The RuthlessGolf.com Long and Straight Pack

By Mike Southern

When Mike Southern first developed the RuthlessGolf.com Quick Guides, his goal was to provide short, complete lessons on a single subject that anyone could afford. And his readers responded, usually buying more than one of the titles with each purchase.

Now, based on his readers' feedback, he has created "packs" that combine two complementary Quick Guides, based on some of the most frequently-purchased combos, at an even greater savings over the individual book prices.

The Long and Straight Pack begins with "More Golf Swing Speed," Mike's original Quick Guide. It teaches you the simple downswing move that increases clubhead speed. Within days of its release, readers contacted RuthlessGolf.com, thrilled to report gains of up of 25 yards off the tee.

Paired with it is "HIT IT HARD," a guided sequence of drills that build your swing motion from a basic turn back and through (without a golf club) to a balanced, all-out swing capable of hitting the ball with great accuracy as well as speed.

The Long and Straight Pack will help you develop the mechanics and balance necessary to hit the ball longer and straighter than ever before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Defiant Publishing LLC
• Release date: Jun 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370965694

Mike Southern

Mike Southern learned the basics of golf from Carl Rabito, the PGA Professional who coached LPGA major winner Jeong Jang to her 2005 Women's British Open win. He's played in a few local professional tournaments and written numerous instructional articles for Golfsmith.com. He currently writes the long-running "Ruthless Golf" blog, which is aimed at helping weekend players improve their game without overtaxing the rest of their lives.

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And if you enjoy these books, don’t forget to check out Ruthless Putting, the original book on turning your existing putting stroke into a scoring machine!

Available in paperback and various ebook formats.

MORE GOLF SWING SPEED

Introduction

Everybody wants to hit the ball farther. Whether it's a 300-yard drive or just hitting that 150-yard par-3 with an iron instead of a hybrid, weekend golfers everywhere are searching for the secret to hitting it longer.

And marketers are well aware that players like you want more distance. They promise you the moon… and more.

As long as you're willing to pay for it, that is.

They offer you expensive training aids capable of turning you into Tiger Woods (back when he used the Butch Harmon swing, of course). They expect you to wear embarrassing devices that may have been designed during the Spanish Inquisition. They may even claim to possess secrets revealed by inebriated holy men living on mountaintop practice ranges. Much of it sounds more like magic than golf.

But getting more distance isn't that complicated. Here's the big secret:

If you want the ball to fly a long way, you need to create a lot of clubhead speed and hit the ball solidly with it.

Hitting the ball solidly is just a matter of practice. But creating clubhead speed? That requires a little knowledge… nothing fancy, though. The mechanics of creating clubhead speed are simple and they've been around for a long time. Every great golfer from Bobby Jones to Ben Hogan used them.

But these fundamentals tend to get ignored nowadays. After all, who'd pay a fortune for something everybody knows?

This Quick Guide will teach you how to create clubhead speed in your downswing. It's not hard—in fact, you already know the basic moves. All you need to learn is how to use them when you swing a golf club. (The human body can only move in so many ways, folks. Unless you're from the planet Zorg and have 7 arms and 2 heads, this golf book can teach you what you need to know.) And after you learn these fundamentals, you may not be able to hit 300-yard drives but you'll definitely pick up some noticeable yardage.

You see, golf balls are small. They don't defend themselves very well. Consequently, it doesn't take a lot to send them screaming down the fairway.

And don't be surprised if you hit the ball more solidly as well. Once you understand the basics of creating clubhead speed, you'll find it's actually easier to hit the ball solidly.

Speed at the Top: Delayed Wrist Cock

Just what is the difference between a 'classic' swinger like Tom Watson and a 'modern' swinger like Tiger Woods? With so many swing theories going around today, it can be hard to tell the two apart. The one thing most instructors will agree on is that classic swingers 'swing the club,' while modern swingers 'hit the ball.' It's the difference between using rhythm and using muscle. You might also think of it as using centrifugal force versus leverage.

