Increase Distance in Golf: 5 Power-Boosting Swing Tips

Do you dream of reaching par 5s in two shots? You need to increase your distance in golf by using less loft and creating more compression to accelerate ball speed.

Wrist flexion at the top of the swing is fundamental to increasing distance in golf, but you still need lag, rotation, and a square face at contact.

It’s easier said than done, but let us walk you through the process one step at a time.

Key Takeaways

If time is of the essence, get yourself up to speed with these key tips for hitting the ball further in golf.

• Shallow the shaft to generate lag using Sergio Garcia’s driver tip
• Proper wrist flexion at impact is essential for compression and maximizing smash factor.
• HackMotion helps measure and improve wrist angles, especially during transition and at impact.
• Drills like the Motorcycle Drill and the Release Drill improve wrist positions and help you feel key power moves.
• Use feedback tools like HackMotion to guide your wrist positioning for better muscle memory.

How to Increase Distance in Golf

Shallow the Shaft in Transition (The Pro Move for Power)

Long-hitting pros shallow the shaft at the top of the swing, creating more lag and an accurate club path. The shaft drop keeps the clubface delofted and creates more hip rotation and shoulder turn on the downswing.

The most common mistake we see with amateurs is that they swing along a steep trajectory, shortening the distance from the top of the backswing to the ball.

Sergio Garcia offers a simple tip to help you shallow the club – pretend that you are pulling a chain down when your club reaches the top of the swing.

It’s an easy movement to remember that helps you shallow the shaft and position your body to rotate through impact with more lag and power in your swing.

Shift Hips To Initiate Downswing

When the club reaches the top of your swing, start shifting weight from your back leg to your front. That small move kicks off your transition, helping you shallow the shaft and rotate through.

Mid and high handicap golfers tend to start rotating the hips too early in the downswing, causing the club to come over the top.

The solution is proper sequencing. When your clubhead reaches the top, you shift your hips slightly, while simultaneously pulling the clubhead down to shallow the shaft.

From that position, you can then start by following our guide on rotating your hips and turning your shoulder turn to increase speed in the video below.

Max Out Your Shoulder Turn on the Downswing

Turning your shoulders from the top of the swing to impact delivers greater clubhead velocity through the shot.

If you shallow your club and fail to rotate enough, your clubhead overtakes the hands at impact, and your weight is too far back. The result is less power, a higher launch, and a loss of distance.

The arms dominate the downswing of many amateur players, which is why it’s hard to create lag and compression at impact.

Wrist Flexion During the Swing

Delofting your clubface when striking the ball produces less spin and more ball speed, the perfect combination for more distance.

HackMotion has discovered that superior golfers produce more wrist flexion throughout the swing, achieving greater compression and ball speed.

The average golfer creates too much wrist extension during the swing, which pushes the clubface open.

An open clubface creates more loft and spin, and less ball speed, all the elements you need to avoid if you want to increase distance in golf.

Wear HackMotion during your practice sessions to improve your wrist mechanics and start flexing on the tee.

Square the Clubface for Solid Contact

A square clubface is the final part of the puzzle to increase the distance in golf. Allow a natural wrist hinge to develop on your backswing that reaches up to 90 degrees at the top.

Also, allow your hips and shoulders to drive the body on the downswing, while your wrists follow naturally. The sequence prevents a premature release of the hands and creates more speed leading into impact.

Below is what a solid sequence for squaring the clubface looks like. Feel free to pause anytime and check out how each part of the swing should feel.

Higher handicappers tend to release the hands too early into impact, leaving the body behind and losing control of the clubface on the downswing.

You can work on squaring the clubface at impact by swinging in stages and using the HackMotion sensor to help you flex your lead wrist more.

Keep the face square on the takeaway, and introduce wrist flexion from the top of the swing down.

Drills to Add Distance

Motorcycle Drill

The HackMotion Motorcycle Drill helps you get used to the feeling of wrist flexion during your swing.

Changing from wrist extension to flexion in your swing helps deloft your clubface and increase compression and ball speed.

Shoulder Rotation Drill

Improving your shoulder turn on the downswing gives you more lag, speed, and compression. The combination is your answer to more ball speed, less spin, and more distance.

The shoulder rotation drill only needs a golf club and an alignment rod to help you loosen those shoulders and get them increasing the power in your swing.

This drill helps with maximum shoulder turn on the backswing and rotation on the downswing. Harder working shoulders give you lag, power, and more clubhead speed leading into impact.

Release Drill

The release drill helps you get used to flexing your wrists leading into impact.

It focuses on the area of the swing where many amateurs are extending their wrists and opening the clubface.

Final Thoughts

The most effective way to increase distance in golf is to flex your wrists slightly, and increase shoulder turn and hip rotation.

Combining these factors results in more lag, clubhead speed and compression the recipe to helping you increase distance in golf.

Improve the control of  your wrist mechanics, using HackMotion’s Golf Drills Library and Driving Range Practice Plan, “your personal coach on a wrist.”