Gaining distance in golf isn’t just about brute strength. Even Adam Sandler’s Happy Gilmore had to practice ice hockey swings for his tremendous drives. But for the majority of us, it’s more about efficient techniques and maximizing the swing arc. A wider arc allows the clubhead to travel farther and faster, directly translating into more power at impact. 

But how can you widen your arc and add more distance to your drives?

1. Turning the trail hip properly to generate more force

Many amateur golfers tend to lean on their toes during a swing. This limits the necessary rotation on the backswing. And to get the length in the swing, their lead elbow breaks since their hip hasn’t moved thoroughly, resulting in poor hits. 

Ideally, the pelvis rotates around 30° to 45° as the hip moves back and the spinal angle stays stable. This helps build kinetic energy by increasing the potential energy between the torso and the pelvis. It should feel like you’re building pressure in your trail hip and not your toes. The trail knee stays flexed, but it shouldn’t be locked. And the chest turns over a stable base. 

Creating a trail-hip depth in the backswing allows golfers to build coil, maintain posture, and generate ground force. And that’s the key to generating maximum swing speed and distance. 

2. Rotating the lead hand over the trail hand to maintain grip

Most amateurs struggle with open clubfaces that result in slices, and ultimately cause a loss of speed. But that can be fixed with good body rotation and proper wrist condition. During the backswing, golfers should rotate their bodies and forearms accordingly. If there’s no rotation in the forearm and body, the grip usually comes off at the top of the backswing. And that adversely affects the distance. 

The subtle fix for this is to let the lead hand rotate over the trail hand. This will keep the trail hand more under the club at the top of the swing. And the club stops as the body’s movement stops. This exact movement should ideally repeat during the downswing for the perfect shot. 

With the correct setup, the clubface stays more stable, leaving the lead wrist free to hinge without excessive cupping during the backswing. And upon downswing, the lead wrist is slightly bowed, bringing the clubface down to square earlier. This means the strike will be more compressed with a higher smash factor.

3. Exploiting footwork for more power

Like any other sport, footwork is a vital aspect of golf. And a good stance on the ground certainly reflects in the distance gained on the course. During a swing, the elite players push off the ground and generate power. You can look at Phil Mickelson and Kyle Berkshire to understand how the footwork really works. 

During a swing, golfers tend to dynamically shift their weight from the trailing foot to the lead foot. They push themselves up during the downswing. Try practicing lowering your weight during the early downswing, and then exploding up with the lead leg while rotating toward the target while hitting the ball. 

This adds vertical force and increases the clubhead speed. In short, it must feel like you’re driving the ball through the ground, and not just swinging your arms. The better you pre-stretch a muscle, the more force it will generate. To incorporate this explosive power into your swing, you can try strengthening the legs through exercises like single-leg hops, banded power squats, and snap downs. 

4. Using a towel to simulate backswing and downswing

This isometric exercise encourages full extension in the backswing to improve swing radius consistency. All you need to do is grab a towel at two spots, leaving about a foot-long space in between. There should be a bit of slack in the towel. And then, you need to stand in your address position to begin the exercise. 

This exercise builds on simulating the backswing and downswing repeatedly. Note that this is the same width that golfers need to maintain during actual swings on the golf course. But what can we do while waiting for the next shot?

Bring out your towel for a couple of practice swings, of course! This will reinforce that feeling of distance between the hands and help widen the swing arc while striking the balls. This will also help in increasing the clubhead speed at the impact of the tee shots.

5. Using a cable machine to exercise and increase swing speed and widen the arc

A proper golf swing relies on the hips, torso, arms, and the club. That’s the kinematic sequencing of a good swing. Cable training enhances rotational power and sequencing by mimicking the golf swing under resistance, helping golfers generate speed safely and efficiently.

Bring your club to the gym and attach the handle at chest height. And practice the swing at a controlled speed. You can also start high, setting up like a cable woodchop while pulling the club diagonally across the body. Additionally, you can stand perpendicular to the cable and press the handle straight out to resist rotation and improve stability. 

Of course, you must not treat this as a bodybuilding exercise. Instead, the focus should be on clean mechanics. With practiced swings under resistance, the actual swing will become more powerful, and that will push the ball a really long distance.