There are many ways to add power to your golf swing. You can use a training aid, go to the gym or even get dressed for a new driver. But as a golf swing nerd, my personal favorite is making subtle swing changes.
No, there is not one magic move to instantly hit the ball longer. However, if you learn how power is created during the swing – and make swing changes to implement these power moves – you can hit the ball longer than you ever thought possible.
One such power move was demonstrated earlier this year by GOLF Top 100 teacher Joe Plecker, which you can see in the video below. Our readers clearly enjoyed the tip, as it was our most popular power tip of 2025. Read more below.
Our most popular power tip
Plecker explains that he enjoys teaching golf swing movements with dynamic exercises. One of those exercises, which he learned earlier this year during a visit to Korea, is a modified version of the ‘step-swing’ exercise.
For this routine, all you need is an alignment stick or an old shaft that you can easily spin. Grab it as you would in a normal swing, and then assume a stance.
“What I like to do is start a little bit for me at the club,” says Plecker. “Then I swing back and swing my lead leg behind my trail leg, this time fully back and then through.”
You should hear one whoosh sound as you swing through the impact zone. Once the club reaches the final position, pull it back and swing the stick back as you grab your lead leg and stagger it behind your back leg.
“What I get is a separation of the two halves of my body,” Plecker says. “The bottom half goes forward, while the top half goes back.”
When you do this, you create a ‘spiral’ that can be released during the downswing to generate tons of clubhead speed.
“What you feel is that it really starts to become a cadence, a rhythm,” says Plecker. “If you do it two, three, four, five times in a row, you’ll find approximately your rhythm or the best pace at which you can control the movement.”
Perform this routine a few times, then grab a club and make a few swings, making sure you maintain the feeling of shifting your weight toward the target before completing the backswing. As you begin to master this feeling, you will find that you can generate more clubhead speed with less effort, which should lead to longer drives.
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