Throw in the Towel to Gain Extra Yards

A drill to create the leverage that produces perfectly timed speed and power.

Jason Preeo with Tom Ferrell

It’s a simple motion, one known to anyone who has been in a high-school locker room. Roll up the towel, give a well-timed flick of the wrist, listen for the signature “snap,” and watch your target jump! The difference between a direct hit and a glancing blow is unmistakable.

Whether you are snapping a towel or striving for extra yards off the tee, the proper sequence is crucial to creating the leverage that produces perfectly timed speed and power. The golf swing is most efficient and powerful when the pelvis, torso, arms and— finally— hands move in the correct sequence on the downswing.

Let’s throw in the towel…literally, to demonstrate!

1. Grab a towel and swing it a few times. If you start the downswing, and the towel opens up and goes limp you’ll feel the loss of power.

2. Once you get the feel of a good downswing sequence, the towel will curl behind your hands in a perfect display of stored energy and will make a powerful “swoosh” through or even after the impact zone. My pelvis and torso have cleared, creating leverage for my arms and hands and storing energy for impact.

3. Keep working with the towel until you can maintain the tension consistently on the downswing. Then you will have a much better understanding of how proper sequencing at the top will add power to your swing.

Jason Preeo teaches at The Academy at Colorado Golf Club ([email protected]). He works with golfers of all abilities and made the cut at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. A former Division I golf coach, he was the 2009 Colorado high-school Coach of the Year and the 2009 & 2010 CO PGA Match Play Champion.