Alvaro Quiros swing sequence

European Tour winner Alvaro Quiros talks to Golf Monthly about his driving technique and offers his best tips to reaching the green.

European Tour winner Alvaro Quiros talks to Golf Monthly about his driving technique and offers his best tips to reaching the green.

My driving power allows me to take an aggressive approach to scoring. I recently checked my stats and was pleased to learn that I’m second on the PGA Tour in going for par-5 greens in two (71.2%). This means I’m doing my job off the tee.

I’m also leading the Tour in par-5 scoring average at 4.63, which, if you do the maths, gets to me to 9-under per event just by playing the par 5s.

If long holes are typically the ones that cause your scores to soar past your index, then heed my advice. An extra dose of power certainly pays.

Using my 4 key moves makes hitting big easy for me, and it can help anyone max out their potential power.

Get Off to a Good Start

The most common mistake is hunching over the ball with rounded shoulders. Starting like this makes it impossible to swing freely and extend your arms both going back and coming through. A good posture is essential.

Your goal at setup is to create plenty of room for your arms to swing and your shoulders to turn. I do this by standing farther from the ball but keeping more of an erect posture.

Extend Fully

If you want to create maximum power you need to extend fully on both sides of the ball. Notice how my left arm is nice and straight in my takeaway and the club is pointing down the line, away from the target.

I often make a half swing like this to check that I’m doing it correctly. I want to feel the same thing swinging past the ball—both arms straight and extended down the target line.

Turn Instead Of Lift

You need to get your power by rotating your body and swinging around, instead of straight up and down.

If you remember to swing around your body, you won’t be able to slice across the ball, which leads to weak impact and short, crooked hits.

Release! Release!

Look at how my right hand is rotated completely over my left, and how much my wrists have rotated as I swing past impact. This is a fully released position that’s the result of a loose feel and a lot of trust.

If you want to maximize your distance, you need to maximize your clubhead speed, which means releasing your hands, wrists, and arms completely.