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Theories of how to create the most power during the golf swing for the ultimate distance on the ball have changed throughout the years. In the era of Trevino, Nicklaus and Palmer, the golf swing was made powerful from the legs and up.

Once a player reached the top of their swing the body weight would be favouring the right leg, then the transition to the down swing would see the legs drive towards the ball with the upper body in the reverse C position which is when the players spine is bent backwards and the hips are forwards. Ultimately, this was to increase the swings speed and get all the body weight behind the ball for increased ball speed from the face. This swing would put an awful lot of strain on a players hips, neck and back thus causing a lot of injuries or even lasting damage.

Over recent times, as golf professionals have become more physically athletic, along with the introduction of high speed video cameras and continued learning of the biomechanics, coaches can pinpoint these flaws in the swing and study the human anatomy in order to get the most out of the body with little stress imparted.

The golf swing nowadays has much less leg drive and lateral movement having been replaced and improved with more rotation which adds power to the swing through pivoting the hips and turning the body, resulting in much more consistency of strike and increased distance.

To try this out on the range, make sure the fundamentals of the set up are correct in terms of your posture. A good posture will allow a strong and capable rotation. Once you reach the top of the back swing check there is approximately 45 degree tolerance between your shoulders and hips to allow your hips to stay ahead of the shoulders during the down swing. This difference allows the lower body and its core to rotate and gradually speed up the down swing leading to more distance and a consistent angle of attack for good strikes.

Consistently striking the ball, hitting the ball straight, and with as much distance as possible are the three most important aspects a players needs to abide by whilst playing or even learning from the start.

Driving the legs as much as possible during the golf swing could potentially add good distance to your swing depending on your original swing, however, it will have a negative effect on your ball striking. Leg drive is a difficult aspect of the swing to control on a repetitive basis because any mis-timing will cause poor strikes such as a topped shot or a fat shot and/or an array of directional issues.

Many amateurs and particularly beginners swing the club with just their arms. This limits the rotation of the shoulders which invariably will stop the rotation of the hips. The biggest issue with this swing is the huge loss of distance caused. It can be as much as 50 yards with an iron. Swinging with just the arms always varies the angle of attack into the ball and most importantly in golf causes an array of poor strikes from fat, thin or topped shots.

Theories on the golf swing and how it should be adapted will never stop. However, keeping the weight on the left side throughout the swing will cause many amateurs to have a poor swing path and an angle of attack which is too steep for consistent ball striking, resulting in erratic shot direction and unreliable distance control.