How to get Happy Gilmore Distance

Want to hit the ball like Happy Gilmore?

There are 2 rules to follow:

Have awesome technique.
Get REALLY strong.

Truth

No matter how strong you are and what training program you’re doing, if your technique sucks, your golf swing will suck ballzzzz.

If this is the case, go get a good coach to clean up your technique.

However, if you have good technique, you NEED to be strong.

None of this circus, side-show, BS that get’s thrown around when people talk about training golfers.

Yes, this is incredibly difficult but also incredibly stupid.

Golf is a Power/ Strength sport, NOT an endurance game and NOT a “balance” game.

I know a round takes 4-5 hours, but if you can’t walk around for 4-5 hours without being physically wiped out, you should worry less about training for your golf game and more about training for the game of life.

As for it being a “balance” game.

You’re on two feet and the ground doesn’t move.

If you’re struggling with balance under these circumstances, I can’t help you….I don’t know who can, but I know I can’t.

So why is golf a power/strength game?

Cause Issac Newton said so,

The distance you hit the ball ,given you are hitting it flush <——there’s that technique thing again, is all about how much force you transfer from the club into the ball.

Sometimes I’ll get this as a response,

“Yeah, but when I relax I can hit the ball farther”

“When I don’t try to swing as hard, I hit the ball farther”

That’s cause when you hit the ball “relaxed” you allow the A (acceleration) part of the equation to be larger therefore the TOTAL FORCE OUTPUT is larger. You’re mass (the club) is unchanged.

Plus and mostly, your technique is probably much better because you’re relaxed so the force is directed where you want it and transferred through the ball entirely.

How Hit the Ball Like Happy:

Get Mobile
Build an Iron Core
Get Strong
Build Power

Step #1:

Get Mobile: A “chest” or “logo” up posture and rotation through the shoulders and hips (NOT low back) is important for a fluid, powerful swing. If you’re getting rotation through the low back (that’s why your back hurts) and not the shoulders and hips you’re sacrificing a lot of power.

Why should you limit “core” or lumbar rotation in the swing: If the core transfers power, it acts as the conduit between the shoulders and hips, and we create rotation there, at the low back, we’re “breaking” the transfer of force and creating an “energy leak” losing FORCE where the motion occurs.

Visual Aid: That guy that sleeps with ~~the Perkins waitress, skanks, assorted nasty beotches,~~ Lindsay Vonn, Tiger Woods

Pictures ©Mark Newcombe / www.visionsingolf.com

If you draw a line from the middle of Tigers chest, at the bottom of the sternum, through his crotch (belt buckle), (yes, I said crotch in reference to Tiger Woods, the irony is not lost on me), you’ll notice that the line is never broken.

This is one of the reasons Tiger hits the ball so far.

He’s strong (for a golfer) and he transfers ALL the force he produces through the club head. There is almost no lumbar rotation.

For comparison: Happy Gilmore

I know, he’s not a real golfer and his swing is terrible on purpose and that’s the point of the movie….thanks for clearing that up for me.

Point is, if you draw a line from the middle of Happy’s chest (the Bruins B) through his crotch (belt buckle) you’ll notice the line is twisted through the midsection.

This is the type of low back (lumbar) rotation you do not want.

If you’re doing this, you’re losing distance.

If you’re training this motion (lumbar rotation)your solidifying a faulty motor pattern and probably negatively affecting your swing….not to mention grinding down your spinal discs and destroying your back….

Things you should do to get mobile:

Thoracic Extension

Thoracic Rotation

Hip Mobility

Step #2:

Get a Rock Solid Core to Transfer that Power: Getting “soft” through the middle will not allow the body to effectively transfer and absorb power through the shoulders and hips. Getting “soft” here is one of the main reasons for too much lower back movement (compensation) and a loss of force when contacting the ball.

Loss of force = Loss of distance

Anti-Extension

Anti-Flexion

Anti-Rotation

Remember kids, we don’t crunch.

Step #3:

Get Strong: Focus your weight training on getting strong(er).

Lately everyone has been on this “power” kick which is fine and good, but negates a reality….(ohh sh@t, physics again)

The amount of power you can produce is ultimately limited by your maximum strength.

Think of maximum strength as your glass and power as the juice in the glass.

You can’t have more juice than the glass can hold…….

That’s why focusing on training for power fails for most weekend warrior types, and hell some professionals.

They’re too weak to benefit from the training in the first place.

Most people improve their power output simply by getting stronger.

Here’s a fine graph to illustrate this point further: it’s called the Force/ Velocity Curve….

To Get Strong(er):

Lifts in the 3-5 rep range
Lifts above 80% of your 1RM (if you’re stronger it’s gonna take a higher percentage)

This means (things like) heavy:

Squats, Benches and Deadlifts

Tricep kickbacks, dumbbell curls and leg extension will not get the job done here.

Some accessory lifts I like for golf: Accessory lifts build the big ones

You don’t have to be killing yourself, straining against loads and busting blood vessels.

But if you’re using a weight that you could have gotten 10 with, for 5, you’re probably not getting much stronger.

80% weights for sets of 3-5 reps isn’t that hard for most people with a few months of training under their belt.

Step #4:

Train for Power: Once you’re not weak anymore we need to move the club faster, this means producing strength faster. The faster the club moves the more force you’ve produced, the farther the ball goes.

Training power is about moving the implement (ball, weight, kettlebell, your body) through space FAST.

Throw things

Jump

Move things fast

“It’s not rocket science. If it was, we’d be building rockets”- Jim Rooney

Don’t waste your time with weighted clubs, crazy contraptions and the “Golf Swing” cable attachment <——which DEFIES the basic concepts of what constitutes a “Sport Specific” exercise.