To gain the most distance in golf, I need to hit the ball as hard as possible. I need to swing out of my shoes and let the big dog eat! There is not way around it, hitting the ball hard is the only way to gain any distance moving forward. Unfortunately, that is not the whole story. Hitting the ball as hard as we can to gain distance is a myth. The challenges of overswinging to hit the ball hard cause more problems with our game than anything else. One of the main issues I had with my swing in the early years is trying to hit the ball too hard thinking it was the best path to success. Well, after many years of failing, I decide to take another approach that set me on the track to success!

I found that trying to hit the ball as hard as I could all the time worked some of the time, but it caused my game to plateau in the low 90s or high 80s. There was not much difference in my score as I shot between 88 and 92, 8 times out of 10! Yup, I was stuck in a rut and I did not understand why. That was until hurt my shoulder (a bit) that forced me to swing my clubs easier. The results were surprising. I was shooting lower scores (slightly) that seemed much easier and more relaxed than my previous rounds.

Fast forward to today and my game has again plateaued. I shoot many low scores but cannot seem to achieve the lower scores that I want on any consistent basis. As I revisit my approaches, I realize that I was missing something or lets say I forget some things from time to time. Before I tell you about the one thing that works best for me, I think Rick Shiels should pave the way to understanding how to hit the ball hard while keeping control.

As I worked on my game, I found that there is one aspect of my journey that proved to be the best solution to my swing woes. To cut right to the chase, balance during my entire swing was my biggest problem. I would swing my club as fast as I could to hit the ball as hard as I could that I would be off balance during contact and in my follow through. It was the one constant in my early game that I figure I need to fix because my injury showed that my weakness in my swing was balance. I realize that I am probably skipping a few steps, but I found that balance was the basis of my woes that I needed to fix.

Overswinging usually results in a player losing balance through their swing. A golfer can only swing the club so fast before they have balance issues and that was my challenge early in my career. Now, I am in balance most of the time. When I try to swing faster (harder), I have a tendency to have poor contact or a weak follow through because my balance is way off. Every player has that sweet spot that coordinates speed and balance. It is up to each player to determine their unique combination where hitting the ball hard and balance find an equilibrium. There is no set or perfect swing speed that fits all players. Everyone has to find what works best for their game.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!