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How Your Golf Driver Swing Can Have More Power

by: Mike Pedersen

A golf driver swing that is lacking in power has a couple of issues that need to be addressed. A golf driver swing is slightly different than your other clubs...but needs to have the same sequence of motion and body position at impact to produce more power and distance of the tee.

Most golfers swing outside their physical capabilities resulting in lost yardage and accuracy.

Has this ever happened to you?

You step up on a long par 4 or a par 5 and tell yourself you�re going to get their in two. What did you do differently on the tee to achieve it? Did you swing harder? If so, what was your result?

The first issue to cover with your golf driver swing is your range of motion, especially on your backswing. Can you make a 90 degree shoulder turn with minimal tension? Most older golfers don�t even come close.

The optimal position is a 90 degree shoulder turn, with approximately 45 degrees of hip turn. This requires a high level of core strength and flexibility. Shoulder flexibility comes into play just a bit also.

If you can�t get to this position, it doesn�t matter how hard you swing�you�re still not going to maximize your power and distance with your driver. Trying to get to that position when you body cannot physically get there will only cause muscle tension, which slows clubhead speed.

Secondly, getting behind the ball and staying behind the ball at impact is critically to maximizing power and distance. This cannot be achieved with an �out-of-shape� body. It�s a physically impossibility.

Even for a fit golfer, this is sometimes hard to accomplish on a consistent basis.

On the downswing, it is critical the first move is with the lower body rotating (not sliding). This rotation of the lower body, while the upper body stays back (for only a split second) takes a ton of core strength.

A weaker golfer would not be able to achieve this. He/she would come over the top early with the upper body, merely because they don�t have core strength to initiate the downswing with the lower body.

So how do you achieve a golf driver swing with maximum power?

Start working on your core strength and flexibility from a rotational standpoint, with a golf weight training and golf stretching routine. Every exercise and stretch you do should incorporate rotational movements. The primary movement in the golf swing is rotational, so why wouldn't you focus on that in your golf training program?

This is the quickest way to longer drives!

Hitting more balls with the same body and the same swing won�t get you there!

You�ve got to address the physical component to achieve the mechanical efficiency with your driver.

As soon as you do, you�ll be blowing by the other players in your foursome!

This IS the approach you should take with your golf driver swing.

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf performance swing trainers in the country. Golf Magazine's expert at GolfOnline.com, author and founder of several cutting-edge online golf performance sites. Take a look at his just released golf performance dvds and manual at his improve golf swing site - Perform Better Golf.

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The golf swing is a physically demanding movement. Until golfers realize this, their pursuit of the perfect swing will never be achieved. Mike Pedersen is President/CEO Perform Better Golf which offers golf training dvds, manual and equipment. Get Mike's free Fit To A Tee ebook by subscribing at http://www.performbettergolf.com