To some golfers, power isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.

They’re wrong, of course. Golf demands a high degree precision and finesse, as well as strategic thinking skills and mental stability.

But dismiss the role of power and you’ll relegate yourself to a lifetime of long approach shots, missed opportunities and higher scores than you’d shoot with an extra 10 yards per drive. The longer your tee shot, the shorter (more lofted) club you’ll need to reach the green. That equals more greens hit, more par and birdie putts, less stress on your short game and, at the end of the day, a prettier scorecard.

It’s true that modern equipment has given every golfer a little more length. Then again, golf courses have gotten longer to negate this effect. Besides, you won’t gain much distance unless you can achieve a fairly high clubhead speed.

Many golfers resist boosting their power because they fear a loss of accuracy. Two points on that: 1) It’s OK to sacrifice a little accuracy for a major distance increase. You’re usually better off hitting a wedge from the rough than a 7-iron from the fairway. 2) Adding power doesn’t necessarily mean losing accuracy.

How’s that? Because the best way to gain distance is to increase the efficiency of your swing, using the body’s big muscles and coordinating your movements in a smooth sequence. A sound swing generates power and delivers clubhead to ball in a square impact position.

The drills in this text and video series will help you maximize your yardage – and you just might hit the ball straighter, too.