Have a good question from Jim Wile. He asks, “You said often that the way to hit the ball longer was to swing the arms faster. Do you believe strengthening the arms and shoulders would help them to swing faster and are there any particular exercises you would recommend?”
Well, absolutely, if you get stronger, as long as you don't get so strong that you bulk up and lose the ability to create speed, then you should be able to swing the arms faster. So, anything you can do exercise wise, heck I think push ups would be good and using small weights to create strength, not bulk. It's better to use lighter weights and go for more reps.
Another one I like is called the swish test. Take any golf club, preferably a longer iron or even a wood, and grip the club down at the end of the shaft near the head, so the head is sticking out from your hands and the grip is way out there where the head should be.
Just start swinging the club and listen for the 'swish' sound. You want the swish to start just before impact. You'll find out that if you're casting or throwing your right hand out a little, the swish might be right up there about shoulder high. But if you're holding the club back and releasing at impact, that swish will start happening near the ball. The key is to get the swish to be much more sharp and louder. I think a golf club swung upside down does it. There have been some training aids out there that, as you swing it, this little weight at the bottom slides down and actually tells you what your swing speed is.
But the number one key to swinging your arms faster, comes down to the concept of the wide knees with outward pressure and moving the body less. If your body is turning too much and moving too much you can't swing your arms faster. We're creating centrifugal force with the arms and the club shaft swinging a rock, which is the clubhead. When you swing a rock at the end of a string with your hands, the faster that rock is going on the end of that string, the less your hand moves. It becomes more still and more still and the rock goes faster at the end of the string.
The clubhead is the rock, the shaft and arms are the string. The key is you must keep the body still and the best way to keep it is with the wide knees with the outward pressure with the limited turn so you can accelerate your arms faster.
Yes, exercise is great. Do all of those, get stronger. But in the end, no matter how strong you are you cannot swing your arms faster unless you are holding your body much more still.
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One Day PPGS Golf Schools, California added!
Location: Old South Golf Links, Bluffton, South Carolina
Instructor: Greg MacDonnell, PGA, PPGS Certified
Tuition: $599. (IC members receive 10% discount)
Student Teacher Ratio: 4:1
Curriculum & Dates:
Long Game ' May 3, 5,10, 12; June 7, 9, 21, 23; July 5, 7,19, 21
Short Game, May 4, 11; June 8, 22; July 6, 20
Instruction: 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Includes lunch and 9 holes of golf following instruction.
Recommended accommodations: Hilton Garden Inn (3 minutes from course).
1575 Fording Island Road (U.S. 278), Hilton Head Island, SC 1-877-782-9444. Ask
about PPGS discount.
Airports: Savannah International Airport (45 minutes), Hilton Head Island Airport (15
minutes)
Location: Talega Golf Club, San Clemente, California
Instructor: Derek Hardy, PGA, PPGS Certified
Tuition: $599 (IC members receive 10% discount)
Student Teacher Ratio: 4:1
Curriculum & Dates:
Long Game: July 15,17, 29, 31; August 5, 7, 19, 21
Short Game: July 16, 30; August 6, 20