'99% of Golfers Get This Wrong,' says Major Champ. Here's How to Fix It
One of the biggest obsessions in golf is creating more clubhead speed in order to launch it farther with the driver - something 3-time major champion Padraig Harrington still does exceptionally well at age 54.
There's just one, glaring problem: Most average and beginner golfers haven't got a clue about how to properly do this.
Anytime you "grip it and rip it" - which a lot of amateurs do to try and get an added Powerboost - you're actually doing the opposite of what you should be doing, says Harrington.
"What we see happening a lot in golf is people think that speed is generated by the torso turning," Harrington mentions in the video below. "They think if I can turn harder, I'm going to get speed. Yeah, the torso adds some speed, but a minimal amount of speed, maybe five percent, is coming from the torso turning extra. What actually happens is most people trying to turn it means they lose complete control of their arms and they lose their speed."
So what's the way to properly sync your top half and bottom half to maximize both club speed and power? Padraig Harrington shares some of his best golf tips in the video below to answer that very question.
Padraig Harrington's Simple Formula for More Clubhead Speed
If you're chasing more clubhead speed, you might assume the answer is swinging harder with your body [and arms]. But according to Padraig Harrington, that approach often creates the opposite result.
Harrington explains how many golfers mistakenly try to generate power by aggressively rotating their torso through impact. While it feels powerful, it often limits acceleration and leads to inconsistent shots.
Turning Harder Isn't the Answer
When it comes to relying too much on body rotation, Harrington says, "what we don't want to see is this effort of turning. If I turn and my arms go with me, there really is no acceleration in that."
He added that golfers who make this move often struggle to produce real power, even if they feel like they're swinging hard.
"You get a lot of people, and they turn, and they hook, they hit a big cut, there's not a lot of power in it," he adds.
Instead of simply rotating harder, Harrington says golfers need a better balance between their arms and torso.
Learn to Relax Your Arms
One of Harrington's simplest golf tips is to remove tension from your swing.
"What we really want, we want to make sure that everything is moving - that the sequence is right, and we have the right amount of torso and the right amount of arms," he adds.
To achieve this, he tells amateur golfers to start with a few swings that use relaxed arms.
"I recommend for a lot of people, start off by relaxing the arms. Get them a little bit floppy. So hit a few shots where the arms are just relaxed."
Since many golfers become too rigid in an effort to hit the ball farther, Harrington says that added tension often prevents the club from accelerating with authority.
"We want to get a little bit back to that, rather than the rigid hard swing," Harrington explains.
Once your arms feel loose and involved, Harrington says it's time to bring your body back into the motion. But the key is to create more turn - not more arm swing.
"We actually, both in the backswing and the downswing, we want a bigger turn relative to our arm swing," he shares.
In other words, Harrington would rather see golfers make a full shoulder turn with a shorter arm swing, than to make a long backswing with minimal body rotation.
"We'd much prefer a full turn and a shoulder height with the hands."
A Shorter Swing Can Still Create More Clubhead Speed
One of the more interesting points Harrington makes in the video is that a shorter-feeling swing often leads to better sequencing and more speed - which may be opposite what many average or beginner golfers think.
He says golfers who feel like they're only swinging to shoulder height will naturally add more shoulder turn to complete the backswing.
"A shorter arm swing, the feeling of a shorter arm swing, both back and through, will lead to a better relationship with your body, and your body will actually turn more to compensate for the short arm swing," Harrington says.
For that reason, Harrington recommends feeling as though you're making a three-quarter backswing and a three-quarter finish.
Always Be Sure to Avoid These 2 Common Speed-Killers
If you're looking for more clubhead speed, Padraig Harrington doesn't mince words when it comes to the mistakes he often sees, and offers up two speed-killers he prominently sees.
The first is allowing their arms to swing excessively long, creating timing issues and disconnecting the swing. The second is sliding or spinning their body too aggressively through impact.
"We definitely don't want the big drift forward with the body," he says. "That ain't going to help us."
Both moves can make it difficult to accelerate the club properly through the ball, causing worst contact!
So keep things simple and listen to Harrington's golf tips: Relax your arms, make a bigger turn, shorten the arm swing, and let the club accelerate naturally through the ball.
Craving more golf swing tips and golf instruction? Be sure to follow Nick Dimengo on Instagram, and subscribe to Rainmakers Golf on YouTube for more relatable swing advice to help your game improve.
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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 1:35 PM.