Improve Your Golf Strikes: Expert Tips from Pete Cowan
Are you struggling with consistency and distance when hitting off the fairway? If your fairway woods or hybrids aren’t producing the results you want, it may be time to adjust your technique. In this post, we’ll share some game-changing tips from Pete Cowan, widely regarded as one of the best golf coaches in the world, to help you improve your ball striking and hit more consistent, powerful shots.
The Key to Better Strikes: Wrist and Elbow Position
One of the most common problems golfers face is losing control over their wrist and elbow positions during the swing. According to Pete Cowan, maintaining the correct wrist angle—specifically the right wrist or trail wrist—is crucial for generating consistent ball contact. When these positions are lost, it can lead to poor strikes and lack of distance.
To improve your strike, it’s essential to:
- Maintain your wrist angle through impact: This helps you generate power and control over your shots.
- Keep your elbow in the correct position: Your right elbow, in particular, needs to stay in the right spot to ensure a powerful and consistent strike.
If you’re finding it difficult to maintain these positions, chances are you’re losing control at impact, which results in weak, inconsistent shots. But don’t worry, there are exercises to help fix this!
Phase 1: Master the Backswing
The first step in improving your ball striking is to get the backswing right. Pete Cowan emphasizes that a proper backswing sets you up for success on the downswing. A major mistake many golfers make is letting the right elbow fly out during the backswing, which compromises control. Instead, aim to keep your right elbow in a controlled position.
Drill for Better Elbow Position in the Backswing
A great exercise to help with this is to swap your hands at the start of the backswing. Here’s how to do it:
- Swap your hands so your lead hand is below your top hand on the club.
- As you turn, focus on keeping your right elbow close to your body, allowing it to naturally sit down.
- Practice this movement with mini swings to get the feel of the right elbow position.
By working on this drill, you’ll ensure that your right elbow stays in place, creating a smoother transition into the downswing. This will improve your consistency and control.
Phase 2: Focus on the Downswing
Once you’ve got the backswing down, the next step is to work on your downswing. Here’s where many golfers lose their power and control. Pete Cowan stresses the importance of forearm rotation on the downswing, which allows you to keep the wrist angle intact and deliver the clubface to the ball with proper compression.
Key Downswing Technique
The key to a great downswing is to rotate your forearm and right side toward the ball. Instead of throwing the club at the ball, focus on rotating the forearm back to the golf ball. This rotation allows you to maintain the wrist angle and elbow position through impact, leading to better compression and more consistent shots.
Drill for Downswing Control
Here’s a simple drill to practice forearm rotation:
- Hold the club in the middle of the shaft and take a position where your right elbow is in the proper place.
- From this position, practice rotating your right side and forearm without flicking your wrists. Keep the shaft leaning slightly forward and the wrist angle intact.
- Perform mini swings to develop the feel of this rotation, ensuring that the club stays behind you until the last moment.
The Importance of Maintaining Pressure
One of the final pieces of the puzzle is maintaining pressure on the shaft throughout the shot. Many golfers make the mistake of stopping their body movement too soon, which causes the club to “throw” at the ball, resulting in a weak strike. The key is to keep your body moving through the shot and maintain the pressure on the shaft.
Body and Shaft Coordination
As you move into impact, focus on keeping your right side moving through the shot. The club should stay in sync with your body, and the shaft should remain under control. This helps you create a fluid, powerful swing without sacrificing control or accuracy.
A Simple Exercise to Practice
To bring everything together, try this simple split-hand drill:
- Hold the club with your top hand and place your trail hand lower on the shaft, creating a gap between your hands.
- From here, perform mini swings, focusing on rotating your forearm and keeping the right elbow in the correct position.
- Your goal is to get the clubface back to the ball without using your hands excessively. The rotation should happen naturally through the forearms and body.
This drill will help you practice the key movements required to achieve better strikes: elbow control, wrist angle maintenance, and forearm rotation. With consistent practice, you’ll start to notice significant improvements in your ball striking.
Final Thoughts: Consistency Is Key
Improving your ball striking takes time, but with the right drills and techniques, you’ll see progress. Remember, the first step is to perfect your backswing before moving on to the downswing. Focus on controlling your right elbow, wrist angle, and forearm rotation, and you’ll achieve more consistency and distance with your fairway woods and hybrids.
If you found these tips helpful, be sure to check out the free downloadable practice guide in the description box below. And don’t forget to subscribe to the channel for more golf tips every week!
Happy golfing, and may your next round be your best one yet!
