How ladies and seniors can get more power

NAPLES — Many of the ladies have asked me the question, “How do I get more power?” My answer is always the same: swing faster. This sounds trite, but very true. Clubhead speed squarely applied creates distance.

The real question is how to create this newfound speed. Ladies and seniors alike tend to be arm swingers. This is good, but there are two other power producers besides the arms. The hands are the speed producers, the arms are the swingers, and the body is the engine and the real power producer.

Let’s start with the hands. Most lady players and seniors tend to hold the club too much in the palm of the left hand. This doesn’t allow the wrists and hands to work properly. Simply turn your left hand to your right, and try to hold it more in your fingers and not your palm. This will allow you to use your wrists and hands better and create more speed.

This new grip will allow you to cock and uncock your hands and wrists, which is a major power producer. The next power producer is the arms. The arms are your “swingers” and create arc width and arc height. A high and wide swing will produce more speed and leverage.

The missing link here is the third power producer, which is the rotation of the body. Most seniors and ladies don’t do this very well because they don’t know how to do it.

For the ladies, the backswing is a stability issue. You must try to keep the legs relatively stable as you turn or coil your upper body around your legs.

One of the biggest power losses for the ladies is a lower body sway to the right on the backswing. Keep the weight on the inside of the back foot, and minimize the hip turn on the backswing.

Now is the hard part. Start your downswing by moving your legs and hips first. Unfortunately, too many of you start your downswings with your arms. Keep your arms back as long as you can. If you use your legs and hips first on the downswing, you will have 70 percent of your weight on your front leg at impact. Your hips should be open and facing the target as much as possible. You will find that the faster you turn your lower body on the downswing, the more clubhead speed you will produce.

If you use your hands for speed and leverage, the arms for arc width and height, and your body for rotational speed, you will definitely hit the ball farther with more authority.