The Keys To Power In The Golf Swing

Former Ryder Cupper Peter Dawson explains his secrets to generating power in the golf swing

The Keys To Power In The Golf Swing

Hitting the ball further has been shown to give golfers a significant advantage over their competition. In the video and article, PGA pro Peter Dawson shares his top tips for generating power.

Power isn't everything in golf, but there are plenty of occasions when getting it out there a long way will give you a distinct advantage. On par 5s or long par 4s where maximum distance off the tee is required, many high handicappers - and others too - make the mistake of setting up to the ball thinking, 'The harder I hit it, the further the ball will go!' Sadly, that is generally not the case as they then tend to take the club away as fast as they can, chop back down at the ball, and it goes nowhere.

The secret to power in the golf swing is the arc - the pendulum - that generates your power via good posture. When you turn, turn your shoulders to the maximum, keeping the swing as wide as possible and, crucially, turning the big muscles in your upper body into the back leg.

Turn into your back leg for extra power

Then you can unleash the forward power that this stores up. At the point of impact, you need to turn quickly through the ball and keep turning on into the follow-through too. Power stems from good posture, width in the backswing and an effective turn and transfer of weight.

Keep the width 

Width in the backswing is essential but don’t sway to achieve it – it must be achieved while turning the shoulders and upper body into the back leg to help store up power.

Turn through the ball 

All the good of a powerful backswing can be undone if you don’t then turn properly through the ball at impact and on into the follow-through.

Hanging back like this through impact will rob you of power

Don’t hang back 

The head must go with the ball through impact. Many golfers keep the head back behind the ball (above) resulting in a flick, which dramatically decreases power.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response