. Use The Winter To Improve Your Swing! Ty Walker GolfTEC Director of Instruction, PGA Member MTT Contributing Writer inter is the time of year to make the needed changes in your swing and prepare for a jump start on the spring. Most golfers take a break from improving their swing during the winter, when in reality the winter is the best time to make changes. Most amateur golfers think they can take a couple of lessons and their swing will be fixed when in reality it takes much longer than that. When Nick Faldo first started working with David Leadbetter it took two years before Faldo was comfortable with the new swing. Once he became comfortable with the swing he went on to win six majors. When you are playing every week during the summer, it is easy to give up on the new swing that you are trying to develop and go back to Old Faithful. Even if you know Old Faithful is not the proper swing. The wintertime is the perfect opportunity to make that needed change in your swing. You can work on your swing on a regular weekly basis without playing on the weekend and reverting back to Old Faithful. A winter swing improvement program will have your swing ready for the New Year. By increasing your flexibility and improving your technique you will start next spring with more distance than ever before. Most golfers who take the winter off need a couple of months in the spring to get their golf muscles back in shape. If you can stay stretched and flexible this winter, or even gain flexibility, you can come out in the spring with greater club head speed immediately. Clubhead speed is created by how much power you generate from your body. This power is created by what is called an X-factor or the coil in the muscles between your shoulders and your hips. The key is to learn how to keep your lower body quiet but turn your shoulders more. This requires increased flexibility in your torso. The easiest way to increase this flexibility is to stand one foot from a wall with your back to the wall and turn your shoulders slowly until you can put both of your palms on the wall. Do this for five minutes every day and by the springtime you will have increased torso flexibility and will be able to create a bigger X-factor. Most people lose their X-factor because their lower body is to active on the back swing. The other drill you should do this winter is to make practice swings where you feel like you do not turn your hips at all on the back swing. When the hips have turned almost as much as your shoulders, there isn't very much coil between them. When the hips have not moved very much and the shoulders have turned their maximum amount, there is a greater coil between them. Consequently, this is a very powerful source of energy which can be unleashed for maximum club head speed. As the snow starts to fall, be sure to stay flexible to increase your X-factor. Also, make regular visits to your golf pro to make the needed swing changes and you will start the 2000 season with more distance than ever before. If you have any questions, please call me at 303-426-6600 (Westminster) or another instructor at 303-770-5951 (Denver Tech Center). You can find us on the web at www.golftec.com.