Driving

How To Release With Power

July 05, 2011
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Releasing the club weakly is such a common fault, it's worth revisiting how to correct it. Making a full release is a good way to gain distance -- and to cure the slice that afflicts so many of you. Here's a fun drill I've used to free up my release. If you've ever played baseball or softball, you can identify with it.

I throw a ball underhanded with my right hand while my left hand holds a club steady on the ground. I swing my right arm back and turn to the top, then turn through and throw the ball at my target. I want to keep my posture consistent throughout the motion.

This exercise gives you the feeling of a full release, without the pressure of trying to hit a shot.

TOM WATSON, a Golf Digest Playing Editor, is the golf professional emeritus at The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. He won the Senior PGA Championship in a sudden-death playoff in May.