Extend Fully Back and Through

Full extension in the backswing and release is definitely something upon which I'm still working. I have a bit of "flippy wrists" and "collapsing arms" remaining in my swing due to my beginning golf instincts that I need to overcome.

Of course, the best way to help extension and thus width is to extend on the backswing by pushing the club as far away from you as possible using the right arm; this will also help increase distance and help with thin and fat shots, as the left arm will be fully extended coming down.

Part of making extension work is keeping the head behind the ball at impact; I have a bad habit of drifting past it, which contributes to the wrist flip release and loss of distance.

The ball focus should be on the inside of the ball (not the top), as if you're trying to hit it to right field. Finally, the club should be moving it's fastest about two feet past the ball, so this means one must accelerate through the ball (not accelerate AT the ball). As a matter of fact, a neat trick is to imagine that you're hitting 3 balls in a row starting with the first ball (the real one); this will encourage extension through the shot. Do this for irons and woods!

It is so critical to feel like you’re behind the ball at impact. Your goal to improve golf driving distance will not happen if you don’t do this. Most of us get ahead of it and end up throwing the club at the ball, instead of driving through it and getting a full extension like the pro’s get. Staying behind it is the ONLY way to achieve that full extension and maximum power through impact.

[From How To Increase Driving Distance In Golf | Perform Better Golf Blog]

Overswinging and power loss occur when you collapse your elbows on the way to the top, which drops your hands toward your head. Instead, maintain a firm left arm and try to keep your hands as far away from your head as possible to create maximum width.

[From Create a Powerful Backswing | GOLF.com]

Golfers who move their swing center in front of the ball at impact will always raise up their spine at impact. So keep your swing center behind the ball at the point of contact.

[From Jim Suttie: Stay in your posture for more accurate shots » Naples Daily News Mobile]

The greater width you have in your backswing, the bigger your swing arc will be. This increased swing arc will give your swing more time to increase your club-head speed as you strike the ball. More speed means more power, which equates to increased distance. To increase width, you need to increase the spacing between your right hand and right shoulder (right-handed golfers) during your backswing. Practice taking a backswing holding the golf club with just your right hand. Keep your right hand as far away from your body as possible during these practice swings. During this drill, reach your right hand toward the sky at the top of the backswing.

[From Golf tip: Remember, in your backswing, width equals power - GolfInstruction.com]

Rotational force is the most important fundamental of power. The more you extend your arms during the backswing and the longer they remain extended in the downswing, the farther you'll hit the ball. Watch Tiger Woods: He does this brilliantly, creating tremendous width in the backswing to set up a powerful arm swing through the ball.

As you start the club back, focus on extending your right hand away from the target, keeping the right wrist firm. This should prevent the right arm from collapsing and thereby narrowing the swing arc. This way, you create leverage on the backswing and store power for the downswing.

[From Widen Your Arc to Increase Your Driving Distance | GOLF.com]

A good way to keep width in the backswing is to feel the right arm pushing away from your chest, not the left.

[From Golf Swing Tips, Golf Lesson Driving, Power Golf Swing Grip Tips]

Swinging Back to the Inside Early

There are numerous ways to swing a golf club and hit a straight ball (by straight I mean possibly with a slight fade or draw). All methods require squaring the club face relative to the path in some way (i.e., mostly perpendicular to the path with maybe very slight open or closed face positions for the shot shape desired); some of those methods are active and some are passive. Active methods, such as rolling the arms, turning the knuckles down, or squaring up the back of the left hand, all require careful timing and skill to pull off consistently. Passive methods, such as using a stronger grip or a club face that stays mostly square to the arc with heavy body rotation, require less precise timing and are probably more suited to the weekend mid- to high-handicap golfer.

We've all been told that we need to swing inside-out to avoid coming over the top (OTT or swinging outside-in). Few really great golfers swing outside-in, though there are examples of pro golfers who've used a slight OTT move to good effect, such as Sam Snead. Killing the OTT move--apart from the open club face--is one of the first steps a slicer (most amateur golfers) needs to take. But what about the arc on the other side of the ball? Does the club REALLY swing "out to right field"? Here's where you'll see the divergence between those who actively or passively square the club face.

When a player actively squares the club face, the arms cross over and cause the toe of the club to quickly over take the heel, irrespective of the body's turn. Often the club will chase down the line (or even out over the line) after impact for a time before coming back inside, and such an inside move isn't very pronounced. A good player on a good day can make this work. But even good players struggle with this move and often end up with duck hooks on days when the timing just isn't there. This is what happened to Ben Hogan early in his career.

When a player passively squares the club face by trying to keep it perpendicular to the swing arc all the way through, the arms don't cross over actively. Any movement of the wrists and forearms is entirely unconscious. As a natural consequence of body rotation serving as a primary squaring mechanism, the club head immediately tracks back to the inside, such that the swing shape is inside-outside-inside, following a natural, crescent-shaped arc that intersects the target line at after impact. Whereas an outside-in swing shape is steep, the inside-outside-inside swing arc is rounder, flatter, and more shallow. The small muscles of the arms are taken out of it and the golf swing is powered more by the lower body and larger muscles of the trunk. It's easier to maintain lag pressure and thus lag, as the club head never passes the hands until very late.

Swinging back to the inside early is the way that Ben Hogan played golf later in his career, and many would argue that there has never been a more consistent golfer once he made this change. Hogan adopted a fade ball flight that was consistent and reliable; he never had to worry anymore about his ball hooking directly off the course. Other great golfers, including Jack Nicklaus, played a fade as their go-to shot. Matt Kuchar swings this way and is one of the most consistent modern players. This method of swinging really lends itself well to a slight fade or straight ball flight, with minor adjustments (mostly ball position) needed to coax the draw. Tiger Woods is trying to develop a fade ball flight as his go-to shot; you'll often see him practicing for a shot by exaggerating coming back to the inside.

Swinging this way works best with the correct hip movements (clearing the hips and covering the ball), and a good swing thought is the good old belt buckle--keeping the butt end of the club pointing at it as you turn through.

Want to know if you're doing it? Film yourself swinging down the line. If your club approaches the ball from the inside and the hands and club disappear behind your body low and early after impact, you have an inside-outside-inside swing shape. Another characteristic of this swing shape is the maintenance of connection between the left and right upper arms against the chest throughout the swing--often called staying connected. All of these characteristics make for a more consistent golf swing because no emphasis is placed on the conscious control of the small muscles in the arms.

Of course, the shorter the club, the less pronounced this move is, because the swing plane is more vertical and thus the inside-out-inside move is not as obvious.

As I said earlier, our goal was to take the timing problem out of my swing, including my hands having to roll over at just the right instant to square the clubface. Now, once I shift to my left side to start the downswing, I can turn hard, and my body will bring the club around. That's because I've kept my left arm pinned against my chest. With this connection, turning my body squares the face without any hand action.

With the body leading like this, my arms track back to the inside quickly after impact. I used to have too much "chase" in my swing, with the clubhead swinging straight down the line or even out to the right. My new swing shape proves that my arms and body are working together, like concentric circles, with my arms moving in orbit around my body.

How To Make Your Swing Repeat: Matt Kuchar: Golf Digest

Charles Howell III is getting back to what works for him. Howell relied almost exclusively on a fade when he was one of the game’s hot young prospects. After developing some bad habits while trying to incorporate a draw into his arsenal, Howell is back to the reliable left-to-right ball flight.

The main objective in Howell’s new swing? To get the club swinging more to the left after impact so the ball can start down the target line.

The plane of Howell’s old downswing looked ideal on video shot down his target line, but his club traveled too far in-to-out through the ball because of his steep, downward angle of approach.

“Because Charles hits down on the ball steeply, we had to have him swing more to the left to make the ball go straight,” Smeltz said. “We needed the club to approach the ball slightly more from the outside for the club to be traveling down the target line through impact. We had to get the club in front of Charles’ hands during the downswing. That got the club exiting more on plane and not swinging so far out to the right.”

For Your Game: Charles Howell III

The club orbits the body at an angle called swing plane – like a circle or ellipse tilted on its side. That angle can range from 45-60 degrees depending on the club. What most golfers neglect is how the club must travel back inside after impact. Instead of allowing a natural release to the left, they force the hands and arms to release the club down the target line in an effort to hit the ball straight or add more speed. This leads to inconsistency. In fact, releasing the club down the target line moves the club off its natural plane. The result can produce tremendous hook spin or block pushes depending on the angle of the clubface.

Better Players Swing Left | Scratch Golf School