10 Power Tips for Women

Looking to gain a few yards off the tee? Consider these helpful tips.

Swing around your body

 

When you're taking your practice swings on the tee, swing the clubhead several inches off the ground. This encourages you to swing more around your body (rather than up and down), which will help increase your clubhead speed and add distance. And when you're at the range, spend more time with your driver and woods than the rest of the long clubs in your bag. You'll be hitting these clubs more frequently than your 5- or 6-iron, so give them a good workout.

Give yourself room to rip it

Set up with a wide stance, ball forward, weight on your right side and a tilt in your shoulders (your head should be to the right of your pants zipper). Then hold the driver far enough away from your body to allow for a big, powerful swing. My rule is that the butt end of the club should be at an open-hand's distance from your body.

Resist with the hips

A major source of power is the winding of the upper body against the resistance of the lower body. The more you turn your shoulders relative to your hips, the more momentum you create for the downswing. The hips unwind naturally and the shoulders follow, generating power through the hitting area, like a slingshot. To help feel the separation between your upper and lower body, turn your right toe in at address about 20 degrees, and swing. This will prevent your right hip from turning too much on the backswing.

Swing through, not to, the ball

Most slow-swinging amateurs slap at the ball or try to scoop it up into the air, which causes the clubhead to slow down through impact. There's no gradual buildup of speed, which is a defining trait of good tempo. To learn how to accelerate the club through impact to a full, balanced finish, practice swinging with your headcover on your driver. The additional resistance on the clubhead will force you to drive it through impact into a full finish, and will teach you how to use tempo to generate more speed and power.

Shift your weight