked. Shaft flex (shaft load), along with arm speed, is responsible for distance. I came to this conclusion 13 years ago when I observed one of my son’s fellow competitors in an American Junior golf Association (AJGA) practice round. He was 18 years old, only about 5’8″ tall and a bit on the stocky side, but not particularly muscular. He only took his hands back to below shoulder height. He was the longest hitter I’ve ever seen in person, his driver often going 450 yards (but not particularly straight). His swing speed was so fast that he would leave a perfect imprint(we had wooden tees painted white in those days) on the face of his driver. The tee itself was compressed and looked like it had been cut in half lengthwise. He broke his driver head and had to have it replaced about three times per month. Watching this golfer brought me to believe that the size of the arc and the size of the golfer had little to do with distance.
What are the important factors for distance? How did this young man hit the ball so far? Arm speed, shaft flex, and knowing when and how to fire properly are key factors. Keeping the club on plane and using circular force are also important. You can learn about circular force in my blog “Swing in a Circle”.
Arm speed is based on several factors. Each of us has a certain number of fast twitch fibers and a certain number of slow twitch fibers. Sprinters and pitchers who throw the ball at high speeds have lots of fast twitch fibers. Weightlifters have lots of slow twitch fibers. Unfortunately, what we are born with is what we have. We cannot change the number of fast twitch and slow twitch fibers. However, we can learn how to use our fast twitch fibers more efficiently. That is a topic for the future. Another extremely important factor for speed is learning how to fire a muscle and relax as quickly as possible after firing. You can easily see an example of this in the baseball pitcher in the video. I learned this principle from a friend who had trained with a Russian olympic coach. The coach trained sprinters and this principle of firing and relaxing was of great benefit. Another crucial point to creating optimal firing of the muscle is to create optimal stretch of a muscle. Muscles are like rubber bands. The more you stretch them the harder they fire. There is one muscle that swings the left arm that creates most of the arm speed in the golf swing. That muscle is the teres minor. I will teach you how to optimally stretch this muscle to create more arm speed. Additionally, arm speed is important in shaft flex as well.
It is my belief that learning to flex and unload the shaft at the right time may be the most important factor in distance. It is very important that your clubs fit you properly. If I put a shaft that could not be flexed at all in a top players clubs, he probably could not hit the ball over 200 yards. If you have a whippy shaft and an extra stiff shaft and you flex them to the same amount, the extra stiff shaft would have much more power. However, most people are not able to flex an extra stiff shaft. A good club fitter can put you in the appropriate shaft to get maximum shaft flex. In the video, you will learn how to create the appropriate flexes (yes, there is more than one) at the right times in the golf swing.
Want to learn how to hit the golf ball further? Here are the four elements that will allow you to do that. Optimize your arm speed, learn to fire and relax the appropriate muscle, optimize shaft flex, and swing in a circle from the end of transition to finish. As always, I wish you success.