When I am working with students on implementing solid fundamentals, those who emphasize distance over accuracy not only hit it longer, they hit it straighter. By free-wheeling it, they are able to improve their sequencing and increase ball speed. The message? Work on fundamentals and let it ride! What follows is a drill, based on my years of experience, designed to boost your ball speed and release your distance potential.

The counter-movements drill

Using an elastic, attach a tennis ball to your belt buckle. Without a golf ball or club, assume your normal posture with both arms hanging down naturally… without any form of excessive tension in them. To properly start your swing, allow both legs and hips to push down and forward so you move your centre of mas – and the tennis ball – from the core toward the ground and target.

This is a counter-intuitive move as most golfers start their motion by moving their hands and arms backward, not by moving the core and lower part of the body forward as I describe above.

Understanding counter-movements

Why would that help boost your ball speed? When you move your centre of gravity forward before moving it backward, then let your trunk and arms follow suit, you’ll automatically boost your backswing because you’ll have twice as much momentum and energy transfer from lower to upper body.

“Counter-movements” are a really effective way of using your body to generate force. Just think about the way people jump. If your goal were to jump as high as possible from a standing position, you’d start by squatting down and launching yourself up. That initial squat down, even though your task is to jump up, is a countermovement.

In golf, that initial move forward is your backswing counter-movement… which creates momentum for the rest of the swing.

Try this drill and watch your drives take off!

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