Awesome Power with Extraordinary Control.

March 9, 2000

Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction at the Mel Sole Golf School, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. We conduct 1, 2 and 3-day golf schools, hourly golf lessons, and senior golf schools—any golf instruction program your heart desires. Give us a call at 800-624-4653 or 843-237-4993. We will be happy to book a commuter school or a package that contains accommodations, golf, and golf school.

Monthly Golf Tip with the Mel Sole Golf School.

This is a subject that I really love. Helping golfers hit the ball further and stay on the fairway is something I really enjoy.

Many golfers looking for more power will try increasing the length of their backswing. Unfortunately, in doing this, they may gain a few yards off the tee but completely lose their accuracy. Therefore I am often asked, "How do I maintain control and still gain the extra yards I need to improve my score?"

Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods is a perfect example of someone who has slightly shortened his swing to gain more accuracy but has extended his arc to maintain his tremendous power.

I have been working with one of my students, Courtney Billing, on this very thing so that she will be my example.

You need to work on three things:

It would help if you increased the distance between your rear shoulder and your rear hand at the top of the backswing. This extends the arc creating tension in the lower torso, which really helps with power.
You must make sure that the rear elbow is in the "tray" position to start the downswing correctly.
It would be best if you made a full shoulder turn.

Awesome Power with Extraordinary Control.

In picture #1, Courtney has collapsed her left arm at the top. You can also see that there is a poor shoulder turn.

In picture #2, you can see that the right elbow has started to drift away from the body from the rear angle. From this position, it isn't easy to start the downswing correctly. There is a tendency to "come over the top," causing weak shots to fade off to the right.

To correct this, I had Courtney extend her left arm out wide at the top as in picture #3:

Awesome Power with Extraordinary Control.

To create this tension, the left arm must be fully extended.

Then I made sure that the forearm of her right arm was in the "tray" position (as a waiter carries a tray) with the upper part of the arm pointing directly behind her and the right hand directly under the grip in picture #4.

I discovered that I had to incorporate some flexibility exercises for Courtney to complete her shoulder turn correctly. A stretching program produces the flexibility needed to make the shoulders turn at least 90 degrees.

The result is that Courtney is hitting the ball a lot straighter but has not lost any distance whatsoever. In fact, she now hits the ball a little further but with a lot more authority.

If you need to improve your power with control, work on these moves, and I assure you your game will improve!

Source: Mel Sole Golf school.

Thanks for reading - Awesome Power with Extraordinary Control. I hope this helps.

Monthly Golf Tip with the Mel Sole Golf School.

Tiger Woods.

You need to work on three things:

To create this tension, the left arm must be fully extended.

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