DRILL:

GRIP THE HANDLE

MORE IN YOUR FINGERS

Grip changes are universally loathed, but this adjustment is crucial for speed. Rest the handle more in the fingers of both hands (far left) instead of mostly in your palms. This provides a lot of freedom when you swing. To test it, hold the club in the fingers of your gloved hand and let your arm hang by your side (left). Note how you can move the club with just your hand and wrist. Your arm doesn’t have to move like it does when you rest the club in your palms.
   Also experiment with grip styles that promote more suppleness. I use a “double overlap.” The pinky and ring finger of my right hand are on top of my gloved hand. Give it a try.

FEEL:

STAND TALLER AND

MORE RELAXED

How you address a ball greatly impacts your ability to swing the club fast and free.
   One thing I learned a few years ago as I chased more speed, especially off the tee, is that you’re way better off feeling relaxed at setup than if you stand rigidly over the ball – which is how I was taught as a kid to get into my address posture.
   I now stand more upright with my rear end tucked underneath my slightly rounded shoulders (right). To stay loose, I’m always moving before I swing, especially my feet.
   Standing taller and more relaxed when you address the ball will help the fluidity of your swing. Getting all tense and hunched over is a real speed killer.

DRILL:

DRILL:

SWING CROSS-HANDED TO FEEL HOW TO TRANSFER ENERGY

SWING CROSS-HANDED

TO FEEL HOW TO TRANSFER ENERGY

In Ireland, I grew up playing the Gaelic sport of hurling. In that sport, I grip the hurley with my left hand lower than my right, the opposite of how you’re supposed to hold a golf club. I got used to that grip, so now I’ll often make my practice golf swings cross-handed (above) to work on more speed. Let me explain why.
   You can generate all the power in the world with your arms and body, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t transfer it out to the clubhead. Swinging cross-handed helps you feel that energy transfer. What it does is force the club to release past your hands as you swing through the impact zone. You’re releasing all the energy into the ball so none of it is wasted.
  When you get older and can’t move your body like you once did, relying on this release – using your hands to give the ball a good whack – becomes much more important. This drill helps train that.

FEEL:

TURN OFF YOUR

BRAIN TO UNLOCK YOUR
INNER ATHLETE

Golfers sometimes get lost in swing tips and thoughts, focusing on the right positions instead of remembering an important aspect of hitting golf shots: You want to feel as athletic as possible and swing without much, if any, conscious thought. We instinctively know how to move to do all sorts of things, but in golf, our brain often gets in the way.
   To unlock your body and get in more of an unrestricted state, it helps to perform other dynamic motions. For example, a right-hander who swings left-handed has no frame of mind to interfere with the raw movement. Athleticism takes over. Another way to free yourself is by casually throwing golf balls onto the range (left). You’ll feel that stretch in your arms and body as you wind up, that big step towards the target before you throw, and an unwinding of the torso and hips around your posted leg as you release the ball – that move is just like an athletic golf swing!

DRILL:

DRILL:

TAKE A STEP TOWARDS BIGGER DRIVES

TAKE A STEP TOWARDS 

BIGGER DRIVES

I’ve played entire tournaments stepping laterally towards the target as I swing. I even did it in the US Open at Winged Foot in 2006. Every time I was in heavy rough, I’d take a little step with my left foot on my way through. It gave me more speed and power in that deep, thick grass.
   Side-stepping like this helps if you struggle to transfer weight into your lead foot at the optimal time. (Tip: It should happen in your swing a little sooner than you might think.) I have a good drill to improve your timing.
   Tee up a ball and address it with your feet together about a stride-length behind where you normally would (above, left). Stay that way as you take the club back but before you reach the top of the swing, take a big step towards your target (above, centre), plant that foot, and then swing through (above, right).
  This drill might feel strange initially, but it’s great for more power.

FEEL:

GET OFF THE

BLOCKS LIKE A SPRINTER

I can tell how good most golfers are before they even swing. You just have to watch them move. However, I will say that bad golf swings aren’t always the result of aging or poor physical fitness.
   Nowadays, many amateurs are getting their golf instruction on social media from people they’ve never heard of. A common piece of bad advice is to stay down and swing in the same posture you started in at address. When I see golfers trying that, they might manage to stay down, but they can’t move or turn freely. They’re in big trouble.
  Instead, I’d much rather see you rising up as the club moves through impact. You want to squeeze your glutes and thrust up with your legs, which in turn whips the club through impact. As you swing down, use your trail foot to push off the turf like a sprinter coming out of the blocks (left). That’s how you pick up some serious swing speed and hit one way down the fairway past those cocky kids!