As the ol' song goes, "Just do the Twist" - well not quite, but the right "little twist" will set you on the right track to turbo-charging your drives. We've all heard of the famous X-factor and how crucial it is to turbo-charging the range of your drive. We'll, here's an amazing tweak that you can apply for immediate results that will help you master your X-technique You can look forward to more power and greater distance in those long drives and with a whole lot less effort-



A Little Twist - Isolate your hips from your shoulders for a longer drive. The power in your stroke is directly related to the angular difference between your shoulders and your hips at the outer range of your backswing. The more the merrier. We're talking about the famous X-factor as first coined by Jim McLean back in 1992. The "X" refers to the cross created by an imaginary line through your hips as it intersects an imaginary line through your shoulders when viewed from above.

At the top of your backswing, You should have the biggest differential between your shoulders and your hips, typically about 30 degrees. The differential lessens as you move through the downswing. Your power is directly related to this maximum differential and not to the overall angle that you generate between the club and the target line at the extreme of your backswing. It doesn't mater how far you turn If there's no twist between your shoulders and your hips you'll have no power. And that's no fun.

Your X-factor angle decreases through the downswing to about 20 degrees at impact. It's crucial that your hips continue to lead your shoulders through the full range of motion or your swing. Your hips should end up turned about 30-40 degrees towards the target at impact. About three quarters of your body weight will naturally transfer from your trailing foot to your leading foot as you complete the stroke. If your hips do not have enough twist at impact (say they're square at impact) your shots will tend to shoot off to the right (if you are right handed golfer) because the path of the club-head is obstructed. So avoid this by being intentional about your twist.

Here's a Useful Image. Think of your torso as a coil spring. Imagine your shoulders at the upper end with your hips at the lower end. Do you have the picture? Now grasp your spring at the upper (shoulder) end and rotate it around its longitudinal axis without securing the lower end. As you might expect, you'll encounter no resistance because the bottom end is not attached to anything. Now repeat the twisting action. But this time, secure the bottom end of your spring with your other hand. Notice that the more you twist the more resistance you experience as the twist (or X-factor) increases. This coiling is the mechanism behind a power swing. Now imagine suddenly releasing the shoulder end of your imaginary spring. Can you see the speed and power as your shoulder unwinds like a sling shot whipping towards the ball.

Turbo-Boost Your Drives - You can consciously increase your X-differential by turning your hips towards the direction of the target just as your shoulders complete the backswing. If you are right handed, you'll turn your hips counter clockwise and the reverse if you are a leftie. By accentuating your hip action in the direction of the target you will "turbo-boost" your drives. That extra "little twist" acts to give your more torsion through the unwind phase of your stroke with a noticeable and effortless increase in speed and power at the club head.

You've heard of air-guitar? Well there's also air-golf. Practice turbo-boosting your drives whenever you have a few idle minutes during your day. Hold your hands together as if grasping an imaginary driver (your air driver). Move your arms to the top of the back swing position. Use your legs, turn your hips in the opposite direction. You'll experience a nice stretch in your abdomen and what's more it feels good. It won't be long before you become a master of isolation and you enjoy those longer drives from the get go! And with longer drives you will hit more greens and score better.