However, the two aren't mutually exclusive. A modern swinger can be more rhythmic and a classic swinger can use more muscle. Each will have varying degrees of success, depending on how they try to balance the two.

Some talk about one- and two-plane swings. In a two-plane swing, the backswing is on one plane and the downswing is on a different one; you may have heard the term rerouting the club, and this is what is meant. Usually the downswing plane is underneath the backswing plane, although some players reverse that; Bobby Jones was a classic example, swinging back and up before starting his downswing. In a one-plane swing, the backswing and downswing planes are so similar that they're essentially the same.

Some people think that a two-plane swing is a classic swing while a one-plane swing is modern, but this isn't entirely true. Most players believe Ben Hogan created the modern swing, as described in his book Five Lessons, and that book clearly teaches a two-plane swing. The fact is, a modern swinger can use a one- or two-plane swing, and a classic player can do so as well.

Speed through Control

The real difference between the classic and modern swings is how the club shaft gets 'loaded.' What does that mean? Sometimes, when a player's swing is examined in slow motion and analyzed, you can see the club shaft bending backward as the club starts down, then bending forward toward the hole as the ball is struck. This is the 'loading' and 'unloading' of the club shaft. The shaft is like a spring that stores energy on the way down, then releases it at impact. This affects both the distance you hit the ball and the accuracy of your shot, because the shaft twists (or torques) as it flexes.

That's why it's so important to have your clubs fitted to your swing. Stronger players generally need stiffer shafts to help their accuracy, while players with less forceful swings can use more flexible shafts to add distance. So one step to getting more distance is this: Make sure your clubs have been properly fitted to your swing.

This flexing is also the key to understanding the main difference between the classic and modern swings. The modern swing loads the shaft at the top of the backswing, while the classic swing loads it partway through the downswing. This may seem counter-intuitive, since the later loading sounds like it would take more strength, but it actually takes less strength… or rather, it is done at a point in the swing where a player is better able to use the strength they have.

You should also remember that the classic swing was built to work with the softer hickory shafts of that time. The classic swing loads the shaft later in the swing because it takes longer to load it. Because it takes longer, less stress is placed on the shaft at any one moment. This knowledge is still valuable because graphite shafts can mimic the properties of hickory while behaving more consistently.

Anyway, most teaching these days focuses on the modern swing. Because of this, I focus more on the classic swing; I believe it has more to offer the weekend player who has less time for practice. And the classic swing uses movements that you're already familiar with, so they aren't as hard to incorporate into your existing swing.

In a modern swing, the shaft loads at the top of the backswing, at the change of direction. Many players feel this as a pause at the top. At this point, muscle power becomes important; it takes a lot of strength and speed to get the club started down without causing the wrists to uncock early. (You may notice players like Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, and Natalie Gulbis dropping their upper bodies closer to the ball in order to start the downswing; that also helps maintain the wrist cock a little longer.) There are any number of teaching techniques and training equipment available to help you learn how this is done, but they're not natural for most players; that's why so much practice is necessary.

In contrast, the classic swing uses a single, simple technique traditionally called a loop, or downcocking. Back in the days of hickory shafts, many players utilized the loop as a way to change planes in a two-plane swing because they already used it to minimize the stress (loading) put on the softer shaft at the change of direction. The softer hickory shafts almost demanded a loop as the loading technique; players who didn't use it developed a reputation as wild drivers, Walter Hagen being a good example. Hagen's swing looks much more like a modern swing, with the shaft loading at the top of the swing. That's a real problem when the shaft is made of hickory.

While the loop is often (but not always) used in conjunction with a two-plane swing, the loop can be done in a single plane… and I bet most of you have used just such a loop many times in your life. I'll even go so far as to say that most weekend players who struggle with an 'over-the-top' swing or with 'throwing the club from the top' are doing so because they're instinctively trying to make the loop movement they already use in other areas of their lives.

If it's such a natural move, then why doesn't it work for these struggling golfers? It's because they're trying to combine the classic move with