Golf instruction is ever-evolving, but the best advice stands the test of time. In GOLF.com’s new series, Timeless Tips, we’re highlighting some of the greatest advice teachers and players have dispensed in the pages of GOLF Magazine. This week, we take a look at a story from March 2005 when Charles Howell III shared four tips for hitting longer drives.
Charles Howell III has been a mainstay in the professional golf ranks for over two and a half decades. Since turning pro in 2000, the now-47-year-old has played on both the PGA Tour and LIV circuit, winning four times between the two and amassing tens of millions in career earnings.
Early on in his career, Howell was a can’t-miss prospect coming out of Oklahoma State, where he won the Haskins Award and led his Pokes to the 2000 NCAA national title. He lived up to that hype in his rookie season as he earned Rookie-of-the-Year honors, followed by two decades of high-level play among the game’s best.
Back in March 2005, Howell joined GOLF Magazine to explain how he generated so much power off the tee. Check out the story in full below.
At 155 pounds, the question | hear most often is, “How does a skinny guy like you hit the ball so far?” First, | focus a lot on making solid contact, but | think my biggest asset is the ability to maximize clubhead speed at the ball. Not before, not after, but at the ball. | do this by making a good pivot onto my right side in the backswing, which sets up a powerful shift into impact, and by keeping my wrists fully loaded long into the downswing. The more the clubhead lags behind my hands coming down, the more energy | can release at the ball. | call this “late speed.” Every long driver has it.
On the following pages are my four keys to maximizing late speed, as well as a handful of bonus power tips. Try them and pretty soon you’ll be the heaviest hitter in your foursome.
Picture a boxer throwing a jab: To get any force behind the blow, his upper body must remain behind his fist. If his body gets in front, he has very little power. The same is true of the golf swing: Your upper body has to stay behind the ball for you to it hit hard.
Set this up at address. Raise your left hip so that your spine tilts away from the target. This positions your upper body behind the ball. To ingrain the feel of this, place your right hand on your right hip and press down and toward the target. You should feel some pressure in your right thigh and your knee should kick in. You’re ready to coil over your right leg and take advantage of a strong hitting position.
The backswing is one free-flowing motion, but here’s what you need to accomplish: 1. Set your wrists early and 2. Rotate your shoulders to the top. Master these moves and you’ll start the downswing from a leveraged position. As you take the club back, don’t tighten your grip; this will restrict wrist hinge. Also, keep your left arm close to your chest and your hands in front of you.
Halfway back, your left forearm and the shaft should form a 90-degree angle, and the butt end of the grip should point at or just inside the ball. This signals that the club is on the correct plane. With the wrists set, all you need to do is turn your back to the target to complete your backswing
From the top, you want to store your swing’s energy for as long as you can, maintaining the angle between your right forearm and the shaft. If you release that angle too soon — known as casting — you’ll waste your power long before you get back to the ball.
The place to store your energy is in your right wrist: As you start down, feel as if you’re driving your weight straight into the ground with your right hand and leg. I think of it as sitting into my right hip. Applying this downward pressure keeps the wrists fully hinged well into the downswing, creating clubhead lag for a late burst of speed.
The most important element of power is late speed. If you’ve followed me to this point, you’re ready to release the speed. As the wrists unhinge and the left arm and the shaft swing into a straight line through impact, the clubhead speed is multiplied and maximum energy is applied to the ball.
To get a feel for late speed, swing your driver to the top and start down, stopping when your arms are parallel to the ground. From this halfway-down position, go ahead and hit the ball, accelerating your hands and arms through impact. Release your upper body through the strike, so your right shoulder faces the target at the finish.
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