Over the course of time I have seen thousands of golfers who
need and desire more distance; but did you know that about seventy percent of
those same golfers could increase their distances by at least ten yards if they
just understood what the “X-Factor” was and meant to their game!
It is a common thought to increase your distance output you must make a bigger
turn during your backswing- this is partly true, but the key is understanding
what parts of your body that you need to make a bigger turn with? Most people
falsely believe that if you turn your hips farther on the backswing then more
distance will come. It is true that by making a bigger backswing shoulder turn
you should hit it farther, BUT if you over-turn your hips at the same time then
you will lose distance!!!! (Please understand that there is more to producing
distance than just the turning of the troso, but this is a major fundamental
key that your swing must have!) What are you saying Tom?- You must maximize
your X-Factor to get more distance and here’s how. . . .
In order to create clubhead speed we first need to understand how clubhead speed
is created. The club is propelled though the air and affected by several factors
like your weight shifting from foot to foot, the steepness of your plane angle,
centrifugal and centripital forces, ect. . .We are only going to focus on your
pivot or torso rotation in this article. To have an effective pivot or torso
rotation you must efficiently utalize the turning of your body (shoulders and
hips) as well as the shifting of your weight to provide the proper springing
back effect necessary to increase clubhead speed and distance during the downswing.
This will only happen if you have the proper amount of coiling or tension in
your torso- THE X FACTOR! Your X-Factor is nothing more than the difference
in degrees between your shoulder turn versus your hip turn at the top of your
swing or more simply put the amount of tension created during your backswing.
So, if you turn your hips 40 degrees and your shoulders 80 then you have a 40
degree X-Factor. The bigger the difference between the two the farther you will
hit the ball. The PGA Tour average for a driver is a 90 degree shoulder turn,
a 53 degree hip turn and an average X-Factor of 37. Most amateurs turn their
shoulders 90 degrees and thier hips 65 degrees which gives them an X-Factor
of 25 degrees! I see 95 out of 100 golfers who over-turn thier hips in efforts
to hit it farther, and lose power as a result! As you can see over-rotation
of the hips will cost you distance everytime- it’s proven though our Tour
data correlations!!!
Why does overturning the hips not increase distance you might ask? In simplistic
terms- if you turn your hips too far then you effectively stop the proper amount
of tension build-up derived from turning of your shoulders more than your hips.
This maximiziaton of the coil or tension is equated to distance. . . because,
the more coil that you have in your torso the faster your body will unwind in
efforts to return to impact-there is more to it than that but for this article
that’s as indepth as we need to get. Here’s a simple explination
to think about. . .If you held a spring with two hands, one above the other,
and then twisted the upper portion of ths spring clockwise while keeping the
other hand steady what would happen? The spring would have a lot of stored up
kinetic energy or coil, then when you let your upper hand go, the spring would
recoil back with tremendous effort- right?! Now with that same idea in mind,
turn the top of the spring to the same place as before, BUT let your lower hand
allow the bottom of the spring to give a little- what happens when you let go?
The spring will recoil back just like it did before, but because there was not
as much tension or stored up energy as there was previously then the spring
would not rebound with the same intensity- this is the X-Factor at work. When
you Minimize your lower body turn while you Maximize your upperbody turn- you
downswing will rebound with great effort--and get more clubhead speed!!
Now that you understand the aspect of how coil and tension are built up in the
backswing let me now show you how to maximize your own personal X-Factor and
give you more distance once and for all! As we’ve stated during your backswing
you must efficiently turn your torso in the proper fashion necessary to build
up this torque without any power leaks. These power leaks can be things like
sliding the right knee out at the top, not turning the hips at all or turning
even too much, flying the right elbow at the top or even picking the club up,
and tilting your torso. All of these things will cause you to have an inefficient
backswing turn, but there are only a few things you have to look for at the
top to know your X-Factor is maximized. . .
1) Your right knee MUST hold its Flex and Position to the top!
I believe this is the most difficult thing the average golfer has to do in getting
the club to the top, because the lower body is the foundation and base of your
total swing. If you lowerbody is out of control then your total swing will go
haywire! If your right knee holds the flex you establish at address to the top
then there is NO way you can over-turn your hips, because the tendons in your
knee prohibit this action. In addition to holding its flex, your knee must not
slide outward during the backswing- why? If your knee slides laterally then
your weight shift and hip turn will be grossly affected. Your weight could go
to the outside of your right foot and cause your upper torso to tilt and lean
towards the target at the top, you could not turn your hips at all creating
a big slide to the top, or any number of things. So. . .use a mirror and train
your right knee to hold its flex and position to the top and your hip turn will
be controlled, but do NOT try to stop you hips from moving, let your right knee
do all the work and you will be fine!
2) Make sure 80% or more of your weight is loaded on the Inside
of your right foot at the top!
Now this is where controlling your lowerbody becomes a paradoxical motion. Your
right knee must hold its flex and position, and your hips can turn, but you
must put eighty percent of your weight on your right foot-wow! In efforts to
put your weight on your right foot several students feel like they are placing
their left shoulder over their right foot, leaning their torso over their right
leg, or getting their back to the target at the top. Imagine you are standing
on a see-saw, just tip it to the right without sliding your hips; and usually
if your upper-torso is behind the ball at the top then it will be hard not to
have eighty percent of your weight on your right foot. The only danger is allowing
your hips to slide out- please be cognizant of this.
3) You must feel tension on the inner portion of your right
knee and in your lower back when your X-Factor is maximized!
Now, I’m NOT telling you to hurt yourself or to ask yourself to turn your
body past its natural flexibility state, but feeling SLIGHT tension in these
areas will tell you that you are there! Everyone’s X-Factor is personal-
Let your BODY tell you how much is too much!!! All I want my students to do
is minimize their lowerbodies turn by controlling the right knee’s actions,
and coil themselves up by turning their upperbodies as much as the can comfortabaly!
If you feel this slight tension then you are maximizing your turn for more distance.
This is concept is not reserved for the “flatbellies,” age is not
relavant because your X-Factor is a PERSONAL level of turn, so don’t think
you must achieve John Daly’s differential turn, when you feel like you
can’t turn any more beacause of your age! Try it you’ll see the
difference- I know you’ll like it!
To summarize. . .use a mirror to ask yourself the three questions above- just
pay close attention to the right knee’s actions, because this is the catalyst
of your personal X-Factor maximization. It is much harder to control your hips
then swing your upperbody back too far, when trying to do this, but if you can
learn to minimize your hips then your distance as well as other factors in your
downswing will be helped! There are also several other flexibility exercises,
drills, and a detailed program that I use with my students in conjunction with
the machine to maximize their X-Factor and distance output in my Distance Seminars-
call for details! Questions or Comments? 853-7137