‘Push’ Your Way to Better Golf– Create Width in the Golf Swing

12/29/2014

The most common complaint I hear from my students is lack of consistency.

Why do I play great for nine holes and then it looks like I have never picked up a club for the next nine? How do I go out and shoot 85 one day and 95 the next? What can I do to fix my problem?

Today, we are going to discuss how to push the golf club throughout their swing.

This means a tension-free swing– swinging with no tension in the arms. No tension debunks golf’s biggest myth of “keeping the front arm straight.” It is important to make sure you are always pushing the club away with your hands and arms. 

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The Drill

Start with a light stretchy exercise band from your local sporting goods store.

Put the band around your back, under your arms and wrap the ends of bands around your thumbs. Begin to stretch the bands out by pushing your arms out. Keep the band stretched at address, into your backswing, back into impact and into your follow through.

By stretching the band, you will create the width necessary to produce power and consistency.

SuperFlex Resistance Bands are perfect for this!

 Do this exercise slowly at first. Do not hit balls in the beginning. In fact, just use the stretchy band without a club at first. You can add the club later by holding the ends of the bands in your thumbs and the club in your fingers with your normal grip. Swing the club SLOWLY feeling the pushing motion and extension you are trying to achieve.

When first working with students, I will diagnose whether their arms are bending too much and losing the width in the arc of their motion.

As you can see by the photos below, my arms are bending at the top of my backswing and then on my through swing. When the arms bend in this manner, it promotes cutting across the ball with an out to in path. The club face will be open, producing a very weak shot– probably a slice.

 

Swinging with arms bent will cause you to top the golf ball because the loss of swing radius. The club head is coming off the ground too soon and pulling to the left. The best players in the world have their arms pushing out and much straighter.

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Enter the stretchy sports band!

Using the demonstrations above with the bands, work to keep your arms pushing away from your body.

Pushing out the club will help with power and club face control. As you can see by the photos below, I am using the exercise band to help me feel the width in the swing.

    

By maintaining this type of pushing feeling with your arms (especially your trail arm), you will maintain a wider arc throughout your swing. Use the band to get the width in the swing.

Make chipping swings first, then progress to ½ swings, then full swings to achieve this feel. Do this drill slowly without the club first and adding the club later. Work to hold each position for 10 seconds. Hold impact with your weight shifted to your front foot and arms pushing and you will immediately improve your ball striking.

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I would say the majority of the greatest ball strikers in the world have width in their golf swings.

It is important to understand each person has a different amount of flexibility, mobility and stability. Take your backswing to the point where your arms do not collapse.

This drill will help you sync your arms and body, in turn, stopping the arms from traveling too far in your backswing. Impact will improve, because it forces your trail wrist to stay bent backwards and your front wrist to stay flat through impact.

My students have seen a tremendous amount of improvement in their games by doing this exercise before they play or in the gym.  I know you will benefit from using this type of motion in your game!

Now watch my video on using the stretchy band to help you become a more consistent ball striker: