YouTube Review: The Most Powerful Move in Golf

It has been awhile since I've shared a golf instruction video on this site, so I figured now was a good time to let my readers in on my most recent golf swing obsession. Originally posted as a series of videos on Steve Elkington's Secret in the Dirt YouTube channel, golf pro Martin Ayers explains what he calls the "most powerful move in golf." (Note: The following video -- which you can rent for $7.99 -- is over 90 minutes in length, but you kind of get the gist of the message after the first 15-20 minutes. You can also find a variety of video responses to Ayers' technique on YouTube.)

I've played around with this move for a couple days, including playing nine holes with it in mind. My first impression of the "golf swing is always in one direction" mindset was that it made total sense in terms of physics... although it seemed difficult to conceptualize in relation to how I should move my body. To help me make complete sense of the move, I recalled another YouTube video I saw on imagining the golf club as a weight on the end of a string.

The premise to the swing is simple: your right arm (for right-handed players) is always moving in one direction (backwards) around your shoulder joint. After all, your shoulder is a ball-in-socket joint with almost 360 degrees of movement. The key to Ayers' swing is to properly load your swing at the top to a position that feels natural and powerful to you. The second key -- once again keeping in mind the towel drill in the second video -- is to "whip" the golf club in a wide, one-direction arc.

While I haven't noticed a substantial boost in power using this technique for about a week, I definitely see how thinking of the golf swing as one fluid motion can help with consistency and power over time.