Do you know who holds the record for longest golf shot ever in the history and how long he hit? Mike Austin holds that record hitting a 515 yards equivalent to 471 meters shot in professional golf. Mike Austin, an english-american golfer did this in 1974. You must be wondering how this is possible to hit so far? If you have a good golf swing speed, you can feature this as well. In this Article we will be discussing the basics of golf swing along with drills and exercise tips to increase your golf swing speed.
The record holding swing is popularly known as The Mike Austin Swing. Golf instructor John Marshall believes that this method is a more efficient and more accurate way of hitting a golf ball. The swing was developed by Mike Austin based on the principle of leverage. In this article we will cover how a golf swing works to get distance, tips and exercises to increase your swing speed and why Mike Austin swing has stood strong to get more distance. Greater club head speed at impact translates into longer shots.
Swing Speed Basics
There is a common misconception that you need to be stronger and hit the ball hard to get better distance, It’s not like you need to swing harder to increase your speed. Rather in quest of swing harder you may end up injuring yourself. Widening your stance will make a relaxed but slightly more aggressive swing. Trying to overpower your swing may not give you accuracy. You need a lot more practice to gain increased swing speed.
You’ll need to keep your head to the right as you straighten your body. The clubhead will continue to gather speed as it passes the center of your body and will be tearing through the air by the time it reaches the ball. You almost can’t help but gain yards. Let’s have a look at the basics of golf swing you should know:
Stance position:
Your feet and shoulder should length apart. Your knees should be flexed and your body bent at the hips.
Weight transfer:
You need to transfer your body weight into shot power.
Head position:
Steady head position is required to hit the ball from the core of the clubhead. If you can connect the ball with the center of the clubhead it will create more distance in the shot.
Follow through:
Do not stop swinging your arms after hitting the ball. Have an extended swing follow through after hitting the ball.
How to Increase Golf Swing Speed
Updated golf clubs may help you add more distance with their functionality. You may find the best golf clubs here. You may even hit further with your muscle power. But the best method is to increase swing speed. To increase your golf swing speed you need to work on the following concepts:
Levers
Levers are a rigid bar resting on a pivot, used to help move heavy objects on the other end. Consider your wrists as levers in the golf swing. You should be holding the club lightly throughout the shot is played, because holding it firmly will hinder you to transfer muscle power to your swing. Your muscle power will be delivered to the club swing speed with the help of your hand working as levers. The swing was developed by Mike Austin based on the principle of leverage.
Lower body v upper body
The next area to concentrate is body rotation. Your upper body should rotate against your lower body. So whilst your upper body turns 90˚ your hips only rotate 45 ̊. The difference between these angles is what creates torque and power in the swing.
Full Swing
Full swing of your shot playing action will help you generate more speed. Remember the higher you lift your club to back, the more power it gets while putting it down.
Of course, you will also increase your swing speed by becoming stronger through your core muscles and increasing your flexibility. But these technical points illustrate that the club needs to work in a certain way to generate real power. Now you know the concepts, time to find out the process. So if we want to point out the process it would be as follows:
- Turn legs
- Turn knees
- Turn hips
- Turn torso
- Turn shoulder
- Bring momentum in club
- Transfer body weight into shot power
- Have a full swing
Tips to increase swing speed
Here I have listed out some do’s and don’ts which you can consider as tips to increase swing speed:
Do’s
- Practice with heavier clubs
- Have a low grip pressure
- Turn the body while standing firm on ground
- Shoulders should be parallel to the target line
- Have an extended swing follow through after hitting the ball
Don’ts
- Do not bend too much
- Do not hold the club too firmly
- Do not try to over power your strength
- Do not stop swinging your arms after hitting the ball
Conclusion
After reading all these your curious mind may have questions like why this process is so useful. Well, you will be able to generate more swing speed with rotation of your body. With a proper stance position including head position, follow-through and weight transferring ability you can master the skill.
You will get your strength with a firm hold on the ground which can be achieved by having a balanced stance. This coiling of the upper body will lengthen the swing and give you added swing speed and more power. Practicing with heavier clubs will help you while playing with lighter clubs.
