Want to hit the ball further? Sure. And there are plenty of cyber coaches out there to help you.
A common piece of advice given to get that extra distance is to ‘transfer your weight to your left foot as you hit the ball’.
Now all this makes good sense. Transferring your weight on the downswing has the effect of speeding up hip and shoulder rotation.
But is this really good advice?
You’re standing on the tee, staring down the fairway. It’s possible you’re only thinking about one thing. Perhaps two. How do you launch your ball into orbit? And how do you outdrive your golfing companions?
Luckily, research tells us the secret to getting those extra yards. It’s the X-factor stretch. It’s when you further increase the rotational difference between your hips and shoulders on the early downswing.
But there’s just one problem.
Is it possible to learn to serve without swinging a racquet? Sounds ridiculous. But is it?
Let’s look a study that explored at this very question. Some researchers recruited undergraduate students with no previous tennis experience.[1] First up, the students were given traditional instruction where the coach described and demonstrated how to serve. The students were told about such things as the correct grip, stance, biomechanics of the swing and the transfer of weight.
Okay. I’m not saying you should have a few glasses before a game.
What I am saying is if you know what helps you be better at Wine Tasting – and why – you’ll know what sort of practice and training to do so you get the best results in a game.
Let’s look at an experiment to show you what we mean.[1]
We’ve all experienced it.
You’ve got a thundering and relentless forehand when you’re practising. But when you’re playing a real game, it disappears.
But what’s this? It comes back when you’re practising again.
What’s going on? And what can you do about it?
Want to return serve like Roger Federer? Is this even possible? Or has Federer just got a natural talent.
If it’s natural talent, you’re probably out of luck if you didn’t receive a good share of return-of-serve genes.
But is it really your genes or is it something else that’s holding you back from being the champion you deserve to be?
Want to be a champion table tennis player? Or at least someone who can throw their weight around at their local club?
Well, the starting point is to get yourself a classically correct technique.
So how do you get it?
Don Bradman advised young cricketers to ‘keep their eye on the ball.’ And a long line of cricketing giants such as Geoff Boycott, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer have also said it.
But there’s a problem.
The Don couldn’t do it. And neither could Boycott, Hayden and Langer.