Keep thy width in rotation

Many elements of the golf swing create power. The length, the speed and the solidness of contact are three, but also on the list is one you don't hear much about: width. When you extend your hands as far as possible away from the center of rotation during the swing, you increase the mechanical advantage of the system, and that spells more power.

The key for maximum width is to make sure your lead arm is fully extended away from your upper swing center located about halfway down your sternum (breast bone), just below your throat.

This extension not only maximizes the length of the lever (visualize a wrecking ball with a long arm), but also encourages center contact at impact by preserving the radius during your swing. If you strike the ball a quarter of an inch off-center, you can lose about 10 percent in distance, a power failure that can be nothing but bad.

To create and then maintain width, first arrive at the top of your swing with your hands as far away from the center of your chest as you can.

Next, you must start down by shifting your weight to your front foot. If you simply swivel your shoulders toward the ball, your width is lost.

The last step in your width-maintenance program is to do nothing. And this is by far the hardest thing to do.