by Coach Marley
Every golfer wants better distance and a consistent golf trajectory, but most don’t know where to start. One of our Coach Marley break it down simply, starting with one powerful concept: centre of pressure.
First we need to start with what centre of pressure is. Centre of pressure is essentially the centre point of the force your body is creating.
For example, on a force plate when standing and moving, you will see your COP curve moving from side to side as you apply pressure from one foot to the other.
Centre of pressure is different to centre of mass; when swinging a golf club it’s important for the majority of people that we focus on the centre of pressure.
How does this improve strike, distance and loft on the club?
Typically for most amateurs while golf coaching, we don’t see enough force or the centre of pressure moving enough to the left foot, especially at impact. The tendency I see is the centre of pressure for the majority of people is neutral (in the middle) or slightly on the right foot. This causes mis-strikes such as thin shots (hitting above the equator of the middle of the ball) and heavy shots (low point before the ball).
This then has a direct effect on the loft and distance we hit, causing inconsistency in our game, making it very difficult to shoot good scores.
So what do I recommend?
Think of centre of pressure in the golf swing as your throwing a ball as far as you can. You wouldn’t throw a ball with your pressure finishing on your right foot as the ball would just go into the air with very little force.
The optimal way would be with the pressure starting on the right foot and pushing into the left before releasing the ball. Optimising the trajectory and overall power and distance of the throw. This is a great drill for people who can’t get to the range and have very little space in the house to swing a club.
Here at DB we believe in something we call the step drill. Essentially this is where you start with your feet together, the club will first go over the ball and you will take a small step to the right. Once the body and arms have rotated to the arms being just below the right shoulder, we then take a very small step to the left, applying force on our left foot.
This helps to ensure the low point of the club is after the ball, ensuring we create a downward angle of attack which will reduce the loft and increase distance thanks to finding a more centred spot vertically on the face.
