Hitting for distance makes golf more enjoyable. Whether you have a low golf handicap or a high one, belting a 250-yard drive is a lot more fun than squeaking out a 190-yard drive. Hitting the long ball off the tee or from the fairway also changes the game strategically, especially when it comes to those long par fours and par fives. Even generating an extra 20 yards with your shots helps. Talk distance in a golf lesson and everyone suddenly perks up.

Swinging from the inside is the key to generating distance. A recent test conducted by a popular golf magazine indicates that golfers can generate as much as 42 extra yards by swinging from the inside. The experiment used a swing robot to simulate seven swing paths at slightly above-average speed. Inside and neutral swing paths averaged 42 yards more than outside swing paths. While you might question the experiment's methodology, you can't question its results: Swinging inside generates more distance.

Check Your Setup First

A poor setup drains power. So before doing anything, check your setup. In particular, check your grip, stance, and ball position. Make sure the crease between your thumbs and forefingers are parallel and pointing to the right side of your face, if you're right-handed. Also, make sure your shoulders are parallel to your target line, with your front foot open just a bit, and your ball is positioned just in front of center for your irons and under your shirt logo for woods.

Common Swing Faults

Having checked your set up, you can now concentrate on eliminating faults that prevent you from taking an inside path to the ball and rob you of power. Below are five of the most common faults with some easy fixes:

Too Far Inside
Going too far inside causes you to re-route the club to the outside. Check your shoulders and your wrists. Your shoulders move the club around your body. Your wrists move the club vertically. Don't just turn your shoulders around your body, like many players with high golf handicaps. Make sure you also hinge your wrists up.

Swaying
Swaying-sliding your back hip away from the target instead of turning the hip-causes a reverse pivot. That in turn causes a steep downswing, making it almost impossible to come down from the inside. You should be turning your back hip, not swaying. Stick an old shaft or a broomstick in the ground a couple of inches from your back hip. If your hip touches the shaft or stick during your backswing, you're swaying.

Poor Turn
To maximize power, you must make a complete shoulder turn, as I mentioned in my golf tips. Focus on making at least a 90-degree turn with your front shoulder behind the ball. Lay a broomstick or club parallel to and just inside your back foot. When you turn, turn your shoulder so that the club shaft you're holding runs parallel to the club shaft or broomstick on the ground.

Hanging Back
If you're right-handed and your shots are going right of the target, your tendency is to swing more left. (Vice versa for left-handers.) The most common way of correcting this is hanging back on your right foot and scooping the ball off the ground. But that creates a slice. To swing from the inside, you must shift your weight forward. Stick an old shaft or broomstick in the ground so that it is touching your right side, and then practice making downswings. Your body should move forward and away from the shaft.

Casting
Casting is when you unhinge your wrists prematurely, as if you were slinging a fishing line. It promotes an over the top swing with weak impact. To eliminate casting, take the club back with both hands. Then hook the middle of the shaft with the index finger of your top hand. As you swing down, keep the hinge in your wrist by resisting the swing with your index finger. Remember this feeling when it's time to hit the ball for real.

These five swing faults prevent your from swinging the club on an inside path. Others faults exist, such as not trapping the ball and not releasing the clubhead properly. You must eliminate these faults to swing from the inside-the key to generating extra distance. Generating more distance makes the game more fun, whether you have a high golf handicap or a low one. Don't miss out on the fun.

By: Jack Moorehouse
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions