The Secret To Hit Longer Drives

Deb Vangellow, LPGA Master Professional

Deb Vangellow, LPGA Master Professional

Guest post: This great golf tip is all about the secret to hit longer drives. It’s from LPGA Top Instructor, Deb Vangellow, a LPGA Master Teaching Professional at Riverbend County Club in Houston, Texas.

Pivot To Hit The Golf Ball Farther, Easier!

On September 25, 1974, during the second round of the U.S. National Seniors Open Championship at the Winterwood course in Las Vegas, Nevada, PGA Professional Mike Austin stepped up to the par four 450 yard 5th hole.  His playing partner that day was former PGA champion Chandler Harper.  Harper, impressed with Austin’s length off the tee, urged him to really let one go.  Austin’s drive landed within a yard of the green, then rolled 65 yards past the flag.  Though he was aided by a 30 mile per hour tailwind, Austin drove the ball 515 yards, the greatest recorded drive in tournament history.  Mike’s driver went to the hall of fame and his tee shot to the Guinness Book of World Records.  Incredibly, Mike was 64 years old at the time of this phenomenal feat.  But it was not strength alone that made this drive possible.  It was Austin’s lifelong knowledge of how to swing a club along with his background in physics and kinesiology.

We all have a love of power and yearn to achieve more of it in the golf swing.  Muscular power is the rate of energy expended and it depends on the amount of energy available and the time taken to expend it.  This is really about the amount of weight moved and the time involved to move it.  Why is this relevant to the golf swing?  Simply put, you can and should move in your golf swing.  You can and will hit the ball farther with less effort if you pivot properly.  This, coupled with good hand action (release) will keep the accuracy you also need.   Mike Austin, my teacher and dear friend of 15 years has helped me understand these very things and I am paying it forward, so to speak.

Deb Vangellow, tutored by longtime teacher and friend, Mike Austin, in Los Angeles, California.

Deb Vangellow, tutored by longtime teacher and friend, Mike Austin, in Los Angeles, California.

The modern swing seems to be all about rotation—torque, twist, turn, X-factor, etc… these are swing buzz words that are commonly given as the answer to a powerful swing and thus, increased distance.  I believe these things can create substantial power, but done alone, could be creating the possibility for injury  It seems to me that the more that I understand about anatomy, the more I believe that the body is not designed for the this type of  rotational activity by itself in the golf swing.  However, if some lateral movement is allowed, this alone could put less stress on the back and joints, freeing up the chest and shoulders to turn.  By shifting and turning (movement/compound pivot)  together, we can create both power and accuracy.  Movement, to me, is natural, athletic, and rhythmical…all words we strive for in sport.

I can appreciate the concern about lateral movement in the swing.  We have been warned of the dangers of “swaying” during the swing.  However, if your swing is a result of a good kinetic chain (the muscle groups in the body working in a series or order of movement, yet “together”) and you utilize a compound pivot, I think you will believe in movement.  Additionally, if your swing center (the swing center is a point located in the upper spine around which the upper body rotates and the swing of the arms takes place) stays constant with the least possible movement, you will maintain clubhead speed and centeredness of contact will improve. In order to keep our swing circle center still, we must learn to maintain the exact balanced forward tilt of our spine (until well after the hit is complete) while we allow the lower spine to tilt left and right in the lateral direction.  This lateral motion is vital since it shifts the weight from one foot to the other, getting the body weight behind the golf ball on the backswing and allowing us to use our legs and trunk muscles more efficiently.

Long Drive World Record Holder Mike Austin at impact!

Long Drive World Record Holder Mike Austin at impact!

A good pivot is a compound action… a shift-turn-shift-turn sequence.  Many times, it can seem like an expert player is only turning because this pivot sequence is happening in such a small amount of space.  Upon closer examination, you will see that the most efficient swings incorporate a two legged balanced start, shifting to a one legged balanced top swing position to a one legged balanced finish position.  Basically, you are creating a right side “pole” or axis that will free the left side to turn outward behind the golf ball. (imagine a swinging gate)  This not only gives more time for the club to get to the top of the backswing, but also permits a good chest and shoulder turn.

As it is in the backswing, the forward swing is simply a change of axis and weight shift from the right foot to the left foot with a turn through to a balanced finish position.  This includes an assertive “drive” or “kick” with your right leg to shift the weight to your left and to get a  “running start” at the golf ball, creating optimal clubhead speed.  In almost all sports that involve throwing or striking, the athlete makes a “running start” of sorts.  Not only does this legwork provide additional club speed in the golf swing, but it also gives you the second benefit of maintaining your balance as your arms swing forward.

There are several ways to “get” this weight transfer ideal.  Some like to think of shifting their center of gravity (belly button area) to the right and left and others imagine a lower spine shifting from right to left in a “wrecking ball” or “church bell”  type of image.  With both of these images, the top of the spine (swing center)  remains in a fixed position, acting as a fulcrum for the swing in a pendulum type motion.  The head may move some but will not move in such a way that the movement becomes metronome like.   In fact, the quieter you can keep your swing center, the better the contact.  The hips do not only turn…if you do this, your head will likely sway.  If you tilt the hips up and down and then turn, you will have completed this compound pivot and be in an ideal position to throw the club at the ball, around a circle with your hands…a most athletic motion, in my opinion.  Throwing sounds and feels better than pulling or pushing….supple quickness, not rigid slowness.  To throw, you must move…step and throw.

Students who learn to swing a golf club by learning to pivot first are on their way to an efficient and consistent golf swing.  For so many, it is such a relief and their swings (in terms of power and accuracy) improve and their overall enjoyment intensifies.  These things, coupled with less strain and pain in the body, have convinced them that this is the way to go. Movement is allowed in the golf swing…learn to pivot and hit the ball like an athlete!


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Wishing you great golf!
 —
 LPGA Master Professional Deb Vangellow is the Teaching Professional at Riverbend Country Club in Houston, Texas.  She is the 2012 LPGA National Teacher Of The Year, an LPGA and Golf Digest Woman “Top 50” Teacher, a Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine “Top Regional Teacher”, a US KIDS GOLF “Top 50 Kids Teacher”,a GRAA “Top Growth Of The Game Professional”, and was continually featured in the now retired Golf For Women Magazine as a “Top 50” teacher. Deb serves as the National Vice President of the LPGA Teaching And Club Professionals and is a longtime lead instructor in the LPGA Global Education Program.  An educator/coach who offers wellness based developmental programming integrated into her “student centered” philosophy, Deb can be reached at 281-277-4653 or online at www.debvangellowgolf.com.

How’s your drive these days? Do you pivot? Add your comments below.

  1 comment for “The Secret To Hit Longer Drives

  1. Ewan S Fallon says:

    Well said Deb, – how fortunate you were to have befriended Mike Austin, and can express his marvelous teachings in a way we hackers can understand. Hope to hear much more of your explanation of that swing without equal.

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