A Sure Fire Way To Hit Bombs

When you're watching the U.S Open this weekend, look at how Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, and the rest swing the club. I've been watching them for years. They swing so effortlessly it's amazing. Yet they still bomb the ball 275 yards off the tee. Some average almost 300 yards. Hitting bombs with so little effort seems like magic. But it's not. It's efficiency. And it's a golf tip on hitting the long ball.

The pros swing efficiently. Nothing is wasted. And one of the keys to swinging efficiently is maintaining spine angle through impact. This dynamic encourages the arms, hands, and clubhead to accelerate through the ball—not hit at it. The pros understand that the body wants to stay in balance. Thus, the spine will try to straighten during the swing, upsetting your spine angle and sapping your power. Eventually, power loss adds strokes to your score and boosts your golf handicap.  

Below are some golf tips and drills designed to help you maintain your spine angle and your posture. These tips may not help you bomb the ball as far as Phil, Tiger, or Fred. But they'll help you increase your technique, athleticism, and efficiency.

Start In A Good Position

If you start in a good position, chances are good you'll stay in one after you swing. When you take your stance bend from the hips. Bending from the hips positions you to make a much better turn. Unfortunately, many weekend golfers don't bend from the hips. They bend from the waist instead. Setting the spine at the right angle is step one in swinging more efficiently.

Spine Angle Drill
Hold a club out in front of you at the points of your hipbones, just under your belt buckle. This pulls your shoulders back, locking in a straighter spine angle. Now pull the club toward you and bend from the hips. Once in position, move the club up to your chest, just under your armpits. Now turn as if hitting the ball. Make sure the shaft points just above the ball. If the club points at or below the ball, you're dipping instead of turning. Do 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

Activate Your Lower Body

A strong lower body makes it easier to swing efficiently, hitting the kind of drives you hope you'll learn in golf lessons. A stronger lower body also helps you achieve and maintain a more athletic swing. Your big leg muscles are the key to a strong lower body. These muscles are the seats of power. Work on then constantly. Do whatever you can to strengthen them. Power squats build powerful leg muscles. They're a great way to warm up as well.

Power Squats
Balance on the balls of your feet and bend down. Keep your back straight and your abs flexed. Now squat. As you go down, pump your arms up. As you stand, pump your arms down. You can also stand against a straight wall, then slowly lower yourself, wait a second or two, and then raise yourself slowly—an exercise I covered in one of my golf tips. Do three sets of 20 to build powerful leg muscles.

Stay In Your Posture

Maintaining your spine angle, as we said, is essential to increasing the efficiency of your swing. So is maintaining your posture. It must stay the same as well. The only thing that changes is how your arms and hands release through impact.

Ball Throwing Drill
Adopt a posture as if hitting a golf ball. Now throw the ball underhanded from your setup without altering your posture. Throw the ball down in front of you to hit a low shot. Throw the ball under your front arm and into the air to get the feel of a high shot. Do this drill until the feeling of hitting both shots without out altering your posture is ingrained.

The Rope Drill
The rope drill to adds speed and technique to your shoulder turn while maintaining your spine angle. Loop a jump rope around a table leg or a post about a third of the way up. Now pull the rope from side to side. Feel as if you're starting a lawn mower while keeping your head steady. Do 20 repetitions per set and do three sets.

These drills help you maintain your spine angle and enhance your athleticism, increasing your swing's efficiency. What's more, they'll help you increase your range of motion, add to your power, and improve your swing tempo. Together, they'll help you cut your average score and your golf handicap in the process.