Power Swing for Women Golfers. . Ladies Learn how to Bomb It!
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.
About 25% of the golfers I teach are women. Of those, 100% have the same request. Please help me hit it further! So here are 10 of the top female instructors in the game to help you hit it further. Because ladies do not have the strength of men, they must rely heavily on good technique. Power golf can be clearly seen on the LPGA Tour. Thanks to Golf Digest for Women and Stina Sternberg for compiling this great article!
Power Swing for Women Golfers.
Looking to gain a few yards off the tee? Consider these helpful hints from some of our contributors.
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.
--Sandy LaBauve, one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in America
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 distance from your body.
--Gale Petersen, one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in America
Resist with the hips.
A major source of power is the winding of the upper body against the lower body's resistance. 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 20 degrees and swing at the address. This will prevent your right hip from turning too much on the backswing.
--Julieta Granada, LPGA Tour player
Swing through, not to, the ball.
Most slow-swinging amateurs slap at the ball or 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 teach you how to use tempo to generate more speed and power.
--Karen Palacios-Jansen, one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in America
Shift your weight.
To gain more distance, make sure to rotate your body's core, or midsection, through the shot, so your weight finishes on your left side. You want your thighs to finish close together--you should be able to hold a sheet of paper between them--and your lower legs to form a small, inverted V from the knees down (
right image). If the V is larger or there's a gap between your knees, your weight is not on your left side (
left image). Most likely, you're hanging back on your right foot, which causes the club to bottom out early and hit the ball fat or thin. Reduce the size of the V, and you'll improve your balance and gain distance.
--Cheryl Anderson, one of Golf Digest's 50 Best Women Teachers in America
