Lack of distance isn't always about strength. Some players have plenty of speed but miss the center; others lose speed because they never use the ground. Coach Rio measures first and finds exactly where you're losing yards.
From our lesson results. Figures are Trackman and similar measurements for individual players, not a guarantee.
How fast the club is moving at impact. It sets the ceiling on the energy you can give the ball.
Ball speed ÷ club speed. Swing at the same speed and miss the center, and ball speed drops.
How high the ball leaves the face. Too low or too high, and carry suffers.
Too much and the ball balloons; too little and it falls out of the sky. Each club has a sweet spot.
Ball speed = club speed × smash factor
Launch and spin come mostly from loft at impact (dynamic loft) and attack angle.
In other words, more club speed isn't the only way to gain distance. But club speed is the foundation of the four, and its main source is ground reaction force.
Push on the ground and it pushes back just as hard. That's ground reaction force. Your arm muscles are a tiny source of club speed. Most of it comes from force taken from the ground and handed on from legs to pelvis to chest to arms to club.
Stronger arms won't make you jump higher. You go up because you squat and push the ground hard and fast. The swing works the same way.
Some tour players are generally reported to push into the ground with more than 1.5 to 2 times their body weight in the downswing.
It has three parts: vertical, horizontal (toward the target) and rotational. It comes from body weight and gravity, so everyone has it, whatever their age or gender.
The shortcut to more club speed isn't swinging the arms faster. It's pushing the ground quickly, firmly and in the right order.
Coach Rio's Ground Force Swing splits the swing into four moves, defined not by where the club is but by what you're doing to the ground. Pressing down and pushing up are movements everyone has known since childhood. Instead of adding complicated technique, we bring those natural moves back into your swing.
In the backswing, press into the ground through the inside of your trail foot and store force without sliding sideways.
IF IT BREAKSSway, too little load
Before the club reaches the top, the pelvis starts turning from the feet. Feet first; the arms wait.
IF IT BREAKSOver the top, hanging back
Straighten the lead leg and rise up to speed up the club. The push into the ground peaks just before impact.
IF IT BREAKSToo early: pushes right. Too late: steep and slow
Catch your body on the lead leg and core and hold the finish. Holding it for three seconds is what lets you swing all-out.
IF IT BREAKSLosing balance, falling back
Even among tour players, there's more than one way to use the ground. Every type is valid and every type can be fast. A body screen shows which suits you.
Driven by the jump; the lead foot may even leave the ground. Easiest way to top speed, but bad timing opens the face.
The feet twist the ground in opposite directions to snap the pelvis around. Little up-and-down, very stable; suits mobile hips.
Shifts weight like a step and turns it into rotation on the lead leg. A steady low point; strong with irons.
Force you create from the ground is wasted if it leaks out on the way or gets lost at impact. Along with ground force, Coach Rio checks these four things.
If your hips or upper back can't turn, the force from the ground leaks out on the way up. A TPI screen shows what your body can do first.
This is what sets smash factor and spin. We've seen 20 more yards from changing only this, at the same club speed.
See case 02 →A shaft that doesn't fit you wastes the speed you create. We also offer a 90-minute shaft fitting based on Trackman data.
See fees →The goal isn't one big drive at the range; it's distance you can count on at the course. We check it in on-course lessons.
It's rarely just one thing. Coach Rio starts from your symptom and your Trackman numbers, forms a hypothesis about where your ground force breaks down, and checks it on video and Sportsbox. Some common patterns:
If several apply, we start with the earliest move (load, turn, jump, catch). If the load isn't there, everything after it is compensation.
Every measurement has blind spots, so we layer video, Sportsbox, Trackman and, soon, a force plate to pin down which of the four moves is breaking down. Coach Rio does all the measuring in the lesson; you don't need any equipment.
Shows the shape and order of your movement, and ties the other three together.
Measures pelvis and chest turn, sway and lift, so we can see which of the four moves breaks down.
Club speed, ball speed, smash factor, launch, spin and attack angle: the result, in numbers.
How hard and when you push on the ground. The fourth eye that confirms the diagnosis. We're getting it ready.
WHERE THE YARDS WENTAttack angle and swing direction
His swing direction was well left, the attack angle steep and the slice spin strong. We adjusted body position, grip pressure and rhythm and steadied the attack angle in the downswing.
Read the full case →WHERE THE YARDS WENTClub path and strike
His chest opened early in the transition and the club came down steeply from outside. Softer grip pressure and turning around his center while feeling the ground through his feet moved the path from −8.6° to −2.8° and centered the strike.
Read the full case →WHERE THE YARDS WENTLoft at impact and club speed
D was hitting with the face laid back (40.5° dynamic loft) and 7,174 rpm of spin. With loft at 31.8° and both club speed and smash factor up, ball speed rose by 7.2 m/s.
Read the full case →WHERE THE YARDS WENTA reverse pivot, and the club
Sportsbox showed a reverse pivot: his weight stayed on the lead foot in the backswing, so he couldn't use the ground and his speed stalled. We worked mainly on that, and fitted him for a driver early on.
Read the full case →WHERE THE YARDS WENTSpin and attack angle
Plenty of club speed but too much spin. His head was too far forward at impact, making the attack angle steep. Fixing his head position moved the attack angle from −3.7° to +0.9°.
Read the full case →That's why we measure first.
"I can't hit it far" has a different fix for everyone.
Figures are Trackman and similar measurements taken during lessons for individual players. Results vary and are not guaranteed.
It depends on where you're losing distance, and that's different for everyone. Some players have gained about 20 yards in a single lesson, but we can't promise a number. We measure first and show you where the yards are going.
When you push on the ground, the ground pushes back just as hard. In golf you use it in three directions (sideways, rotational and vertical), and it's the main source of club speed.
Ground force comes from your body weight and gravity, so everyone has it, whatever their age or gender. If your body can't turn, though, the force leaks out, so we check your mobility first and work within it.
Start with a first assessment (60 min, ¥16,500) to measure the cause. For ongoing work, the 3-month program; if the club is the problem, a shaft fitting (90 min, ¥22,000). Not sure? Ask in a free LINE consultation.
We check your body first and work within what's comfortable. If something hurts, we skip the jumping drills, and we work with medical or fitness professionals when needed.
Mainly at Hands Golf Club in Hodogaya, Yokohama, plus Center-Kita, Kannai and Higashi-Shinjuku in Tokyo. Remote lessons by video call are available too.
Just send your current distance and the miss that bothers you most. A swing video helps us be more specific.