Golf Swing Power - The Real Source of Power in Your Golf Swing

Rotation is the core of your swing and the most basic source of golf swing power.

When you rotate into your backswing you are creating torque and storing up rotational power at the base of your spine and in your lower back.

You'll read countless golf swing tips about ways to get power like:

• weight shift
  
• shoulder turn
  
• hip turn
  
• arm straightening
  
• wrist hinge
  
• golf swing plane
  
• the newest golf balls
  
• the newest golf club
  
• etc. etc.
  

These are all very important aspects, but they aren't really the source of golf swing speed or power.

These other movements are all important ways to channel or focus the energy that is created by the rotation of your torso. Most of the actual power in a golf swing originates from the torque created by this rotation. When you watch Tiger Woods' golf swing you can see how important rotation is for golf swing power.

A light should go on for you if you didn't already understand this concept. No matter how much you practice the other elements, you won't find golf swing power unless you produce enough energy by rotating properly.

Conversely you could be rotating very well and producing lots of power, but still not hitting it well. This is because you're wasting a lot of that energy on inefficient movements. You're rotating great, but that power isn't making it down into the ball.

That's why you can swing like mad, but still be outdriven by someone with a much lighter swing (but probably a much more efficient one!)

"How do you get good rotation?"
"What if I'm not as flexible as I used to be?"
"I just can't rotate my back around that far... "

Golf swing power comes from good rotation, but how is this rotation achieved?

The most important part to having a powerful rotation is generating a lot of torque. This does not necessarily mean that you have to bring the club back further in your backswing. It means that you need to turn your back far enough to build up a lot of tension.

You also need 'resistance', or a foundation from which the rotation happens. This foundation is your hips. The hips should only rotate back slightly into the backswing. If they turn back too much then you are only relieving tension and reducing the swing power that you can generate.

When you swing through with your downswing, that torque will be released as the 'coil' (your back) unwinds.

At this point you will want to turn your hips forward. By rotating the base forward like this you maintain tension in your back even while you've started to move your arms forward and build momentum. This will set you up to release the bulk of that torque at just the right moment... the moment of impact.

When you've learned to swing this power down the proper golf swing plane, you'll be tearing up the golf courses with your powerful swing.

Now that you know the real source of golf swing power, you need to learn how to channel that power as best as possible. You need to bring that power down through the right golf swing plane.

This is when all the other important aspects of golf swing mechanics come into play. The energy created from your powerful rotation must now be transferred down into the golf ball...

It's a long road:

• lower back to
  
• shoulders to
  
• arms (working together) to
  
• wrists to
  
• grip to
  
• golf club shaft to
  
• golf club head to
  
• club head face to
  
• golf ball
  

There's a lot to learn and practice, but you may be surprised by how fast you can put the pieces together when you understand the basic mechanics behind the golf swing.

Remember, it's not about what golf course you play at, what golf clubs or equipment you have, or what golf bag or golf balls you use. They key to really enjoying this sport is to be able to play a good golf game and keep pushing for a lower handicap.

Learn How To Maximize Power in Your Golf Swing